Honeymoon Part Deuce: ARUBA Day 5

Up at 8:30, I hit the gym, hubby went for a swim, had breakfast, went to the beach, had lunch, got ready for ATVing!

Tour guide picked us up in his ratty white Jeep at 1:30 in the lobby of the hotel and brought us to the building from which we left on the ATV's.  My husband and I rode one together; there was a couple in front of us on an ATV together that were on their honeymoon, a young married couple behind us, 2 chicks riding solo, and a few other couples.  Our tour guide was a little crass but we had a great time!  We rode through neighborhoods to some old rock formations, which we climbed up and from there could see most of the island.  Then we went to old gold mine ruins which we also were able to climb.  We saw where the natural bridge was before it collapsed, saw the oldest chapel on the island (Alto Visto) which is still operational although it had to be rebuilt after a fire in the 1900's.  A couple was getting married there as we all pulled up.  We went off roading to the California lighthouse (gorgeous view!) and then finally ended up at Arashi beach where we were able to swim and clean off some of the dirt!  Then we headed back to our starting point, got in an old school bus that was painted with tons of flowers, and were all dropped off at our respective hotels.  It was a blast!

We went to dinner at Casa Tua Barcelona and split paella for dinner, then headed back to our beach where we had planned to have our usual wine on the beach.  Instead we ended up getting sucked into the commotion at Matthews, ended up getting pushed behind the bar where a crowd was dancing (doing the YMCA! And we had to do it too!  I don't even do it at weddings!) we had 2 shots poured down our throats and ended up staying at the bar and dancing for a few hours.  I ended up behind the bar 3 more times in a Conga line where everytime we went behind the bar the waiters and waitresses spanked us (WTH!?).

Honeymoon Part Deuce: ARUBA Day 4

Up an hour earlier this morning to get more fit into the day...my husband went for a swim in the sea while I put together breakfast: egg white omelet with smoked turkey and cheese, fresh fruit, and coffee.  We ate on the balcony then took our walk on the beach.  We layed out for a few hours, some island dogs came by us at one point (although during daylight hours much less scary!).  Finally I bought a huge white hat for the beach I had been eying since we arrived.  Too bad it's too windy on the island to wear it!!

We had lunch in our room, then headed up to MooMba Beach by the high rises for the Jolly Pirates snorkeling/booze cruise tour.  While walking toward the pier, something wet landed on my shoulder and baseball hat, looked like water when I looked at my shoulder so I asked my husband if water landed on my hat as well. I tipped my head down for him to see and as I did, this clear slimy bird sh*t slid off the front of my hat.  I was so disgusted!  My husband was laughing so hard he almost peed his pants.  He told me it's good luck to get sh*t on.  I told him that's what people tell you so you don't feel so bad about the fact that you are covered in sh*t...moving on.

We had time to kill before boarding the boat so we sat at a beach bar and had a beer.  Finally we took a smaller boat over to the pirate ship.  The trip lasted 3 hours, during which there was open bar, we stopped at 2 different sites to snorkel (the Antilla shipwreck and the Peter Ellis shipwreck).  At the first stop the guys running the ship told us we had to put our flippers on, life vests, snorkel gear, and jump off the top of the boat.  It took me a good 5 seconds before I could manage enough courage to jump 10 feet (if that) into the 60-foot deep water, but I finally did it.  At first trying to snorkel out in the middle of a sea I was having anxiety, a tough time breathing through the tube, but finally after I saw all the cool fish I think I forgot what I was doing and I snorkled around just fine.  As we were getting out of the water one guy loudly said to some girl "did you pee?" and she was squinting and scrunching up her face and she said "not yet, I'm trying".  Really??? Why don't you just announce it the world...musta had one too many Aruba Aribas before getting in the water...

After the 2nd snorkeling stop, one of the guys came around pouring shots in everyone's mouths (not that anyone needed them!) Turns out the girl I was sitting next to and talking to the entire time on the boat is from my state, and only lives about 30 minutes from me!  Talk about a small world...

Finally there was a rope swing: anyone who wanted to jump off the boat from the swing lined up and then one by one jumped into the water.  My husband went twice, decided the line was too long and asked the guys if he could jump off the opposite side of the boat and they said sure so there he went.

By the time we were coming back in to shore, we were all drinking and dancing and it wasn't even 6 pm yet!  We got back to our room and had something to eat, then actually went out to dinner at Matthews (all you can eat ribs?  My husband couldn't resist ;)

I was feeling a little woozy from all the sweet island drinks so we went back to our room and I was sleeping by 9:30 pm!

Honeymoon Part Deuce: ARUBA Day 3

Day 3 and up again at 10 am...ahhh, liking this vacation thing.  Breakfast on the balcony again, enjoying the warm humid air and the view of the Caribbean from afar.  Anxious to get down to that water so we eat quickly and head out.  I notice a rash starting on the back of my shoulder that's slightly itchy but, needing my ocean air in my lungs and sand beneath my toes, we head down to the beach.

On our way to the water, we stop in the business office and Carina makes us a reservation for the Jolly Pirates ship (booze cruise and snorkeling-Yes!) and for ATVing- (nervous?? Yes!!)  We walk on the beach for an hour, take a swim, and then read under a chickie.  I am getting used to this routine.

On our way back to our room for lunch we spotted a bright blue spotted lizard!!  I have never seen one that wasn't brown or green!  It was crazy and beautiful and I wanted to snap a picture but I wasn't camera ready.  Bummer!  I hoped to see him again later on during the trip.

We went to the grocery store again before lunch.  I managed to spend $150 and threatened my husband with bodily harm if all of the food didn't get eaten over the course of the remaining week (it didn't).

With our lunch I made us some fresh fruit margaritas: I used tequila, mango juice, fresh lime juice, fresh orange juice, sour mix, and seltzer.  Mmmm!  For lunch we had smoked turkey sandwiches with fresh pineapple and some cubes of European cheeses.  Then we headed back to the beach.

We saw the most amazing sunset that day.

After taking pictures, we headed out to do some shopping but the shops were closed (just our luck!) We ended up at Pinchos Restaurant, a place I definitely wanted to make sure we got to on this trip!  It is a restaurant on a pier, with the grill behind the bar.  The view is gorgeous but the bugs were ferocious!  The bartender had to give us bug spray.  At first I thought I just wanted to have a quick cocktail and leave because the bugs were bombarding us, but after awhile they stopping bothering us and we decided to order some "bar snacks" as they called them.  We got steak tips with a dark rum infused bleu cheese sauce, black angus mini sliders, and the mild spicy fish cakes with a curry pineapple sauce--delicious!  I was so glad we decided to eat there.  That meal made up for the crappy one we had had the night before.  The bartender was soooo friendly and pleasant as well.

We stopped at the Alhambra casino on our way back to the hotel.  This time my husband won $25 on the penny slots.  I cut him off from gambling and we headed down to the beach with our wine, per usual.

We also noticed that the crabs come out of the water and up into the sand at night!  Yikes!

Honeymoon Part Deuce: ARUBA Day 2

Ahhh, first full day on the island and we didn't get out of bed til 10 am...now that is what vacation SHOULD be like!!  I kinda missed having Ninja bound into the bedroom and jump all over me and cry, wanting to be pet...weird.  Good thing that feeling disappeared by day 3...

We had breakfast on our balcony: boiled eggs, rye toast with all natural peanut butter, and grapes (still trying to keep it healthy!)  Of course my husband had to have liverwurst as well...when in Rome, I guess...

We went for an hour walk on the beach.  We noticed that the beaches to the right of ours were nice like ours, but the beaches to the left, not so much.  The water to the left of our beach had a lot of seaweed/seagrass floating in it, and of course much of it had washed up on shore as well so they just weren't as pretty beaches.  Made us feel lucky we were able to stay where we did :)

During part of our walk we were approached by a local trying to get us to jet-ski.  "Oh, normally it's $70 per couple for 30 minutes but for you, I do 35 minutes".  Thanks a lot buddy!  Since we had both jet-skiid before, we decided we would save the cash to have other experiences while on the island. 

We passed a photo shoot happening in a cabana on the beach: some girl was in a white bathing suit (barely bathing suit!) contorting herself into sexy poses while a group of people stood around her, positioning her hair, her limbs, etc, while the photographer snapped away.  My husband decided it wasn't a very good photo shoot because they didn't have any lighting, they were only using natural light in the photos. 

After our walk we went for a swim, first real swim in the Caribbean Sea!  I am not a huge ocean person, while my husband grew up on the Black Sea so he is very comfortable and familiar (I was until I was knocked down and dragged out by a wave and a current a few years ago).  While in the water, thousands of fish started to swim by us, schools and schools of fish with huge eyes!  It was crazy!

After our swim we laid under a "chickie" as I have heard them referred to, little huts made of dried palm fronds, and we read.  Talk about relaxation!  I love getting into a good book and have so little time to read for pleasure at home. 

With it being Sunday, almost everything on the island was closed.  My husband decided we should get tequila and make margaritas so we drove around looking for an open store.  By the time we found one, we were also hungry and we stumbled upon Lee' Restaurant, basically a little shack with a couple grills on the side of the building.  The restaurant was on a side street inland on the island.  It looked like where the locals would eat and we were all for trying something different and off the beaten path.  We tried to order from the menu which was part Spanish part Chinese, and the man taking our order spoke no English.  I think he finally understood that my husband asked for grilled chicken.  We went outside to watch the food prepared.  Huge chicken quarters were taken from one grill where they were slow cooking and placed on the higher heat grill, then taken off and chopped up into a few places, then loaded on top of a huge bed of pork rice, and drizzled with a little BBQ sauce.  The smell filling the car was intoxicating and we couldn't wait to get back to our room to eat!

The food was just as good as it smelled, and it fed us for 3 meals!  It was inexpensive and delicious, and we were full and happy.

We headed out for dinner, downtown by the Renaissance Mall.  While we planned to eat at Iguana Joe's, it was closed and we ended up at The Paddock instead.  We had declined going to this place literally 2 or 3 times, first based on the outward appearance (it's decorated like a cow and has a dinosaur on the roof...??), second based on the menu: ALL YOU CAN EAT CHEESEBURGERS, really!?  I'm in Aruba and need to fit into a bathing suit....ew.

But, alas, nothing else appeared to be open so we got a table...We waited over an hour for our food.  Our waiter was EXTREMELY curt and rude.  My mixed grill of fish, which silly me, I expected to be GRILLED since I asked the waiter and he said it was, was clearly dumped in the deep fryer as it was glistening with oil when it was brought to me.  The shrimp: overcooked and rubbery.  Salmon? The same.  Mahi-Mahi? Inedible!!  Almost impossible to bite into.  The grouper?  Edible, if you didn't mind your arteries clogging as you ate.  The broccoli was decent, although it was clearly frozen and poorly prepared.  Only good thing about the meal?  Being able to use someone's internet connection to Skype my parents and let them know we were on the island and safe. 

Since we were still hungry when we left, we decided it was ok to get some ice cream so we went to a Baskin Robbins on the second floor of a jewelry store.  I had pinapple-coconut no sugar added, and figured that made up for the Pink Iguana (Strawberry Pina Colada) I had planned to have at Iguana Joe's.

When we got back to Casa del Mar, we decided to go to the Alhambra casino behind our hotel to check it out.  My husband talked me into penny slots even though I really really didn't feel like gambling.  I put a dollar into the machine and promptly won almost $25.  I proceeded to do the only smart thing: cash out.  (And then pay it back and more the rest of the week once the gambling addiction set in...)

Around 11 pm we headed out to the beach with some wine.  We were hanging out, watching a lightning storm in the distance when I heard my husband say "oh, look, a dog".  I do NOT like dogs I don't know.  I have had bad experiences of being bitten by one extremely large, extremely mean dog, and when strange dogs approach me I have a tendency to FREAK OUT inside.  So I turn over on my lounge chair, and there about 10 feet away, is a big dog with a shepherd face and a golden lab body.  I literally roll back over toward my husband and freeze.  Through my teeth I am able to say "Is it gone?  Is it coming this way?  What the **** is going on!?"  And he happily says "Look, they're coming over here!"  "THEY!?!?"  "Yes, there's 2 of them..." He tells me, and I close my eyes and wait for them to bite me.  But they don't.  They just trot right on by our lounge chairs and head up the stairs on the beach into Matthew's beachside.  They are in there for a few minutes before they are finally shooed out by the waitstaff who is cleaning up for the night.  They head onward down the beach.  Phew!  That was my cue: we headed back to our room for bed.   

Honeymoon Part Deuce: ARUBA!

Day 1: I hired a car to take us to the airport 2 hours away.  The driver arrived right on time at 5 am-amazingly I was up, wide awake after only 4 hours sleep, and ready to head out on our official honeymoon adventure!

However, my excitement faded slightly when our limo driver was the worst driver ever!  When we were on the highway and there was a bend in the road, instead of staying in his lane the driver would merge into the next lane, no signal or anything, and I can't tell you how many times he was beeped at by other drivers!

I was nervous as we drove into NYC, since the terror threat was elevated for 9-11 weekend and there were vehicle checkpoints set up.  I thought it would take extra long to get to the airport but it didn't; an hour and 45 minutes later we were arriving, paying the driver, and dropping off our bag with JetBlue.  We went right through security with no problems and went to breakfast while we waited to board the plane.

On the plane we had 36 channels of DirectTV but they cut out as soon as we were over international waters.  However, we did get movie channels so I was able to watch Bridesmaids on the way down (funniest movie ever!) and part of Something Borrowed.

We arrived at the airport in Aruba in about 4.5 hours, not a bad flight at all, went through customs and then waited to meet with Hans who was renting us a car for the week.  He arrived about 20 minutes later and then we were on the road attempting to find our hotel, Casa del Mar.  It took us awhile and we ended up in the high rise area, while our hotel was in the low rise area, but we got to see a lot of the island! ;)

We were able to check in right away even though we arrived earlier than check-in time.  We found our room, changed for the beach and headed out.  We had lunch at Tortuga, a beachside restaurant at the resort next door.  Our first beer on the island (Balashi, of course, as it's brewed in Aruba) was delicious although they serve it in small cups and glasses because if you don't drink it fast it's warm in minutes! I had a grouper salad that was delicious.  We met a couple people, one of them a Giants fan like myself.  Finally we went and layed out, I applied sunblock twice for fear of burning to a crisp and ruining my whole vacation. 

After the beach we had the luxury of taking a nap, showering, and then heading out in our rental car to do some grocery shopping and then find somewhere to eat.  Since we were in a timeshare, we had all the amenities: master bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and dining area, and a sweet balcony off the back of the room.

When we headed to the grocery store is when we found out our car battery had died because Hans had turned on the lights and my husband didn't realize so he didn't turn them off (it was daytime! lol). We found a security guard who borrowed his friends car and helped us jump ours, although he connected the wires backwards and sparks were flying when my husband went to connect the ends to our rental car!  Yikes!

Finally we got to the grocery store, and you could tell everyone had just arrived on the island because the store was mobbed!  We got the necessities for the week and left as fast as possible.  We unpacked groceries in our room and then headed down to our resort's restaurant, Matthew's Beachside.  There were tiki torches and the restaurant was open on the water side so what little breeze there was (apparently bad weather in Venezuela was sucking out all the breeze from Aruba) was blowing in.  I had a delicious glass of Carmenere red wine with my meal, which I had never had before but I am officially in love!

When we were done eating happy hour had begun (happy hour every day from 12-1, 4-6, and 9-10 with 2 for one drinks) so we each got 2 drinks and headed out to sit on the beach.  Talk about peaceful and relaxing, watching the waves, sipping some vino beachside, seeing the stars...Aruba is certainly romantic!  We took a bunch of pictures.

Finally we headed back to our room.  On the way we saw a skinny black island cat who looks like a smaller version of our cat Ninja at home.  I aptly named him Twinja and we continued to see him throughout our vacation.

We finally crashed into bed at 11:30 and that was probably the best night of sleep we had all week!