Aruba

Aruba is quite a departure from the islands we’ve visited so far - it’s clearly far richer than most, the fact that it is looked after very well by the Netherlands is easy to see in the roads, the upkeep of buildings and the fact that the locals all seem very healthy and well educated - for instance, a taxi driver told us that everyone on the island speaks 4 languages – English, Dutch, Spanish and Papiamento (a Creole mix of Portuguese, Dutch, English, Spanish and a handful of West African languages).

We started off with a long walk from where we were docked into town, and our first stop was to be an internet café (so I could upload some more of this very blog). We wandered about for ages trying to find somewhere that was open until we made our way into a cool little bar that did some of the nicest lemonade I’ve ever had, but with the some of the slowest service I’ve ever seen. Mainly that was OK, as the drinks started off as an excuse to get online, but it is so hot in the Caribbean (you don’t say!) that before long the drinks became a vital necessity – and they just kept on not arriving.

Eventually we tracked them down, hammered them back and headed back to the boat to drop off the laptop, before catching a handy free bus back into town. From there we decided to hit the beach and so hopped in a taxi and pootled along to Eagle Beach.

This was one of two beaches recommended to us – the other is Palm Beach, which is by all the high rise main tourist areas, but Eagle we were assured, was closer, less busy and absolutely lovely.

We were not lied to.

Since returning to England I’ve seen that it has been rated as one of the best beaches in the world and I completely agree with that – it’s just a long stretch of fine white sand and lovely clear water with very little interruption by man (aside from a lot of palm-umbrella things, which are very handy...!)

We left our stuff with some others from the boat we bumped into and then did our best Baywatch impressions into the sea (which was refreshingly cool…. For the Caribbean…)

After an hour or two of enjoying the surf we thought we should get some lunch, so grabbed our bits and flagged down a bus heading back to town. While on board we asked the driver and guide where we should eat – the answer straight away was The Old Fisherman.

They also pointed out some Iguanas that were sunning themselves by the side of the road, and told us with no small amount of glee how delicious they are, but how sadly they are now protected and that Iguana soup is forbidden.

Man… I really could have gone for some Iguana about then.

We jumped off the bus and went over to The Old Fisherman for some food, but looking at it we thought we’d go elsewhere – it’s just a blue sign sticking out above a dark glass front, with nothing to make you think you want to eat there.

This then meant a long walk about the town (with its funky Dutch style houses), getting hungrier and hungrier before asking a few different people where to eat.

They all said The Old Fisherman. Clearly it was written in the stars that we would eat there, so we quickly strolled back, wrenched open the door and went inside.

First (well, second) impressions weren’t all that amazing – it just looked like an average café with wipe-clean table cloths and a few harried looking waitresses, but what can you do? We sat down, make our orders and waited to see what would happen.

What happened was a feast. A mountain of food, with a mountain of sides. Each and every part of it was DELICIOUS. If you go to Aruba, then eat there – you will like it! It wasn’t cheap, but it was certainly worth it – with Conch, calamari, a seafood medley and fish ceviche for the starters and mains, and we each got plantain, rice, chips, corn bread and coleslaw – each bit more tasty than the last.

After our feast, and with time running out before departure, we waddled back to the boat, happy to have seen a place we knew nothing about before-hand, and that our next stop was to be Barbados – but starting to realise that this journey was coming to an end – there’s only one day in Barbados, and from there we fly home.