Visiting Aruba

We booked through Costco Travel, based on how well they did on our honeymoon trip, and, again, they delivered the goods.

Departure

We were picked up and taken to Newark for a midday departure. Unfortunately, due to the usual summer storms at O’Hare, our plane was late leading to a delayed departure.

Also, the food in the terminal, even in the nicely-refurbished United terminal, is awful. I ate something that was purported to be a New York bagel, and on the basis of that name claim and food quality, I think there is a legitimate cause for armed hostilities between the two states. It was just flat-out terrible.

Lesson: Never eat at the Newark food court. The bars, once they opened, had bistro-pub fare including solid lunch salads.

As a consequence of the light lunch and the snack-only food service on the flight (thanks pandemic), we arrived on Aruba hungry and exceedingly thankful for our driver swiftly delivering us to our hotel.

Arrival On-Island

Because we arrived late in the day, we had time for only a few snaps before heading up the beach to one of the other resorts where we had a wonderful shish-kebab dinner, some tropical drinks, and dinner music. After dinner, we walked up the fire-lit beach back to our hotel and changed into swimsuits for night-time pool swimming. We swam a bit and then relaxed in the hot tub with some other guests.

Day 1: Beach Day!

Day 1 was sunny and bright, and we took advantage of an early wake-up. After the stellar breakfast buffet (included in our package), we headed down to the beach and found chaise lounges with our names on it.

I was keen to start my beach read, The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse and Lauren was starting Neuromancer. After a bit, she decided to go do some snorkeling while I remained on shore reading. The marked swimming area along the resort beaches is neither deep nor a great distance from shore so I could see her snorkel cruising about in the water. Beyond the marked zone, power-craft run about, so it’s smart to stay within the, admittedly, constrained swimming area.

While seated, we came face-to-face Aruba’s famous trade winds. Every now and again the winds whip and proceed to pelt you in the face with sand. It’s something that’s soft-peddled by the locals, all of whom are part of the tourism industry, but be advised that while they can help keep the swelter at bay, they can also add some unexpected silica to your mahi-mahi tacos.

Lesson: The trade winds are capricious and can toss grit in your face. Be prepared and gracious.

After Lauren returned to shore, we had beachside lunch delivered by the resort staff (on beach Segways!) and enjoyed the early afternoon. In the mid-afternoon we decamped and took out some stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) and took them around the swimming area. It was a lot of fun, but this was, sadly, some sun exposure that resulted in some burning for yours truly. While I had wisely stopped halfway through to grab my rash guard, I had already earned a bit of a red hue from the Sun.

That evening, we dined at the hotel at their Italian restaurant. It was the kind of bistro Italian restaurant approximated by Maggiano’s or other chains, but it was the real deal. The head chef was from the Northeast so we had a style of food that was very familiar (and very good). Imagine a restaurant where Bobby DiNiro and Joe Pesci are having a very hushed conversation about someone else who’s not long for the world, now put it in a resort, on a beach. Fuhgeddaboutit.

Day 2: Beach Day (Encore!)

We had the amazing breakfast buffet (again), and then headed down to the Cove mall to get some new sunglasses for yours truly as well as to do our re-admission COVID test. We also took the chance to buy more sunscreen as semi-painful experience had taught us that the Aruban sun is really no joke.

Lesson: Sunburn happens incredibly fast in Aruba! Slather without abandon. Come with multiple bottles of reef-safe lotion. Experienced hands looked like un-blended ghosts covered in Elmer’s school glue. This is good advice.

Lesson: Bring after-beach / after-burn aloe care. Aloe is one of the few products native to Aruba, so you can buy it there, but you really should have it on you (metaphorically and literally).

Lesson: Aruba is pretty expensive once you’re “in.” The customs and duties to supply this trading island are no joke. You might be better off spending more for larger luggage / to get high-dollar items delivered before you go.

After shopping, we headed back to our region of the beach and took out some sea kayaks and paddled the length of the beach. It was wonderful to paddle along. Sweet Lauren had no more entered her craft before she dumped it amid laughter. Life on the high seas can have surprises!

After heading back to the hotel for afternoon recovery, we walked along the beach to a “Smokey Joe’s” a rib joint that was very tasty.

We shared a platter and then ambled our way back up the beach. We met a couple celebrating their anniversary and they took my favorite picture of the trip:

Day 3: Adventure!

After a few days on the sand, we were ready for some high adventure. Our hotel arranged for us to take a tour with Tours Around Aruba on four-wheel drive UTVs. As part of the UTV fleet, we were able to see inaccessible parts of the desert island of Aruba. It was a lot of fun!

Along the way, we drank from a young coconut:

I jumped into a natural pool:

And we visited a small petting zoo where we met the most wonderful mare, sweet Aruban donkeys, and adorable little kids.

After we returned from the road, we showered the red dirt off of ourselves, packed up, and went for a final deck-side dinner at the hotel. A live band was thumping down below next to the pools and we breathed in our last view of Aruba.

Return

The return went smoothly. We were picked up by private driver and a short 15 minutes later began the process of COVID test validation and agricultural scan. The flight was direct from Aruba to Dulles and then the small hop from Dulles back to Laguardia. It was a warm and humid day in NYC, a very clement summer evening. As we neared home, we dialed up our favorite Thai place and had them deliver just as we got home. Showers and curry later we were happily back home.

On Monday, Lauren met up with Byron’s host in Brooklyn and brought him home. We’re together again and are getting back into the rhythms of the city.

• Travelogue
• Aruba

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