Swimmer1
10th December 2009, 05:48 PM
I had pictures in this, but they didn't copy over. We really do not want to set up an outside photo site. Sorry.
Monday, 11/16 - We arrived on time in Aruba a little after 3 PM their time. It was 1 1/2 hrs. actual flying time to Atlanta, and another 3 hours to Aruba. It took almost an hour to get through Aruba immigration, not as many people as the last time we flew into Cancun, but they seemed slower. It turned out to be a 30 min ride to the hotel, because of 4 cruise ships in port today.
he hotel is the 1st hotel outside of the town of Orangested (to the north of it). The entrance to the Tamarijn Aruba A-I is not nearly as impressive as most of the Mexican Riviera Maya hotels we have stayed at. It looks like about a 2 star Riviera Maya hotel. We got a 2nd floor room in building 19 (which we had requsted), #1908.
Since it wasn't dark yet, after we unpacked, Les wanted to have a short swim the 1st day. Bob went to the Bunker Bar, right near our room, on the water, while Les entered the sea right in front of our building. What a disappointment! There were rocks and dead coral everywhere. She had worn her aqua shoes, but it was still very hard entering the water here. It could really be dangerous in rough surf! Les then joined Bob in the Bunker Bar. We got to see the 6 PM sunset, beautiful! can use all of the Divi's restaurants, buffet, and bars also. Tonight we will eat at the Tam's Buffet.
Our room is really great - a flat-screen TV, great air, comfortable beds with 4-5 pillows, and a lot of storage space in the closet and drawers. You can drink the water right from the faucet (Aruba has the 2nd largest de-salination plant in the world), but it comes out warm. The rooms are actually only about 50 steps to the Caribbean Sea-fantastic! You pay a premium for ocean-front in Mexico, and even then it's not usually this close! That is the best thing about this resort - so close to the sea! You can actually see the sea from the bed! The buffet was OK, but less choices than Mexico. It was good, though. We went back to the room and crashed after the buffet - it's been a long day. We've been up since 3 AM!
Tuesday, 11/17 - Bob got up early at 6:30 and saved beach chairs with a palm tree (all palapas were already taken!) He had to walk down the beach a little even to get that! Hot, hot, hot - even at night and early morning (95 daytime, 90 night)! Bob and Les snorkeled almost an hour. Water was pretty clear, and we saw some fish schools, including angel fish near the old pipes down around building 22. The sea between buildings 19 and 21 could really be dangerous in rough surf. We had soon discovered an easy, sandy entry down in front of building 22. We also saw some starfish on the bottom farther out in sea grass. One was quite large, almost a foot across! We had never seen starfish in Mexico.
The problem with the beaches here is that they are coral based covered with a thin layer (if any) of sand that shifts day to day. Rough surf (as we had after the 1st 3 days) makes it shift even quicker - a lot within the same day! It could definitely be dangerous to step or fall on with rough surf. The Bunker Bar is a good place with a wonderful view on the ocean, including a great sunset view. You meet people from all over. There are a lot of Canadians and most of the US people we've met have been from the East coast - Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, etc. After a few drinks, we showered, changed, and ate lunch at the buffet at 2 PM. It had decent food - good hamburgers, pork chops, and grilled chicken breasts. They often have a pasta station, and almost always have rice.
We walked down the boardwalk and street to the Divi where we shopped at vendors and bought some souvenirs. Monday and Friday vendors are at the Tam, and Tuesday and Thursday at the Divi. We then sat out at the beach bar and listened to a steel band while waiting for our 8:45 PM Red Parrot reservation. Les had read no negative things on the forum about the Red Parrot, but we think it is way over-rated compared to other all-inclusives we've stayed at on the Riviera Maya of Mexico.
Wednesday, 11/18 - Bob got up at 5:30 AM to save us a palapa. We got about an hour's worth of sun, then we snorkeled for 50 minutes. We saw a school of large angel fish, lots of other fish, and 3 starfish. We took pictures of all with our new waterproof digital camera. We then went to the breakfast buffet around 10 AM - not bad, and great coffee. We asked if it was Aruban coffee, and found out it was imported from Sweden. After breakfast we caught a shuttle to the south end of the resort (building 25) and walked a couple of blocks to a supermarket, where we bought a larger bottle of water and 3 larger bottles of Diet Pepsi so we'd have some more bottles for water on the beach and cold water in the room. The cashier tried to charge us $21 - we said no way could it be that much! She re-did it, and said it was only $5. Watch things priced in Florins vs. US dollars! There is a small mall here also. We ate at the Red Parrot again tonight-so-so.
Wednesday afternoon Bob picked up (for Les to use) 1 of the resort's wonderful, comfortable foam float mats. We get to keep it the rest of the trip - fantastic!
Thursday, 11/19 - We went shopping today after having breakfast at the buffet. Les went to the egg/omelet station (no line) and ordered a fried egg - over hard, break the yolk. It was perfect. After breakfast we walked the short distance out to the bus stop, waiting for the large Arubus to go to Orangested. A colorful van came by with 'taxi' on it, and said a$1.25 to downtown, as cheap as the bus, so we took it - kind of like colectivos in Mexico. We got out near the cruise ship terminal. There were a lot of expensive looking jewelry stores and also some open-fronted little stores with clothes, beach bags, hats and all kinds of other souvenirs. Les loved these little shops - they had some really good deals, and they would bargain with you. We got good deals on beach towels, t-shirts, toy iguanas, and a beautiful turtle on wood for $10. We stopped at the Paddock Restaurant for cokes - $4 with tip. We talked to a regular taxi for a ride back. She asked $7, but Les talked her down to $5. We found out later we got an outstanding deal as the regular posted rate was $9 from the Tam to downtown or vice versa!
When we got back to the Tam, Les used the float mat for the first time this afternoon after swimming - it was fabulous! You are always cool - even in the hot sun - floating on it! It was windy enough that it was fun bouncing around all over! We took several pictures of the 6:00 PM sunset - pretty good this time. Our reservation tonight was at Ginger, the Asian restaurant at the Tam at 7:30 PM. It was really good.
Friday, 11/20 - We went on an island a/c bus trip today with DePalm Tours. The bus was only 1/3 loaded, really comfortable; it was from 9 AM -2:30 PM. The tour took us everywhere but to the Natural Pool. You have to go on the rough jeep tour to go there. We went by Eagle Beach 1st, just north of our beach - it was nice, with palapas and easy to get to. We then went by Palm Beach and took pictures of the high-rise hotels there. After Palm Beach, we headed north past the beaches I had considered catching a regular bus to to snorkel - decided not to do this after seeing them - kind of desolate looking, not a whole lot of shade, and we didn't see any regular buses running by. These were Melmok Beach and Boca Catalina. We then stopped at the California Lighthouse and took several view pictures here, then overviews. The California Lighthouse was named after a sunken ship named "California". We then went to the Alta Vista Chapel (Catholic), where people were in church. We took several pictures of the views there. We then ate lunch at the Ostrich Farm - pretty good.
The actual true Natural Bridge fell in 2006, but there is a small bridge still there. We took beautiful pictures there. There was really rough water. The De-Salination plant (2nd largest in the world) furnishes all of Aruba's water. It gets it from the sea and returns it. It is excellent to drink right from the faucet, though warm. The guide said that many Arubans know 4 languages - local, English, Dutch and Spanish. Some know 7.
Baby Beach was nice, but the water was cloudy unless out farther and near the rocks. There were too many people there stirring up the water. We snorkeled there for 1/2 hour. There were even more, larger fish of more varieties than at the resort, but the coral was still all dead. The snorkeling was best if you went in on the left side near the rocks. It was very shallow for a long ways out. Les swam at the Tam after the trip. We had reservations tonight at the Paparazzi (the Italian restaurant) tonight at 7:30 PM. It sucked!
Saturday, 11/21 - It was very windy less hot today. We snorkeled, but very unclear due to the wind and sand swirling around in the sea. So we laid in the sun and under our palapa - Les swam some more. We ate lunch at the Tam buffet - it was good. Then we took a $9 taxi to the Renaissance Marketplace (didn't want to wait in the heat for a bus!) and bought a few more gifts. We caught a golf cart ride with a young hippy driver for a slow ride (interesting, friendly conservation) on the regular highway back to the Tam. The driver said he does it for tips and "love". We gave him $5 for love! We went to the Alhambra Casino bazaar later and got some good deals on t-shirts for the grandkids. We then walked through the casino and watched blackjack. We watched a limbo contest after eating at the Divi buffet. We think the Tam buffet is better food - the Divi more classy!
Sunday, 11/22 - We rode the Tam's bikes to the Sat. & Sun. flea market a couple blocks away. We got some really good deals here on beach towels, t-shirts, toy iguanas, and Les got 2 beautiful .950 silver rings for $30, one of which was reversible abalone/Mother of Pearl.
We went to the beach after riding back and changing - rough surf and sand-blasting wind! Les said the surf was rough breaking close in with large swells and a very strong north pull. Bob had enough of sand-blasting winds after 1 hour and went to do a 45 min. workout at the activity center-a good facility. While we were at the Tam, he worked out a total of 3 times. Les worked out swimming and then paddling on her float mat in the surf and swells for an hour. It was constant battling to not get pulled down to the north, and a lot of wild bouncing up and down and swells washing over you, but fun! We got cleaned up and ate at the buffet at the Tam. Good again! We really like the buffets better than the ala carts!
It's been very windy all day. Sitting at the bar at the beach, it would move a half full glass of beer down the bar, Bob's sunglasses took off, and Les's Ziploc with her notebook in it, took off from the bar into her lap! The wind is cooling, but irritating today!
Monday, 11/23 - Today we stayed out on the beach and in the sea until around noon. It started out fairly calm and got really windy really fast! We sat in the sun for about an hour and then tried to snorkel, but visibility was really terrible, due to the rough water and sand swirling through it. I guess we were really lucky to have those first 3 good days to snorkel. Les continued to swim for awhile, then we sat out there another 1 1/2 hours. We rinsed everything off with fresh water. Bob took back the towels and float mat, and we got the towel cards back for checkout. We got cleaned up and took about an hour or so to pack.
We then ate lunch and took a taxi directly from the Tam to the high-rise section (Palm Beach) to shop. One thing we determined on this little excursion was that, for sure, we did not want to stay at the Palm Beach high-rise area - too crowded! There is a lot of shopping, but most of it is high-end, expensive shops! Luckily, we caught a bus back (more buses running here and more bus stops) for $1.30 each.
We then went to the Internet room and tried to print our boarding passes, but the computers were really slow. We got into Delta to that section finally, but Les had forgot to bring the passports, so Bob had to go back to the room to get them, and we had to buy another $5. We finally got them though. We checked out smoothly tonight and got temporary bracelets, then ate at the Tam buffet and crashed.
Tuesday, 11/24 – We slept in a little today, then got ready and went down to breakfast. Around 11 we called for a bell boy and rode in the shuttle with our luggage up to the lobby. We turned in room and safe keys, and just relaxed for awhile. We were picked up by our transfer at noon and taken to the airport. First we had to check our bags then go through Immigration, then reclaim our checked bags and go through US customs at the Aruba airport, then put our checked bags back on the belt. It all went pretty smoothly. We did not have to go through Customs in Atlanta, but had a 45 minute plane delay due to the Delta crew arriving late! As soon as we arrived in Chicago, Bob called the hotel, we got our bags, and only had to wait about 10 minutes for the shuttle from the hotel. We arrived home after the drive from Chicago at 5 AM in the morning of 11/25! Great trip, but we probably won't go back to Aruba. Les's heart is at the Tulum beaches! Ocean-front (50 steps to the water) was fantastic, though!
Monday, 11/16 - We arrived on time in Aruba a little after 3 PM their time. It was 1 1/2 hrs. actual flying time to Atlanta, and another 3 hours to Aruba. It took almost an hour to get through Aruba immigration, not as many people as the last time we flew into Cancun, but they seemed slower. It turned out to be a 30 min ride to the hotel, because of 4 cruise ships in port today.
he hotel is the 1st hotel outside of the town of Orangested (to the north of it). The entrance to the Tamarijn Aruba A-I is not nearly as impressive as most of the Mexican Riviera Maya hotels we have stayed at. It looks like about a 2 star Riviera Maya hotel. We got a 2nd floor room in building 19 (which we had requsted), #1908.
Since it wasn't dark yet, after we unpacked, Les wanted to have a short swim the 1st day. Bob went to the Bunker Bar, right near our room, on the water, while Les entered the sea right in front of our building. What a disappointment! There were rocks and dead coral everywhere. She had worn her aqua shoes, but it was still very hard entering the water here. It could really be dangerous in rough surf! Les then joined Bob in the Bunker Bar. We got to see the 6 PM sunset, beautiful! can use all of the Divi's restaurants, buffet, and bars also. Tonight we will eat at the Tam's Buffet.
Our room is really great - a flat-screen TV, great air, comfortable beds with 4-5 pillows, and a lot of storage space in the closet and drawers. You can drink the water right from the faucet (Aruba has the 2nd largest de-salination plant in the world), but it comes out warm. The rooms are actually only about 50 steps to the Caribbean Sea-fantastic! You pay a premium for ocean-front in Mexico, and even then it's not usually this close! That is the best thing about this resort - so close to the sea! You can actually see the sea from the bed! The buffet was OK, but less choices than Mexico. It was good, though. We went back to the room and crashed after the buffet - it's been a long day. We've been up since 3 AM!
Tuesday, 11/17 - Bob got up early at 6:30 and saved beach chairs with a palm tree (all palapas were already taken!) He had to walk down the beach a little even to get that! Hot, hot, hot - even at night and early morning (95 daytime, 90 night)! Bob and Les snorkeled almost an hour. Water was pretty clear, and we saw some fish schools, including angel fish near the old pipes down around building 22. The sea between buildings 19 and 21 could really be dangerous in rough surf. We had soon discovered an easy, sandy entry down in front of building 22. We also saw some starfish on the bottom farther out in sea grass. One was quite large, almost a foot across! We had never seen starfish in Mexico.
The problem with the beaches here is that they are coral based covered with a thin layer (if any) of sand that shifts day to day. Rough surf (as we had after the 1st 3 days) makes it shift even quicker - a lot within the same day! It could definitely be dangerous to step or fall on with rough surf. The Bunker Bar is a good place with a wonderful view on the ocean, including a great sunset view. You meet people from all over. There are a lot of Canadians and most of the US people we've met have been from the East coast - Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, etc. After a few drinks, we showered, changed, and ate lunch at the buffet at 2 PM. It had decent food - good hamburgers, pork chops, and grilled chicken breasts. They often have a pasta station, and almost always have rice.
We walked down the boardwalk and street to the Divi where we shopped at vendors and bought some souvenirs. Monday and Friday vendors are at the Tam, and Tuesday and Thursday at the Divi. We then sat out at the beach bar and listened to a steel band while waiting for our 8:45 PM Red Parrot reservation. Les had read no negative things on the forum about the Red Parrot, but we think it is way over-rated compared to other all-inclusives we've stayed at on the Riviera Maya of Mexico.
Wednesday, 11/18 - Bob got up at 5:30 AM to save us a palapa. We got about an hour's worth of sun, then we snorkeled for 50 minutes. We saw a school of large angel fish, lots of other fish, and 3 starfish. We took pictures of all with our new waterproof digital camera. We then went to the breakfast buffet around 10 AM - not bad, and great coffee. We asked if it was Aruban coffee, and found out it was imported from Sweden. After breakfast we caught a shuttle to the south end of the resort (building 25) and walked a couple of blocks to a supermarket, where we bought a larger bottle of water and 3 larger bottles of Diet Pepsi so we'd have some more bottles for water on the beach and cold water in the room. The cashier tried to charge us $21 - we said no way could it be that much! She re-did it, and said it was only $5. Watch things priced in Florins vs. US dollars! There is a small mall here also. We ate at the Red Parrot again tonight-so-so.
Wednesday afternoon Bob picked up (for Les to use) 1 of the resort's wonderful, comfortable foam float mats. We get to keep it the rest of the trip - fantastic!
Thursday, 11/19 - We went shopping today after having breakfast at the buffet. Les went to the egg/omelet station (no line) and ordered a fried egg - over hard, break the yolk. It was perfect. After breakfast we walked the short distance out to the bus stop, waiting for the large Arubus to go to Orangested. A colorful van came by with 'taxi' on it, and said a$1.25 to downtown, as cheap as the bus, so we took it - kind of like colectivos in Mexico. We got out near the cruise ship terminal. There were a lot of expensive looking jewelry stores and also some open-fronted little stores with clothes, beach bags, hats and all kinds of other souvenirs. Les loved these little shops - they had some really good deals, and they would bargain with you. We got good deals on beach towels, t-shirts, toy iguanas, and a beautiful turtle on wood for $10. We stopped at the Paddock Restaurant for cokes - $4 with tip. We talked to a regular taxi for a ride back. She asked $7, but Les talked her down to $5. We found out later we got an outstanding deal as the regular posted rate was $9 from the Tam to downtown or vice versa!
When we got back to the Tam, Les used the float mat for the first time this afternoon after swimming - it was fabulous! You are always cool - even in the hot sun - floating on it! It was windy enough that it was fun bouncing around all over! We took several pictures of the 6:00 PM sunset - pretty good this time. Our reservation tonight was at Ginger, the Asian restaurant at the Tam at 7:30 PM. It was really good.
Friday, 11/20 - We went on an island a/c bus trip today with DePalm Tours. The bus was only 1/3 loaded, really comfortable; it was from 9 AM -2:30 PM. The tour took us everywhere but to the Natural Pool. You have to go on the rough jeep tour to go there. We went by Eagle Beach 1st, just north of our beach - it was nice, with palapas and easy to get to. We then went by Palm Beach and took pictures of the high-rise hotels there. After Palm Beach, we headed north past the beaches I had considered catching a regular bus to to snorkel - decided not to do this after seeing them - kind of desolate looking, not a whole lot of shade, and we didn't see any regular buses running by. These were Melmok Beach and Boca Catalina. We then stopped at the California Lighthouse and took several view pictures here, then overviews. The California Lighthouse was named after a sunken ship named "California". We then went to the Alta Vista Chapel (Catholic), where people were in church. We took several pictures of the views there. We then ate lunch at the Ostrich Farm - pretty good.
The actual true Natural Bridge fell in 2006, but there is a small bridge still there. We took beautiful pictures there. There was really rough water. The De-Salination plant (2nd largest in the world) furnishes all of Aruba's water. It gets it from the sea and returns it. It is excellent to drink right from the faucet, though warm. The guide said that many Arubans know 4 languages - local, English, Dutch and Spanish. Some know 7.
Baby Beach was nice, but the water was cloudy unless out farther and near the rocks. There were too many people there stirring up the water. We snorkeled there for 1/2 hour. There were even more, larger fish of more varieties than at the resort, but the coral was still all dead. The snorkeling was best if you went in on the left side near the rocks. It was very shallow for a long ways out. Les swam at the Tam after the trip. We had reservations tonight at the Paparazzi (the Italian restaurant) tonight at 7:30 PM. It sucked!
Saturday, 11/21 - It was very windy less hot today. We snorkeled, but very unclear due to the wind and sand swirling around in the sea. So we laid in the sun and under our palapa - Les swam some more. We ate lunch at the Tam buffet - it was good. Then we took a $9 taxi to the Renaissance Marketplace (didn't want to wait in the heat for a bus!) and bought a few more gifts. We caught a golf cart ride with a young hippy driver for a slow ride (interesting, friendly conservation) on the regular highway back to the Tam. The driver said he does it for tips and "love". We gave him $5 for love! We went to the Alhambra Casino bazaar later and got some good deals on t-shirts for the grandkids. We then walked through the casino and watched blackjack. We watched a limbo contest after eating at the Divi buffet. We think the Tam buffet is better food - the Divi more classy!
Sunday, 11/22 - We rode the Tam's bikes to the Sat. & Sun. flea market a couple blocks away. We got some really good deals here on beach towels, t-shirts, toy iguanas, and Les got 2 beautiful .950 silver rings for $30, one of which was reversible abalone/Mother of Pearl.
We went to the beach after riding back and changing - rough surf and sand-blasting wind! Les said the surf was rough breaking close in with large swells and a very strong north pull. Bob had enough of sand-blasting winds after 1 hour and went to do a 45 min. workout at the activity center-a good facility. While we were at the Tam, he worked out a total of 3 times. Les worked out swimming and then paddling on her float mat in the surf and swells for an hour. It was constant battling to not get pulled down to the north, and a lot of wild bouncing up and down and swells washing over you, but fun! We got cleaned up and ate at the buffet at the Tam. Good again! We really like the buffets better than the ala carts!
It's been very windy all day. Sitting at the bar at the beach, it would move a half full glass of beer down the bar, Bob's sunglasses took off, and Les's Ziploc with her notebook in it, took off from the bar into her lap! The wind is cooling, but irritating today!
Monday, 11/23 - Today we stayed out on the beach and in the sea until around noon. It started out fairly calm and got really windy really fast! We sat in the sun for about an hour and then tried to snorkel, but visibility was really terrible, due to the rough water and sand swirling through it. I guess we were really lucky to have those first 3 good days to snorkel. Les continued to swim for awhile, then we sat out there another 1 1/2 hours. We rinsed everything off with fresh water. Bob took back the towels and float mat, and we got the towel cards back for checkout. We got cleaned up and took about an hour or so to pack.
We then ate lunch and took a taxi directly from the Tam to the high-rise section (Palm Beach) to shop. One thing we determined on this little excursion was that, for sure, we did not want to stay at the Palm Beach high-rise area - too crowded! There is a lot of shopping, but most of it is high-end, expensive shops! Luckily, we caught a bus back (more buses running here and more bus stops) for $1.30 each.
We then went to the Internet room and tried to print our boarding passes, but the computers were really slow. We got into Delta to that section finally, but Les had forgot to bring the passports, so Bob had to go back to the room to get them, and we had to buy another $5. We finally got them though. We checked out smoothly tonight and got temporary bracelets, then ate at the Tam buffet and crashed.
Tuesday, 11/24 – We slept in a little today, then got ready and went down to breakfast. Around 11 we called for a bell boy and rode in the shuttle with our luggage up to the lobby. We turned in room and safe keys, and just relaxed for awhile. We were picked up by our transfer at noon and taken to the airport. First we had to check our bags then go through Immigration, then reclaim our checked bags and go through US customs at the Aruba airport, then put our checked bags back on the belt. It all went pretty smoothly. We did not have to go through Customs in Atlanta, but had a 45 minute plane delay due to the Delta crew arriving late! As soon as we arrived in Chicago, Bob called the hotel, we got our bags, and only had to wait about 10 minutes for the shuttle from the hotel. We arrived home after the drive from Chicago at 5 AM in the morning of 11/25! Great trip, but we probably won't go back to Aruba. Les's heart is at the Tulum beaches! Ocean-front (50 steps to the water) was fantastic, though!