Our expectation level was very low for Aruba for some reason. As it turned out this was about the most interesting day so far. Ian and Judy were on a morning excursion on a semi-submersible to see a sunken freighter in the area. That was a bit of a disappointment for them somehow, meanwhile we had chosen a snorkel/swim/beach excursion in the afternoon.
To set the scene properly, the island is about 12 x 6 miles in area, a Dutch Colony, and has 200,00 residents. Fellette and I walked ashore and strolled to the main part of town, which was about 300 yards away. BANG, right into an area that was bizarre. It was a cross between Las Vegas, Lahaina, New York and Tijuana! The main street paralleled the shore where there were four cruise ships in today, dropping about 7000 shopping-crazed passengers right in the middle of 'Jewellery Store Row'. Virtually every store was bigger than Aruba's Parliament Building that is right on the main street. One whole side of the 300 yard street was lined with high class jewellery and luxury stores. The other side was a virtual tented and canopied continuous strip of touristy boutiques. A two hour stroll and we were ready for a swim. I still do not understand how all those places make money, I suppose that shopping for jewellery is like shopping for groceries for some people.
One would think that we had been locked up in a dark cave for weeks, then suddenly let loose on a shopping spree without regard to costs. Accents we heard were varied, Americans, Italians, Dutch, Brits and South Americans.
The locals speak four languages, Dutch, Spanish, English and Petwa [?], a sort of Pigeon English of several languages. The place is neat, orderly, organized, and very, very civilized and the prices are much below other resort area costs. The atmosphere is very relaxed and happy. It is known as the Happy Island and that is actually on their license plates.
In the afternoon, Ian and Judy walked ashore to check out the shops, Fellette and I went on our tour, and had an absolutely marvellous time, far exceeding our expectations. It was unbelievable. I will cut short my excess use of adjectives and try to express it in pictures. [We slept for nine hours after the events of the day!]
Note:
We have one day at sea and then transit the Panama Canal Sunday, starting early AM. If anybody is interested, there is apparently a website that has live cameras throughout the canal. We are apparently going to be together with Oriana part of the day. Panama is on Eastern Time, [Toronto /NY]. We will start the transit early AM and take about 12 hours. If anybody is bored and wants to see the Panama Canal the website is www.pancanal.com
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