First stop, Aruba!

 Aruba is an independent island, previously owned by the Dutch, in the Caribbean sea.  It is located off the coast of Venezuela.  We saw oil rigs but found out they were not Aruban. The people there speak Papiamento as their primary language.  They also learn English, Spanish, and Dutch in school so many of them speak four languages.  It is a very dry, breezy island about 21 miles long and 9 miles wide.  They don't get much rainfall.  Before the island became a big tourist destination, it was largely cultivated aloe plants.  There is still an aloe production area, factory and museum.  The factory tour was the first stop on our tour.  Everything is pretty much still done by hand.  Of course, they sell aloe products in a store.  We purchased a bottle of gel to use on our burns and sunburns.

 The residents were celebrating their independence day that week so everywhere we went were groups of school children on field trips.  They rode in windowless busses and wore colored polo shirts to designate their class.  They were very happy children.

 Our next stop was the Casibari Rock Formation which was an area of huge monolithic boulders randomly scattered and stacked.  The government added walking trails to allow tourist access to the viewpoints.  It was very tranquil and the views of the island were superb.  These areas were sacred to the original inhabitants of the island.

 This cone shaped mountain in the distance is called Haystack Mountain.   From the top of the rock formation, you could see many tile-roofed homes in the valley.  We were surprised by the cactus but hadn't realized how dry this climate is.

 Next we traveled a few miles to the Natural stone bridge.  The larger, original bridge collapsed in 2005 during the night.  Fortunately, no one was hurt since it occurred during the night.

 Below is the collapsed bridge.  Baby Bridge is nearby.  They still allow people to walk on it.

 You can see Baby Bridge in the background.  The ocean comes in right under the bridge.  The waters were very rough on this north side of the island.  Fisherman go out daily to catch fish which are served in the island's restaurants.  We couldn't imagine snorkeling in these waters as we were scheduled to later in the day.

 Legend has it that if you stack rocks at this viewpoint and make a wish, your wish will come true.  Of course I made a small stack which was added to many other stacks scattered all around.

 Steve is standing on the Baby Bridge and waving in this photo below.

 Tourists were transported in all kinds of vehicles around the island.  We thought these open air vehicles looked interesting but not near as comfortable as our air conditioned bus.

 In the distance you can see the remains of an old gold mine which brought fortune seekers to Aruba many years ago.  Our tour guide says it isn't a safe place to explore so he only points it out to his guests.

 You can see the ocean in the distance on the right side of the mine.  There is a cove there where sharks gather.  They were chummed by the inhabitants for many years and now they just go there--or so the story goes.

These bright colored small houses were being built in a complex to attract retirees and tourists who want to purchase something and return often.  They cost about $250K each.

 This small Chapel of Alto Vita was the first Roman Catholic church built on the island in 1750.  It has been reconstructed.  A few small vendors did their best to entice tourists to purchase their wares.

Notice all the school children in their various colored shirts.  Their field trips celebrating their independence from the Netherlands brought them to many of the island highlights.

I got a kick out of this vendor's sign.

 We drove a few miles to the other side of the island where the water is calmer and the beaches are beautiful.  People were parasailing, sailing, snorkeling, etc.  on the south side of the island.  There is a gated community there with big expensive homes and a golf course, etc.  The most expensive home is owned by George Clooney at $4.8 million dollars.  He uses it a few days each year but didn't come at all last year.

 Not too far away is this light house which was built on the point after a steamship crashed there.  It was name the California Lighthouse after the ship that crashed.

 This picture postcard-like photo was taken from a viewpoint near the light house.

 Below is a picture of Steve with our tour guide, Clifford.  He was very fun and entertaining with his quirky sense of humor.

 He dropped six of us off at the Arashi Beach so we could snorkel for an hour.  It was a beautiful beach and a good opportunity for Steve and I to try the snorkeling gear we got for Christmas.  We only saw a few fish but it was fun to practice.

 This final view is looking at the expensive home area from the lighthouse point.  We really couldn't see that much but I loved the beach and blue water in the distance.

The tourist industry is a huge part of Aruba's economy.  There are many large hotels but we didn't really take any photos of them.  The small local grocery stores and markets are almost exclusively owned by citizens of Chinese descent and are named Chinese names.  We thought that was very interesting.

This tree caught our eye as we were sailing away from Aruba.  I guess it is growing on a sandbar in the middle of the bay.  It is surrounded by salt water so we were amazed that it could live there.







This sunset was much more beautiful than our photography portrays.  Many times, I wished that my sister, Jackie, was with us to capture the beauty.