Mi Stima Aruba!

We stopped by Senor Frogs because I wanted to check out the store, see the restaurant, and have a beer.

The store was awesome. It had lots of fun signs, great shirts and other items that one could buy. I enjoyed laughing at shirts and signs for about ten minutes. There are some fun photo ops in the store also. The restaurant is upstairs. We headed up to the restaurant after we bought a couple of shirts.

When we got upstairs it was dead. Someone greeted us, and told us that they weren’t serving a full menu at that time (probably around 3pm). I smiled, and asked if we could just have a couple beers. The man smiled and said "Sure, let me take you to the bar." So we followed him and headed to a table in the bar area.

At this point I must admit that my personal experience probably differs from most peoples. In the bar area there were about 20 people lined up in chairs watching the big screen TV, most of them wearing shirts with AIG on them. (I am admittingly showing my soccer ignorance in saying this, as my first thought was "Did they semi-close Senor Frog’s for an AIG convention?") Instead, it was a large group of people from Great Britain who were watching a huge soccer game that Manchester United Game was playing in.

We sat at a table in the bar area, and each had a beer. I thought that the service was great, and very much enjoyed the atmosphere, the bar stools were hilarious, and the lily pads on the ceiling amused me as well. I enjoyed having a beer here, but would probably recommend going later in the day. The advertisement that I read said that the restaurant was open from 11am-11pm, but there was very limited food service when we stopped by (possibly because of the soccer game?)

In the Destination Aruba magazine (found in the airport as we boarded Aruba) there was a coupon for free BBQ Ribs or a Nachos appetizer. Be sure to look for the free magazine and plan to bring it with you as you explore. I got the magazine and read it on our flight, but forgot to take it with me -- making all coupons worthless. Senor Frog’s ad in the magazine also mentioned a Shopping Tour available on Thrusdays from 9-2 for $25 per person, which included transportation, lunch, and 15-20% discounts at almost 100 stores, or a Mexican Nights Tour for $40 per person, which included transportation, a 4 course dinner, a mariachi show, a welcome shot, an 18 oz yard of margarita and $2 Dos X beer all night.

I liked Senor Frogs. We went at an odd time, which created an atmosphere that was not typical. But it was still friendly, and provided many smiles and laughs. If you’re looking to find a tourist bar with photo ops and laughs, definitely stop by.

We stopped into this jewelry store because I had been thinking about getting a Pandora bracelet for a while. The store had a Silverado (the Aruba version of Pandora) display in front of their store, and vacation seemed to be the perfect reason to break down and buy it.

The sales lady was extremely helpful. She greeted us promptly, but I did not feel that it was in an aggressive way at all. She was friendly, and answered all of the questions I had. I purchased a bracelet and one charm for a total of $75. The bracelet was $50, and the lizard charm was $25. Something that I liked in Aruba was that there was no haggling. I hate haggling over prices. So if you enjoy that, shopping in Aruba may not be something that you would enjoy.

I charged the purchase to my credit card, (my receipt indicated that Visa, Master Card, Am EX, TC, Discover, and Diners Club were accepted) because it was recommended that any jewelry purchases be made by credit card. (Not because we were in Aruba, but because we were out of the country.) I was given a receipt that had printed corporate information, but hand written details of my transaction. The receipt clearly states that all sales are final, so make sure that you are sure you are getting what you want!

I was very happy with my transaction and experience with Gemani Jewelers. So if you’re planning to go ahead and get that special piece of jewelry, I can advise you that my experience was very positive. Enjoy your new bling!

We stopped at Iguana Joe’s during the afternoon that we went into Oranjestad. We didn’t plan on this eating here, but the menu was pretty varied, and there were a few things that I (the extremely picky eater) could eat.

We went around one o’clock in the afternoon, and it was extremely warm on the street. When we were sat, we were given a table outside, which made me a little nervous due to the heat, but it was perfect. We sat by the railing, and the constant breeze kept us comfortable. I was also a little edgy sitting so close to the railing (I’m not a big fan of heights) but watching people drive by kept us very entertained during our meal.

My husband ordered a Chicken Club and I ordered the Coconut Shrimp appetizer. We both had one beer with our meal, and the total (given in US dollars) was $27.73. It wasn’t a meal that I would describe as spectacular, but we were happy with it. People watching made the meal, and gave us the Aruba experience that I wanted.

Service was slow. Iguana Joe’s is on island time. If you are wanting amazing service, this is not the place for you. We, however, went to Aruba to be on island time, so the lack of promptness did not bother us. I enjoyed the atmosphere at Iguana Joe’s. It really is touristy, but on occasion I find it fun to stop in the tourist places because that is exactly what I am when there.

There is also a gift shop, with shirts ranging from 16.50-20.00. My husband looked, but didn’t buy anything. It was an okay gift shop if you are a Tshirt person. I have found that my dresser is full enough without a Tshirt.

If you are thinking about going to Iguana Joe’s, they are open Monday- Saturday 11am- 11 pm, and open late on Sundays, 5pm- 11 pm. We unfortunately missed Happy Hours of 5pm-6pm or 10pm-11pm (available nightly.)

I’d recommend Iguana Joe’s if you’re in Oranjestad and are looking for a bite to eat. If you’re looking for high class cuisine, I’d probably keep looking. It was fun for me to stop, and enjoy being a tourist. Ban Goza!

The Ayo Rock Formation is a spot in Aruba where there are massive boulders in the island that are on top of each other. The boulders almost make up a mini mountain in Aruba. They are also interesting as they do not match the geological make up of Aruba. As I looked up at them, I could almost image giants placing them into a pile.

There is a park at the bottom, where we ate lunch, and had time to relax. There are not picnic tables, but there are stone benches that surround trees, and a few covered areas that provided shade. There are a number of roosters at the park that were fun to watch as they claimed their territory. They were pretty to watch, and did not bother people at all.

You can walk up to the boulders themselves, and see pictographs in a cave. We started to walk up, but realized that we didn’t have enough time on our tour to do so.

I felt like we would need at least 2 hours to have enough time to explore the park, and have the time to walk up to the rock formations. I felt like while we got to see the rocks, we were unable to get close enough to truly have the experience of the rock formations. That being said, I would recommend seeing the boulders on your second or third time to Aruba, if you were staying for two weeks, or if you are a rock climber. If it is your second or third time to Aruba, you have probably seen the other sights that I would put higher on my "what to see" list. If you have 2 weeks, you’ll have more time that you would be able to see more. If you’re a rock climber, these are rocks.

If you are able to dedicate at least 2 hours to the Ayo Rock Formations, enjoy the photo ops!

We stopped at Baby Beach for a little under an hour. Baby Beach is on the Southwestern tip of Aruba. It is a great calm area that was very swallow to wade in. I liked the beach because it was warm and I could walk far out without getting too wet. (We were on a tour, so I didn’t want to get my suit wet. I hate being in a bus with wet clothes.) Some people in our group snorkeled in a certain part of the beach that had lots of fun fish, but I chose not to as I was being a wimp and didn’t want to get too wet. We did meet a person who told us that she had gotten pulled out into the sea one time at Baby Beach. So be careful if you snorkel, as it’s easy to go out those couple of feet too far.

We went to baby Beach on a Tuesday, and it was not very busy, which we liked. I would probably not go back on the weekend. It’s located where more locals live, so I would feel like I was imposing. My husband was a little disappointed as he felt uncomfortable leaving our things laying on the beach. We didn’t have any problems, but met a couple who were in the water and watched a stray dog (there are several in the area) urinate on their bags. They were good sports, and laughed it off -- what can you do when you’re out in the water but watch it happen.

The seagulls at Baby Beach were fun to watch, if not slightly creepy. They are very used to people, and it was interesting to watch them hover over people.

There were several pile of rocks, which is common in Aruba, a supposed mark of fishermen trying to return to a lucky fishing spot.

Baby Beach is a public beach, so there is not a fee to enter. There is, however, a fee to use the restrooms. So be ready to pay fifty cents to relieve yourself. There are also 2 snack shops at the Beach. We bought 2 beers at the Baby Beach snack bar, and it was $6 for 2 beers. The second snack bar was Big Mama’s Grill. Two beers were $7. We didn’t get any food at either place, however, as we got our beers at Big Mama’s, there was a person who was proclaiming that the meal they just ate was one of the best meals they ever ate.

Baby Beach was a great stop in Aruba. I’d recommend that anyone who visits Aruba stop by Baby Beach, just be aware of where you are, and avoid going too far out. Enjoy!

The Natural Bridge is one of the most popular attractions that people like to see while in Aruba. Unfortunately, on September 2, 2005 the bridge collapsed early in the morning. The Aruban who described it to us did so as a tragedy to humankind. "Early in the morning of September 2, 2005, the Natural Bridge collapsed. All of Aruba was sad as the news spread in the morning through the island. But, the mother left behind the baby, so now we go to see the baby."

Today, the original Natural Bridge stands in the ruins just as it fell. Just before the ruins is a smaller bridge. Both are now opportunities to photograph. You can walk onto the baby bridge if you’d like. I felt a little uncomfortable with that, though, as the wind is terribly strong in Aruba, and the waves were crashing. Not that it wasn’t safe -- my husband walked across just fine.

There are also step leading down to the original bridge at the far side of the parking lot. I’m not sure that most people realize that they are there, as they are focused on being closer to the bridges.

There is also a store called the Thirst Aid Station that offers snacks, souvenirs, refreshments (including beer) and restrooms. It is important to note that it is 50 cents to use the restroom. It was one of the best 50 cents I ever spent. We got 2 beers here, and it was $10 total.

I consider coming to see the Natural Bridge is necessary if you are visiting Aruba. Seeing the waves crashing into the sea is amazing in itself, but to see them crash into these bridges is almost overwhelming.
Make this a priority of visiting Aruba.

The Alto Vista Chapel is a Catholic Chapel that was built 1700s. As you drive up the road to the chapel, there are large crosses depicting the Station of the Cross along the side of the road, with the final Cross located behind the Chapel itself. It is a simple chapel.

There is a sign saying Bon Bini welcoming visitors to the Chapel.

With only 6 rows this chapel is not fancy or large, but to me, the simple beauty is gorgeous. There is a courtyard outside with several benches placed in a semi circle towards to the front of the church. Towards the back of the courtyard, you can see the ocean. There are lots of boulders and cacti in the area that provided this mid westerner some fun desert photos. My husband preferred instead to look for little lizards. We both enjoyed it, though.

I’d recommend this as a tour stop if you are on a tour, or if this is in the path of your personal tour. I would not sat that it is really worth a trip just to see this, but I enjoyed seeing it just the same. It’s close enough to other options that you can easily combine this with another site or two to make it worth your time. Enjoy!

The California Lighthouse is on the Northwest point on Arashi Beach. It was built in 1914-1916 after a ship named California wreck at this point. It is abotu 100 feet tall, and 25 feet in diameter.

While the lighthouse is a great photo op, the views of the island are great here. You can see the Northern and Eastern Coasts meet here, which we enjoyed simply standing seeing both at the same time, with island in the middle. There is a restaurant nearby (pretty much attached to the parking lot) that is highly recommended called Trattoria El Faro Blanco. It has a plaque with the history of the lighthouse, which I enjoyed reading. A man named Luigi gave us a flyer that included a 10% off coupon while we were there.

There are lots of rocks popping out of the ground, some of which were coral. There are arranged rocks surrounding pillars, that are apparently there to represent sea serpents. There were lizards running around these small boulders, try to avoid people. I would have a cute picture of one, but my husband found it to be more fun to slowly chase one than to allow me to get a picture.

I don’t know that you need to come to the lighthouse multiple times, but extremely recommend that you come see it at least once. It is beautiful, and the views are great. If you come here every year, I would guess that it would be the Trattoria El Faro Blanco that would draw you.

De Palm Tours seem to have the monopoly on tours in Aruba. Their buses are everywhere. We found booking with them to be very convenient as they had a desk in the lobby of our hotel.

Booking the tour took a little bit of time, as people were both booking tours and arranging their transportation back to the airport at the same desk. (As a side note make certain to book your transport home the day before you head back, not the day of!) The computer that our agent was using was on island time, so we had to book, then come back for our tickets. A little nerve racking for me, as we had just handed over about one hundred dollars to a total stranger. But two hours later, we returned, and our tickets were ready. The agent recognized our faces immediately and handed them to us. I also recommend grabbing the "Aruba Vacation Planner" off the desk while standing in line, so you have an idea of what you’re looking for and how long you want your tour to be.

One page of this planner is divided into 4 sections: De Palma Island, Waves of Fun, Exploring the Island, and Tropical nights. Tour ranged from 2 hours to 8 hours, with prices from $29- $144. The other side of the page had "More Activities" that had experiences that were more a la carte. These ranged from 15 minutes to 8 hours, with prices from $25- $700. Different tours are available for different days, so having a little time to look at this before we got to the desk helped us significantly.

We opted for the Discover Aruba Tour, a 5 hour tour of Aruba that cost $52 per person, and began at 9:00am. The agent recommended this tour as being the bus tour that would allow you to see the most of the island, which was what I was looking for. We were picked up promptly at 9:00am by Reymond, our tour driver. Ray was a great tour driver, and told us everything in English, then in Spanish. It was fun for me to listen to the Spanish right after the English to practice my Spanish comprehension.

This tour covered a lot. We saw the California Lighthouse, The Alto Vista Chapel, the Ruins of the Natural Bridge (and the still there Baby Bridge), the Ayo Rock Formation, were pointed out Mt. Hooiberg (you can climb up to the top of this to see Venezuela), drove through Santa Cruz, saw the water desalination plant, and the Balashi Brewery. We ended our tour to swim in and snorkel at Baby Beach. I was also impressed that Ray had a lifeguard tube for those who were snorkeling at Baby Beach.

My only complaint on this tour is the boxed lunch that we ate at the Ayo Rock Formation Park. It was fried chicken, white rice, corn on the cob, fruit and a soda. We made sure to eat a large breakfast, as we weren't expecting much. Make sure it is a very large breakfast, or grab a tiny snack at the Natural Bridge Thirst Aid Station.

If you choose to take this tour, make sure to wear your bikini underneath your clothing and bring a towel. I wore tennis shoes for the tour, and looking back, should have brought flip flops to wear home, as I was sandy after Baby Beach.

I would recommend this tour to anyone who is visiting Aruba for the first time and wants to get a good introduction to the Island. There were a few things that we didn’t get to see, like the Natural Pool, but it is inaccessible by bus. If I could go back, I would take this same tour, but next time we will rent a Jeep, or take a Jeep tour. I think that it is worth mentioning that Ray (whose company offers ATV tours) recommended not going on ATV tours, as they have a lot of accidents on them.

Also, keep the Vacation Planner book, because there are coupons in it if you choose to explore the Island on your own.

Enjoy Aruba, and make sure to bring your camera!

I’ll start with the good (pretty much the entire hotel)

My husband and I stayed at the Hotel Riu Palace for 5 nights the last week of May. We had been planning this trip since January or February, and took our time reading all the information we could find. There were very mixed reviews, but as we looked at them we felt that we would enjoy this hotel. We reserved this as a package in which included our airfare, transfer and room, so I’m not sure what exactly we paid per night. Looking online at the end of May for 5 nights in July lists that for two adults the price would be around $2,000. That being said, July is in low season, but when we went there was also the Swine Flu panic that is effecting hotel prices considerably.

Our vacation agency, vacationstogo.com, used De Palm Tours for the transfer from the airport. The bus took us to several hotels before ours dropping other people off. After stopping by other smaller hotels, the Riu is almost overwhelming to approach. The best description that I can come up is that it feels like an Arabian Palace was picked up, and placed right on the beach. It’s beautiful, but intimidating at first.

Check in was flawless, we waiting for maybe 5 minutes as 5 couples arrived at the same time. Because it is all-inclusive, it takes some time to check in, but the front desk clerk The front desk person handed us a map, our room keys, and our towel keys. The room keys were swipe cards -- a plus after Riu Sante Fe in Cabo only gave us one big old fashioned key. We also didn’t get the lecture or warning over paying $20 if we lost our towel card. So I’m not sure if there was a charge or not. After we got our things, we headed up to room 718, our home for the next 6 days.

After riding up a very small elevator (it made me a little uneasy at first, but after one night I was used to it,)
We walked into our room and were extremely pleased. There was a largely appointed bathroom to the left our the entrance, an entry area separating it from the bedroom -- an extremely large bed, and down two steps to a sitting area. The sitting area had a table with two chairs, a coffee table and a love seat. Beyond the sitting area was our balcony which looked directly out over the pool to the ocean. Our balcony had two plastic chairs and a plastic table. The outside was less fancy than the inside, but if someone would cite that as a complaint as the looked over the ocean, I personally would wonder if they were focusing on the wrong things.

The pool was very nice. The water was a little cold in the mornings, but once you stood in the water and in the sun for a bit, you forgot it was cold. In the afternoons, the sun had heated it to be a pleasant temperature. The pool bar area was the most popular area, and in the afternoon that area can get pretty crowded. The bar staff was very helpful and friendly at the pool bar, and the pool bar opened at 10 am.

Past the pool was the entryway to the beach. Riu does have security situated at this entrance, as all beaches in Aruba are public. The beach was beautiful. The water was pretty calm, and chilly. The only problem that I had with the beach was that during gusts of winds, mini sand storms that were pretty painful against your skin. (However this has nothing to do with the hotel itself.)

We were very happy with the food. We ate breakfast at Don Nicolas each morning because they served 7:-10:30. I‘m not sure what their lunch hours were. The staff who wrote the hours on my map didn‘t write this number in a form that I‘m familiar with. Nautilus served breakfast from 10:30-12, and lunch from 12-4. We ate here for lunch when we were at the hotel. For breakfast, I wore a swimsuit and cover up (ie a dress, not a see-thru piece of fabric) that seemed to be the norm. My husband mostly wore trunks and a tee shirt to breakfast. We ate at the specialty dinners on our second, third and fourth nights there. At each restaurant there are 2 seatings, 6:30 or 9:00. Each morning before breakfast, we went to the lobby, and had to sign up for dinner. A lot of people complain about this, and in Cabo I complained right with them. The reservation system here makes 100% sense. The specialty restaurants are small, and since there are only 2 seatings the reservation system works.

Our first night we ate at the Nautilus "Steak House" restaurant which was really good. For appetizers, I had a platter of seafood, and my husband got the Chicken Caesar Salad. It was all wonderful, but their Caesar dressing was the best dressing I’ve ever had. I ordered a steak, but by the time it got there, I was full on appetizers and bread, so I had about 2 delicious bites, but couldn’t finish. My husband had lamb for the first time, and was very impressed.
The Krystal Restaurant was very good, but it is very fancy and a little too cutting edge of cuisine for me. I could only eat about half of me meal. The waitress was very worried that I didn’t like it -- I lied and told her that I was full. Every one we met who ate here agreed that it is worth going here, even if only for the fusion chocolate desert.

The Italian Restaurant, Milano, was also wonderful, but we had been out that day, so I was too tired to make notes. Room service is available in a limited menu, which some people complained about. I am of the opinion that if you order room service regularly and pay for it, then you can complain. I am cheap, so just having room service included was awesome. There was lunch from 11 am-7am. There were 2 salads, 3 sandwiches, nachos, and 3 deserts to choose from. We ordered it around 1 pm, and it took about 40 minutes. To order breakfast, there was a cardboard order form. I never saw ours.

I enjoyed the casino, but didn’t seem to meet many people who won a lot. I was up over $150 one night playing Roulette, but gave it all back.

Now the (not so) bad
The bed. My husband woke up every 3 hours having to try to reposition himself back to sleep. One night he took the cushions off the love seat, but that didn’t help. Two couples that we met told us that they asked for mattress pads that helped a little bit, but not a lot, so we just stuck with it. I love a hard mattress and slept well, but woke up finding my hips to be a little sore.

And the Beautiful
I’d recommend this resort to anyone. We met a lot of fun people from all over. If I were going to generalize who seemed to come, I’d categorize the guests as mostly one of two groups. Honeymooners, or people 45+. We were there as a 29 and 33 year old who have been married almost 8 years. When we told people that, they seemed a little surprised. But we got along with every single person that we met, it was the friendliest group of people I‘ve ever vacationed with. My guess was that most people splurge for their honeymoon, and then have to wait until they have their finances are in order when they are older to get back
:-)