The most popular drink on Aruba is called the Aruba Ariba which has  a lot of alcohol (see ingredients at the end of this blog) and tends to make any day a good day.

I Love Aruba signs all over the island.

Bonaire and Curacao are vastly different from their sister island, Aruba, in that Aruba is very commercialized.  All three of the islands are relatively small, flat, and dry.  But the significant difference between them is that Aruba has its independence from the Netherlands where Bonaire and Curacao do not. you can read the official history of their independence on wikipedia, but a friend of mine provided a more colorful one from a local.

Aruba made its first bid for independence in the mid 80’s and Holland allowed them independent governance but not independent status. They put them on a trial run, and supposedly, their full independence as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands was largely dependent on their ability to prove economic self-sufficiency.   So…..they started leasing land to big American resort chains,  tore down their cultural landmarks,  and proved themselves a thriving economy such that 6 years later they were afforded “country” status independence.   But most Antilleans feel they sold their soul.    Which it kind of feels that way to me.

As a tourist destination, it was no surprise to see 5 cruise ships in on the same day which means close to 15k people descend on this island at once.  The cruise ship port and the hotel row are littered with name brand stores, many of which I have not seen since I lived in California. Most visitors are from the U.S. where other islands we visited had a nice mix of cruisers from all over the world.  It certainly is a different vibe, not bad, just different.

Life size blue horses are located throughout Paardenbaai, the cruise ship area, to show the importance of the Caribbean Sea and horses.  Horse trading dates back to the early days of Spanish Colonization and continued for centuries afterward.  Historic accounts relate that at times the herds would count up to thousands of horses, roaming the island.

Paardenbaai Bay Blue Horses

A local steak house has a great marketing tool – a big black bull advertising the local steak house on a bench.  It also makes for a great photo op.

Photo Op with Large Bull

While we were anchored over by Malmok Beach we had a fun tour group visit us daily.  The Seabob Tours of Aruba would take their tour group by the SS Antilla, then under our boat, and over to a swim area and back.  The tour guides, Englebert (not sure of spelling) and Aramis were so happy and entertaining that it was actually as fun for us as it was for his tours!

On the 2nd day, they were kind enough to bring us homemade Venezuelan food which consisted of a tasty soup, beef and veggies over rice.  Not sure how they managed it, but they brought the lunch over on a Seabob without spilling a drip!  It was so tasty that Matt and I decided to visit them for lunch the next day.  We were served Chicken Cordan bleu served with rice, plantains and vegges.  Maria is the chef in training who brings the lunches over daily – she has a very promising future!

As with every island, we are always on the hunt for a good grocery store and bulk store.  It took us awhile, and a lot of false starts, but we were finally able to locate a few good stores in Aruba.  The first place we found was Price Smart and some how we managed to get our friends Shawn and Sharon to walk to it (a mere couple of miles).  Price Smart is a bulk item store (like Costco or Sam’s Club) and has several good deals, but was lacking on fruits, veggies, and breads.  Next we found Super Food which is “more than just food” (that is their tagline).  This was an enormous store, but a little on the pricey side (even for Aruba). A case of beer was about $55 U.S. where we had been paying $30 elsewhere.

Super Food’s Building Didn’t Fit in My Photo – HUGE!

Our last store  was Ling and Sons which is part of the Van den Twill family.  Sharon and I had tried to find this store on our walk and missed it by 2 blocks.  Armed with better intel, Matt and I found it a week later.  This is a great store, full of a variety of Dutch and American food.  Priced as you’d expect in Aruba.

All in all, the people on Aruba are very friendly and easy going.  There is something for everyone, if you don’t mind the mass amounts of tourists everywhere.

The ingredients for the Aruba Ariba:

• 1/2 oz. vodka.
• 1/2 oz. 151 rum (better if using Ron Rico from Aruba, higher proof)
• 1/8 oz. Coecoei.
• 1/8 oz. Creme de Banana.
• 1/2 cup orange juice.
• 1/2 cup cranberry juice.
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice OR you’re favorite “punch drink”

Aruba Ariba and Amstel Bright.