We had a wonderful day in Aruba today. It’s a beautiful island with wonderful inhabitants who are very friendly and eager to please. We took a 4 hour bus tour called “The Best of Aruba” It was a lovely tour in a comfortable air conditioned bus. Cost $42 per person. The tour covered about half of the island and the most popular tourist attractions.
First up was the Natural Bridge. There is photo showing the Bridge which was carved out by the beating of the waves against the rock. There is a second photo of me standing atop that bridge. Behind me is where there was an even larger natural bridge that collapsed a couple of years ago. Carved out by the ocean and then brought down by those same relentless waves. We drove by the Gold Mill Ruins which was a gold mining operation that started in 1824 when gold was first discovered .
Next stop was the islands Aloe factory. It is an impressive operation. Aruba used to harvest the plants and send the raw materials to the US and other countries to refine and manufacture. Since the 1950’s Aruba took over the processing and refining and now produces all of its own finished products which are shipped all over the world. In the company store you will all kinds of Aloe Vera products from shampoo, soaps, skin conditioners, as well as medical salves.
After that we visited the California Lighthouse, sight of one of the most famous shipwrecks in Aruban waters. The ship of course was the California.
Final stop on our tour was the Casibari Botanical Gardens with its interesting rock formations. In the gardens you will find many species of the most prolific of all of Aruba’s wildlife, the Lizard. The brown one that you see on top of a rock was shot from a distance of a good 200-250 feet. I would estimate his size at about 4-5 feet. Picture up close is a neon colored lizard another of among about a dozen or so that I saw in 15 minutes time. The one I did not see was of course the most famous “Iguana” but these other guys were quite interesting to see up close in their natural habitat.
After that in route back to our ship we drove by miles and miles of spectacular white sand beaches. The beaches and the waters beyond were quite busy with sunbathers, snorkelers, water skiers and parasail enthusiasts. We also drove by several world class hotels including the Marriott, the Westin etc and a few others. Also passed along the way were numerous restaurants with familiar names such as Ruth Chris, Tony Roma’s, Senor Frogs. Pix not included at this time. Got to figure out how to upload them, Tomorrow- Cartegena, Columbia