Snorkel Cruise, Aruba

Snorkeling in Aruba can be fantastic. In earlier posts, I mentioned various places to go from shore. This post takes a look at a snorkel cruise. The boat pictured belongs to the Jolly Pirates. There are other operators on the island, including Red Sail Sports, Pelican Watersports, and small family businesses, too.

The nice thing about snorkeling from the boat is that you can go to places that may not be accessible from shore. They also serve drinks and maybe snacks. Music plays in the background as you swing off the yardarm. Lots of fun no matter what. Just don’t forget that sunscreen!

Published in: on August 7, 2008 at 6:34 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Sunset from Santa Cruz

 I took this sunset photo looking west, northwest from Santa Cruz, Aruba. The church on the left is one that showed up in an earlier post.

Published in: on August 7, 2008 at 12:47 am  Leave a Comment  
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Gone Fishing (in Aruba)

If you like sport fishing, there are plenty of options here in Aruba. For this post, I’m going to show a few photos of boats that are docked in the marina in Oranjestaad. There are other options that we’ll get to in other posts. For now, all you have to do is walk down the dock and strike a deal with the people who operate the boats. Many will take reservations and this is, of course, highly recommended. At the same time, you may find a bargain or just get in the mood for an outing and you should feel free to walk up try your luck. Here’s a look at a few boats.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you may connect with a local guy and head out on one of these boats.

The boat above may or may not be your style, but I see guys fishing from them most every day. You can fish from shore as well. I have to do a post on this fellow who fly fishes in the flats on the northwest edge of the island. Not sure what he catches there. And, if you don’t really want to fish but just say that you do, you could go out on a boat like this one:

Yeah, that’s more of a motor yacht than a fishing boat. Still, you could make the case that you caught the big one but let it go because you’re a good sport.

Published in: on August 5, 2008 at 12:52 pm  Comments (1)  
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Aruba Snack, Part 1

There are literally hundreds of tiny snack shops scattered about the island of Aruba. For a guy who loves road food (actually all kinds of food except for seafood), this is good and bad. It’s good because whenever or wherever you have an urge to boost the cholesterol level you’re free to pull in and load up. It’s bad because the cholesterol level pegs in the red zone and the belt continues to get shorter. (Wish I had one of those extensions like they have on airplanes.)

 The Sabor “snack shack” is only a few minutes drive from my house. It happens to be on the main road which has me passing it most every time I head out. It also happens to be located immediately adjacent to a nice guy who does some fine aluminum gates and fences if you happen to need that kind of thing at your own place. Anyway, I wheel in here from time to time for the local cuisine which they call “criollo” but I’m not sure that it is anything like “creole.” They sell “pastechi” which are sort of like giant empanadas, little sandwiches made to order, and cold drinks. The lady working here has a smile for all of us, including this unshaven, sloppy-looking writer who speaks some modicum of Spanish and Papiamento.

You didn’t think I was going to skip a chance to enjoy an ICE-COLD Coca-Cola did you? Of course not! Feeling refreshed, I’m ready to head back to the pens and paper and crank out another couple or three thousand words on the current novel, Under A Blue Flag.

You may have noticed the title of this post involved the term, “Part 1.” Slow by slow, I’ll put up some more of my favorite joints like this. I have to warn you. They’re not for the culinarily timid. The food is hearty even if it is not good for your heart. Don’t forget: Prepay the cardiologist and SAVE BIG TIME!

And I just remembered the rum shops. I have to get those posts up, too.