Landing an airplane is one of the most challenging aspects of flying. Sure, there is the old pilot adage that, “any landing you walk away from was a good one.” I prefer nice, smooth landings. The following video shows a nice landing in crosswind conditions. Captain Randy Masters of American Airlines is at the controls.
That’s the way it’s done. Of course, conditions make it difficult at times. That’s why I’m always impressed at the abilities of most commercial pilots. It’s not easy landing a plane with a couple of hundred people on board. My hat goes off to them.
Departing Aruba aboard American Airlines flight 1036 was a happy but sad experience. It was a good six weeks, a few things excepted, and now it was time to head north. Captain Randy Masters was at the controls. Coincidentally, he piloted the flight that brought me to Aruba. He took us into the air with a smooth touch, banking the plane gently into a wide turn around the island. The view was spectacular. Here’s the video.
Wow, what scenery! As you can see, Aruba is green from all the rain. The sand and gravel pits are full of water. But the beaches are powder soft, the ocean lapis lazuli blue. The heart-shaped road that I zoom in on during the first third of the video is a place in San Fuego, where I hope to build a little house some day.
Regular readers of this blog know Aruba is one of my favorite places in the world. If you’re new to my blog, just surf through the Aruba posts and you’ll see some of the reasons why.
I’ll be returning to the island very soon, making more short videos, meeting people who have read my novel, An Island Away, and generally enjoying the Caribbean lifestyle. Bon dia, as they say in Aruba. Hasta luego, as they say in Colombia. In the mean time, there will be some posts about the island and my many other subjects here at the Bent Page.
Savaneta, Aruba was the island’s first capitol. That’s where my shack is located. I made this video starting with a panorama of the southwest part of the island. It includes San Nicolaas, the refinery, the piers where the tankers dock, then moves northward. Take a look.
The Aruba Beach Chalets shown in the video are a great place to stay. I used to rent there before I bought the shack. The place sits on the water and you can literally take three steps from the back door and enter the Caribbean. YouTube degrades the video, but there were several tankers out there on the evening that I shot this footage. Must be tough to sit on one of those ships, looking at an island as attractive as Aruba.
A quick look through my blog posts will reveal that I eat my share of local food here in Aruba. I’ll try most any Colombian restaurant, not to mention the Chinese and Indonesian ones as well. That said, I get a craving for a cheeseburger that has to be satisfied. Thus, I went to Bingo’s, which is located a kilometer or two from the high rise hotels on Palm Beach. They have an excellent burger and here is a video to prove it.
You’ll find plenty of people from the Netherlands here. I’ve had many great conversations with them. Slow by slow I’m picking up some Dutch words and phrases. This will be helpful as I’d like to get to Holland soon.
At any rate, if you need a burger, or some good drinks, or something else to eat, try Bingo’s. You won’t be disappointed.
The Bent Page 