Along the main road in Aruba, you’ll find guys selling fresh fish from wooden tables. The make-shift stands are very popular among the Arubans. Some are literally “drive-up” operations. The customers pull off the road, close enough to the stand to make a purchase without exiting the vehicle. Of course, where there are fresh fish to be had, you’ll typically find a well-fed cat. Here’s a video of one.
That’s quite a fish lying there on the table. And that cat likes his share of the scraps. I’ll be posting a few follow-up videos showing the other stands and cats. They’re lots of fun.
On the windy side of Aruba, you’ll find one of several natural bridges formed when the ocean carved through the rock. The large one collapsed several years ago. However, there is a smaller one immediately adjacent to it. Take a look at the video from the site.
As you can see, this place is one of raw beauty. It’s worth a drive during your tour of the island. Not only that, you can stop in at the Thirst Station for an ice-cold Coca-Cola. Never pass up a chance on one of those.
Aruba’s slogan is “One Happy Island,” and it fits. Living here, like living anywhere else, requires a pickup truck for reasons I explained in an earlier post. Well, after years of fooling around with the idea, I finally sent my pickup from the United States to Aruba. I’m one happy pickup driver now that is has arrived and is rolling around the island. I put together this video, just for fun, showing various island sights as well as my favorite ride, a Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, diesel, 4WD. Take a look.
There you have it, bouncing around the island for work and play. Getting work done around the house will be much easier. I can put an entire pallet of concrete blocks, or of bagged cement, or of lumber in the back. This will save me the delivery charges. Plus, I have enough room to take my wife and three other people on a tour of Aruba. Believe it or not, at the low speeds here in Aruba, this truck gets better than 20 miles to the gallon. That’s quite good considering the power, weight, and capability of the vehicle.
Of course, here’s the bad news. This morning, a damn fool RAN a stop sign and CRASHED into the back of my truck. It doesn’t look so bad from the outside, but underneath, there is a world of damage. So disregard the above mentioned kind thoughts. If you’re so STUPID to IGNORE a STOP SIGN, be glad you’re alive and be glad the guy you hit in the aforementioned truck is one mellow dude. Yeah, he’s happy he and his wife are not hurt. But he sure is pissed off that you smashed his truck to the tune of more than $15,000 worth of damage and counting, (not to mention more than three months getting it fixed here in Aruba) all because you were a DAMN FOOL and disregarded a stop sign. Have a nice day.
The Mangel Alto area of Aruba offers some very good snorkeling. There are several points of entry. Two are shown on the video clip here. There is a third if you drive down toward the beach, past the Nam Yong restaurant, which is located on Spanish Lagoonweg. The underwater still shots that are incorporated into the video were provided my Kent Gerber. Take a look at the video.
When snorkeling here, keep a close eye on the sea conditions. You want to move out toward the reef, but as you do, you’ll find the ocean a bit choppy. It’s not all that difficult to swim in this, just remain mindful of where you are in relation to the shore. I’ve also found some “holes” in the sandy floor in the calm area sheltered by the cliff. Here you’ll find some zany fish and other creatures. However, out near the reef is where you’ll find the best viewing. Again, special thanks to Kent for providing the still shots. Judging by the photos I’ve seen of the fish he has caught, he’s lucky they don’t take their revenge on him when he’s snorkeling. And as always, please respect the marine environment.
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