Aruba
Mid December 2010 found us on the way to the Island of Aruba.
A perfect time to catch up on some sunshine and warm weather.
Flight time to Aruba from New York is four hours and a couple of
minutes in a high altitude and southerly direction.
Landing at Queen Beatrix Airport was uneventful, quickly the luggage
arrived at the conveyor belt and we made our way through customs to
the “rent a car“. Not long thereafter we found ourselves driving on the
Island at a snails pace to our destination. The sky was overcast and
threatened to dump a load of rain upon us, as a welcome to an otherwise
sunny Island.
Oranjestad, the capital is a typical Dutch village buildings maximum two
to three stories high, picturesque small stores selling their wares
mainly for the tourist, the traffic crawling through the narrow winding
streets.
We did some “Island Exploration” drove all the way to the most
southern tip of the Island, and found what is called “Baby Beach”.
It is a rather small out of the way beach and known for the activity or
pastime of swimming with a snorkel among the colorful fish.
We had our swim gear with us, a quick change at some primitive facility,
converted us from sightseers to swimmers.
Baby Beach consists of very clear and shallow water, a white sandy sea
bottom with slippery rocks and lots of coral reefs.
The Island’s is totally flat except for its highest point “Hooiberg"
which has an elevation of 188 meters, about 600 feet.
The visit would not have been complete without going with the Atlantis
Submarine far out and to the bottom of the Ocean, descending to a
depth of 150 feet (45 meters) we settled for a brief moment the sandy
bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. At those depths very little sunlight
penetrates, it is an eerie green - yellowish light, in which underwater
life thrives. The predominant language is Dutch and English with a
sprinkling of the local “Papiamento” tongue.
A perfect time to catch up on some sunshine and warm weather.
Flight time to Aruba from New York is four hours and a couple of
minutes in a high altitude and southerly direction.
Landing at Queen Beatrix Airport was uneventful, quickly the luggage
arrived at the conveyor belt and we made our way through customs to
the “rent a car“. Not long thereafter we found ourselves driving on the
Island at a snails pace to our destination. The sky was overcast and
threatened to dump a load of rain upon us, as a welcome to an otherwise
sunny Island.
Oranjestad, the capital is a typical Dutch village buildings maximum two
to three stories high, picturesque small stores selling their wares
mainly for the tourist, the traffic crawling through the narrow winding
streets.
We did some “Island Exploration” drove all the way to the most
southern tip of the Island, and found what is called “Baby Beach”.
It is a rather small out of the way beach and known for the activity or
pastime of swimming with a snorkel among the colorful fish.
We had our swim gear with us, a quick change at some primitive facility,
converted us from sightseers to swimmers.
Baby Beach consists of very clear and shallow water, a white sandy sea
bottom with slippery rocks and lots of coral reefs.
The Island’s is totally flat except for its highest point “Hooiberg"
which has an elevation of 188 meters, about 600 feet.
The visit would not have been complete without going with the Atlantis
Submarine far out and to the bottom of the Ocean, descending to a
depth of 150 feet (45 meters) we settled for a brief moment the sandy
bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. At those depths very little sunlight
penetrates, it is an eerie green - yellowish light, in which underwater
life thrives. The predominant language is Dutch and English with a
sprinkling of the local “Papiamento” tongue.
Beautiful Sea Landscape Sea front Iguana crossing
Looking for fish Baby Beach Clear water Sea bottom view
Views of Aruba
Sunbathing Landscape Downtown Oranjestad Baby Beach