Aruba – a tiny Dutch Caribbean island just 32 km long off the coast of Venezuela; an idyllic, sun-kissed piece of paradise, a highly educated, extremely friendly multi-lingual (they can all speak Dutch, English, Spanish and the local dialect Papiamento – at least!) population, fantastic hotels, great shopping, buzzing nightlife, rum on the piers, and catamaran sunset tours…..Aruba – ‘One Happy Island’ is the motto, and one happy island it seems to be, and one happy couple were we who had the good fortune to spend our honeymoon there.
We checked in to our ocean view suite at the Holiday Inn in touristy Palm Beach, and headed straight out onto the beach for a long walk. Ah, the first walk on a new beach. There’s nothing quite like it. New sights, sounds, smells….previously untrodden, unexplored sand underfoot, camera in hand, everything fresh, everything worth a photograph.
Palm Beach is an incredible powdery white, two-mile strip full of excellent restaurants and lively pier bars. Activities abound, numerous watersports are available, and it wasn’t voted one of the Top 10 Beaches (together with neighbouring Eagle Beach which has even finer, deeper sand) in the world for nothing....other places we visited and things we did included:
Palm Beach Plaza mall – a fascinating place with lots of colourful little shops and kiosks, and plenty of excellent dining venues and watering holes.
Visited the harbour in charming Orajenstad, lovely in the evening, with some nice dining options
Danced at Iguana Joe’s bar - very good mojitos a place dripping with energy, the wooden beams whispering tales of rum-soaked nights of passion and of people getting a little ‘carried away.'
Took a catamaran sunset cruise with Pelican Adventures, a trip with free-flow rum, vodka, and gin, as well as some very scrumptious canapés.
Enjoyed a snorkelling cruise, again departing from the lively Pelican Pier. There was excellent snorkeling over a German WWII ship – the Antilla, and another spot, Arashi Reef.
Spent an afternoon (and took in a beautiful sunset) on the deep, white powdery sands of Eagle Beach
Had a picnic on the more remote Baby Beach - a stunning cove with warm and shallow lagoon waters, which you can only reach by car.
We left Aruba feeling very refreshed – it really is One Happy Island – a great honeymoon spot, and we will definitely come back.
