Aruba

My last post was about the Panama Canal.  Our cruise lasted 10 days and had 5 stops.  The canal was actually stop #3.  

The first stop was in Aruba...

The water in the Caribbean is so beautiful... blues and greens and all shades in between.  The various depths and reefs create gorgeous colors.  The beaches here are lovely as well.  This is a view from our balcony as we were arriving into port.

Bill & I had spent time in Aruba in the past so chose to just walk around town rather than take an excursion tour.  I took this photo of Bill as we were heading to an internet cafe.  When I got on-line I found that there was a geocache hidden at this site.  So..  of course I had to return here to find it.... it was hidden in the back of the heart...  wooohooo...  another find!

Had we wanted to take a tour there were lots of different buses, taxis, and type of transportation.  I thought this Banana Bus was pretty neat.  Kinda reminds me of those hippy buses of the 1970's.

We wandered about town for a while...  stopped in this bar.

Those are bottle caps of the kinds of beer they have here.  Isn't this a unique way to decorate?  And...  do you see those dollar bills taped up on the bar?

There were hundreds of them - all over the walls and the ceiling.  Most were American dollars but there were other types of currency as well.  Many of the bills had the name of the "donor" written on with a Sharpie.  Sure hope the place doesn't catch on fire...  might be legal tinder instead of legal tender.

We didn't just stop in the bar to see the decor...

Had to have a local beer while in port...

That's Bill having breakfast....  with our ship in the background.

Actually I had another reason I wanted to walk around town...

I lost one of my earrings when we were in Maine this past summer.  (how in the world does a person lose a screw-on earring?)  Anyway, no tax or duty to pay here, so we got a mate to make a pair again.  

We didn't see many birds on this trip.  The usual pelicans and various sea gulls.  But we did see quite a few Boobys.  (do I hear some wise-cracks?)

We only spent a few hours in Aruba, but with temps in the 90's, sunny skies and beautiful scenery, it was just fine.

Back on the ship...

These shots are some of the dishes served each night.

In some cases, the presentation was nicer than the food itself.  We were a bit disappointed at times...  tough meat, under toasted toast,  french toast like leather...  some dishes without much taste. 

Usually cruise food is outstanding...  this time not so much.

So...  how did I manage to gain 6 pounds in 10 days?

That's All For Today!