The Emerald Princess arrived in Oranjestad, Aruba today at 7am, after a short sail from Bonaire overnight. We slept right through it all...the thrusters, the docking, the arrival announcement... everything. It was nearly 8am before we made our way to the International Cafe for coffee and then breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room. In a departure from my usual scrambled egg beaters, I had a toasted bagel, smoked salmon and cream cheese today. I knew it would be a long time before we ate again.
It was no surprise (Captain Nick had filled us in that we were the only cruise ship in port today) that we had the first (aka good) dock today. We debated joining friends who had already left to take a bus to Eagle Beach, or climbing Mount Hooiberg, the third tallest "mountain" on Aruba, or walking down to Nikky Beach for the day. We figured our chances of finding our friends n the long stretch of Eagle and Palm Beaches was slim, and we were in a walking mood but not a climbing mood, and so opted for a day at Nikky Beach
Once again we were unable to get on wifi at Starbucks (but there were a lot of people already there using it), and so continued walking down to Nikky Beach. We weren't expecting it to be crowded now that the holidays are over, but we were wrong. There were lots of families there from the Netherlands and Venezuela- it's a perfect, gentle beach for kids- and we enjoyed the "cruisers special"- 2 chairs, an umbrella and two drinks for $20.
The weather was as good as it gets today. Finally! I think bad weather from now on will be the exception and not the rule. We managed to spend five hours on the beach and not get sunburned, no small feat at Aruba's low latitude.
About 3pm we packed up to walk back to the ship. We were surprised by all the local families setting up chairs along the road, not facing the beach but with their backs to the beach. G was finally curious enough to stop to ask; it was Aruba's Labor Day today, and there was going to be a sports car- classic car- race car- motorcycle parade.
We walked right into it, and spent a few minutes admiring the cars and bikes. I need to clean my camera lens after snorkeling yesterday, so the photos are hazy, but here are a few.
G used to own this car in black.
This is just like my bike.
We needed to get back on the ship and get cleaned up early for the evening; Marcia and Jim invited us to their minisuite for drinks at sailaway, and they are on the port side, perfect for watching Aruba fade into the distance.
Nikky Beach Club in the forground and Mt. Hooiberg in the distance
Vocal impressionist Michael Wilson is the only show tonight, and we have seen him many times- this winter alone. On another ship note: we're hearing lots of complaints about the lack of entertainment options again. It seemed a bit better at this time last year, with second show options on at least four or five evenings each cruise. this cruise it's been pretty light, with music and dancing often the only other option. Band New Deal is gone, and band Accent is here, and we don't seem to enjoy their music as much. Oh how I miss band Sol Provider from last year! Also different this cruise: no pub night. Deputy Cruise Director Lynn just left, and new Deputy Adam is still learning how to MC pub night. Hopefully, by next cruise, that will be another option one evening of the cruise.
I have a library audiobook expiring in three days, so I'm happy just listening to that. G is talking about going back out to watch the movie Pacific Rim on MUTS. After a day on the water, that's as much as we can handle.
We can almost feel ourselves getting old. ;-)