minutes early.
We had arranged to spend Friday and Saturday nights in a private home on the island. Many people rent out
rooms to visitors. We immediately hit it off with the lady of the house and their five, well-behaved dogs. We
were picked up at the airport and whisked away on a mini island tour on the way to our first home away from
home. We had free access to the first floor of their lovely home and use of their hotel sized swimming pool.
Their home was within walking distance of the California Lighthouse, so we headed up there for dinner at the
restaurant. After a lovely, rather pricey dinner, we took a taxi back to the house and called it a night.
On Saturday morning we had arranged a sailing/snorkeling trip on the Mi Dushi. We had a lovely time with
Cap't. Mario and crew. We had dinner Saturday night at The Royal Cabana Casino's buffet and were treated
to the Jewel Box Revue. What a hoot! It is definitely a must see!
Sunday, we moved ourselves to our Timeshare at Divi Village. We had traded our timeshare in Key West for
this week in Aruba. The trade worked out very well as we got two weeks for our one week, since we were
trading a two bedroom for a studio in Aruba.
On Monday, November 27th, we ventured out on a sea kayaking tour with Aruba Kayak Adventures. We
had been sea kayaking before in Key West. Kayaking in Aruba turned out to be much more strenuous than
we expected with the Tradewinds blowing. We paddled to Spanish Lagoon and then over to DePalm Island.
On the island we snorkeled and had a delicious lunch. A heavy rain shower developed, so Bill and I opted to
take the ferry back to Aruba. We were glad we did as we watched the rest of our group paddle backwards
fighting the wind and rain. They made it eventually and a great time was had by all. This was the only rain of
significance we had during our 9 day trip. We had many smaller, shorter showers which had no affect on our
ability to enjoy Aruba.
We had dinner with a couple from New Jersey,George and Dotty, whom we met thru the Aruba BB. They took
us to Frankie's/La Petit Cafe for fillet on a "Hot Rock". We had a great time and the food was excellent.
Tuesday, November 28th, dawned bright and beautiful. I had a horseback riding tour booked with Rancho
Norotious for the afternoon. It was the long trip to California Lighthouse and the beaches at the Northern tip
of the island. I ended up getting a private ride since no one else had booked the time with me. My guide was
a young man from Columbia named Alex. He was learning english and I had no clue about Spanish, but we
managed to communicate and have a great time. Thanks, Alex!
Wednesday, November 30th, Bill woke up with a bad cold, so I decided to go on the sunset ride at Rancho
Notorious by myself. He really didn't want me hanging around being cheerful . I called and asked them to hold
my horse buddy, Maverick, for me. Weelll, let me tell you what! I found out why his name is Maverick! He was
very feisty and gave me quite an exciting ride at times. The guide, Raul, told me not to let him get ahead of
the lead horse and I found out why as we were galloping along the beach....Maverick did not want to stop
when I tried to slow him and he actually bucked a time or two. I thought my days might be numbered! But,
guess what?... we lived to tell about it and I had a wonderful time to boot!
