Several months prior I had contacted Sonny Binns about the possibility of booking an island tour. He had responded that he had a 25-passenger bus and would need at least 6 customers before he would book a tour. He promised he would stay in touch and let us know if more people inquired about the tour. It wasn’t until early November that he emailed saying that the tour was on…we were to meet him inside the cruise ship terminal at 8:45 am.
There is a small shopping area in the terminal that Laurel and I walked through to get to where tour groups were meeting. It was a bit of a zoo with lots of ship tours gathering…but Sonny was nowhere to be found. Another tour guide offered to call him, but got no answer.
It was getting close to 9:00 when Sonny arrived…with apologies for being late. Only one other couple was there waiting with us…the additional two people whom he had booked did not show up. It was somewhat awkward because the husband of the couple refused to even shake Sonny’s hand because he was mad that Sonny had been late. It made for an uncomfortable start to our tour.
Although it probably wasn’t necessary for just the four of us, Sonny used a microphone to amplify his voice as he did the tour. I can see where this would have been an advantage had the bus been full. He explained that besides tours, he has a contract with one of the airlines to transport their crew back and forth between a hotel and the airport and that was what had caused him to be late.
Both Laurel and I enjoyed the day…it almost felt like we had a private tour. I felt bad for Sonny that there was so few of us but he didn’t let it stop him from giving a great tour. We only paid $30 apiece so I can imagine that after filling his bus with gas he made very little profit that day.
The tour visited the primary tourist attractions. Our first stop was at the rock formations.
Aruba is very flat and from the top of the rocks you could see pretty much all of the island. I knew Aruba’s climate was arid…but I was not prepared for a Caribbean island that was covered with cactus!
If you look closely you can see the Emerald Princess docked in the distance.
Zooming in...
The steep stairs leading to the top of the rock formation were a bit creepy...
Our next stop was along the rocky shores of the northeast coast. The Natural Bridge had been one of the main attractions in this area until it collapsed in 2005. There is still a smaller bridge…the Baby Bridge…that has been formed by the waves eroding the limestone. Although others were walking on the bridge Sonny cautioned us not to go out on the bridge because it is only a matter of time until it too will collapse.
The waves on the Northeast coast of Aruba were amazing…and beautiful.
All over the beach are “cairns” (stacks of stones) constructed by tourists.
Sonny drove us by the remains of a gold smelter built in the mid 1800’s.
Traveling on, we passed a cemetery...Sonny said that families often paint their tombs to match the color of their homes.
The famous Divi Divi tree is Aruba's natural compass, always pointing in a southwesterly direction due to the trade winds that blow across the island.
The Alto Vista Chapel is one of the stops on most of the island tours.
A stop at the lighthouse is also included on most tours of Aruba...
Near the lighthouse, a man was selling cold coconuts. First he would cut off the top and insert a straw so that you could drink the juice inside. When the liquid was gone then he would chop up the coconut and remove the meat.
Sonny and I.
It was interesting to see the homes on Aruba. Here is one family that used cactus as a fence in front of their house.
On the way back to the ship, Sonny drove us through the resort area and past some of the beaches.
I didn't get any photos of the large, beautiful beaches near the resorts. This one was a little more secluded and Sonny said it was a good spot to snorkel.
We got back to the ship just about the same time that the guys were returning from their dive. Since Bob refuses to use a camera when diving, I usually have to settle for a verbal description of what he has seen. This time, however, the dive master emailed us over 150 photos that he took of Bob and Kent diving…what a treat!
The guys did a reef dive and a wreck dive...
Laurel was on the hunt for a Larimar pendant to go with the ring she had purchased in St. Thomas and wanted to go onshore and check out the multitude of jewelry stores. Getting to the shopping area from the ship was a bit of a walk in the hot sun and I opted out. Instead I spent a little time looking through the stalls in the cruise terminal and then headed back onboard…empty handed.
Laurel and the guys headed into town and went from jewelry store to jewelry store…but they too came home with nothing.
Bob and Kent…looking rather silly in their matching outfits!
Back on board, getting to our cabins was a journey in itself...taking the elevator up to the 14th deck and then walking...walking...walking down this long hallway.
Sail away from Aruba…and on our way back to Ft. Lauderdale.
This photo gives you an idea of where the resorts are located in relation to the cruise pier...
At dinner that night we were seated at a table for four with waiter, Joseph, from the Philippines. Right away we could see this was going to be a good night. Joseph seemed genuinely interested in what we did in port that day and went out of his way to make sure we were happy with our orders. Such a fun and enjoyable meal with him! The first thing we did as we left the dining room that night was request to be seated at the same table for the rest of the cruise!
Although I like the idea of having a flexible dining time, I realized how much I missed getting to know our wait staff with traditional dining. Joseph was at the end of his contract and heading home to the Philippines when we returned to Ft. Lauderdale. He wasn’t sure what ship he would be on when he returned, but we crossed our fingers that he would end up on the Coral for our Alaskan cruise in May. (Unfortunately that didn't happen.)
After dinner we took time to get some photos in the beautiful Piazza which was all decked out for Christmas.
Lovena Fox was scheduled for her cabaret show in the Princess Theater…back by popular demand according to the Patters. Not sure if that was the case…or if they just had trouble finding someone to fill that night’s entertainment slot. We walked into the theater just as the lights were dimming for her 7:15 show…and had no trouble finding seats.
Afterwards we walked by the Explorers Lounge which was crowded to overflowing for comedian A.J. Jamal. The laughter was enough to get us to stop…and we ended up listening to most of his show standing in the hallway. As the first show ended we managed to snag a table with four seats and staked out our spot for his next show.
A man had been waiting for the people at the table behind us to leave so he could get their seats. Just as they got up, a lady pushed through and jumped into one of the chairs. A rather uncomfortable exchange took place between them but finally the lady relinquished the seat and left. Seems to me that it would have been much better planning to have put Jamal in the much larger Princess Theater…and Lovena Fox in the Explorer’s Lounge. But…no one asked me.
Country & Western Music Trivia was scheduled in the Explorer’s Lounge prior to A.J.’s next show. We made a half hearted attempt at answering the questions, but didn’t come close to winning. It did help pass the time however and eventually we were able to enjoy the second show…with seats. Most of the jokes were the same as in the first show…but more fun now that we could SEE and hear!
Coming up…TWO sea days! (Love those sea days!)
No comments:
Post a Comment