Sunday, May 31, 2015
Technically, this happened yesterday, but since I thought I'd already finished yesterday's blog I'll just continue here.
So, I got a little bit queasy on the drive
home last night. I had written it off as minor car sickness since I'd
been fiddling with the map and the GPS, but by the time we got back to the hotel it just got worse and worse. Uh oh. Let's just say it got ugly.
Still, this was our last night at the
Coral Reef and no way was I going to miss sleeping outside! So a
little before midnight we rolled the bed outside, only to realize it
then completely blocked off access to the room. Not a good idea given the circumstances.
After some final adjustments we got the bed situated just far enough inside for me to make any emergency bathroom runs, while still enjoying some of the sleeping on the beach benefits. We pulled the mosquito netting down and it was amazing! Pure bliss just listening to the faint sounds of the ocean and the leaves on the palm trees rustling in the wind. Maria, the cat, wasted no time jumping in bed and rolling at our feet, kneading and purring to her hearts content.
It was purrfect ...
After some final adjustments we got the bed situated just far enough inside for me to make any emergency bathroom runs, while still enjoying some of the sleeping on the beach benefits. We pulled the mosquito netting down and it was amazing! Pure bliss just listening to the faint sounds of the ocean and the leaves on the palm trees rustling in the wind. Maria, the cat, wasted no time jumping in bed and rolling at our feet, kneading and purring to her hearts content.
It was purrfect ...
Until 3am when I woke up sweltering,
listening to a cat in heat screaming in the distance. The next thing I noticed was the unmistakable odor of cat pee; someone sprayed the mosquito netting! I refuse to believe it was Maria!
I tried and tried to go back to sleep, until finally I didn't know what else to do but wake Sandy and together we rolled the now stinky bed back inside and switched on the AC. Sigh. It had seemed so perfect and for a while there it was, but now I feel so much better being back inside!
I tried and tried to go back to sleep, until finally I didn't know what else to do but wake Sandy and together we rolled the now stinky bed back inside and switched on the AC. Sigh. It had seemed so perfect and for a while there it was, but now I feel so much better being back inside!
Of course, neither of us is ready to
get up when the alarm goes off we snooze until 8:30am. After saying goodbye to Jet &
Hans we set out for Oranjestad where we'll spend the last couple of nights.
We lucked out and spotted this warawara just down the street.
We lucked out and spotted this warawara just down the street.
Back on the road we hit a bit of a traffic jam, where the police were directing traffic around an accident at the intersection with the main road. We
were just about to turn around as instructed when one of the officers let the person in front of us pass. Thinking the accident had been cleared, Sandy tried
to follow the person in front of her, but that really pissed off the
officer blocking the road. Oops haha. It took a while, but luckily we were able to find a way to
bypass the accident.
After parking at the harbor, we
walk over to the Dutch Pancake House as part two in my independent
study of Aruba's pancake houses. It has been rated the #1 breakfast establishment in Aruba two years running so I'm really looking forward to this!
My stomach still reeling from yesterday
I pick the Fruit Delight, a pancake with strawberry, banana and
blueberry, while Sandy orders the Seaport special, a combo meal
with poffertjes, bacon, scrambled eggs, toast and hash brown.
Poffertjes are fluffy mini pancakes best enjoyed with copious amounts of powdered sugar.
Poffertjes are fluffy mini pancakes best enjoyed with copious amounts of powdered sugar.
It was kind of meh. Nothing bad, but generic, bland food that was way too Americanized for my Dutch palette. Even Sandy wasn't impressed.
On our way out of town we stop at two
grocery stores in search of … carrots! You'll find out in a minute
why we need those, but first ...
For whatever reason I thought today
would be a good idea to tackle Hooiberg (Haystack Mountain), a 541ft (165m) mountain.
563 Unevenly spaced steps later we are both dripping with sweat. But we made it!
It's on the way to our next stop that
we happen to turn down the road where we ordered food from the nondescript window a few days ago!
And finally, the Aruba Donkey
sanctuary!
It's kind of weird; you let yourself in
at the main gate where you find yourself in a big chute surrounded by
donkeys. They are going nuts over the carrots!
Not wanting to give out all of the
goodies at one time we put the carrots away and make our way through throngs of donkeys in search of someone who works there. One of the volunteers asks us to join
him on the porch and he goes through a history of the donkeys on
Aruba and the need for the sanctuary.
Sandy buys a cute DNKY shirt, plus a big bag of donkey pellets to hand out from the porch. They recommend feeding them that way because they roam freely and can get overly “excited” at the sight of clueless tourists carrying food.
Some of the braver tourists venture out into their enclosure and are quickly mobbed by a swarm of pushy donkeys biting and kicking as they jockey for position around the now frightened tourists.
Pelletless we mingle with our new friends for a while.
Most of the donkeys look quite similar, but there's a big binder with all of their pictures and how they ended up at the sanctuary and we're able to identify some of them by name.
I love this little brown donkey playing with its coconut!
Nap time!
"Hey, lady! Are you sure there aren't any treats in that bag?"
It wouldn't be complete without a picture of the oldest donkey at nearly 50 years old! He kind of looks the part too haha.
Sandy buys a cute DNKY shirt, plus a big bag of donkey pellets to hand out from the porch. They recommend feeding them that way because they roam freely and can get overly “excited” at the sight of clueless tourists carrying food.
Some of the braver tourists venture out into their enclosure and are quickly mobbed by a swarm of pushy donkeys biting and kicking as they jockey for position around the now frightened tourists.
Pelletless we mingle with our new friends for a while.
Most of the donkeys look quite similar, but there's a big binder with all of their pictures and how they ended up at the sanctuary and we're able to identify some of them by name.
I love this little brown donkey playing with its coconut!
Nap time!
"Hey, lady! Are you sure there aren't any treats in that bag?"
It wouldn't be complete without a picture of the oldest donkey at nearly 50 years old! He kind of looks the part too haha.
By the time we say goodbye to the
donkeys it's time to check in to our new hotel for the next couple of
nights, the Wonders Boutique Hotel in Oranjestad.
When looking at places online Sandy didn't really care for it, but I pushed for this one and it turned out to be fantastic! We recharge in the cool air-conditioned room for a while, before exploring the rest of the hotel.
When looking at places online Sandy didn't really care for it, but I pushed for this one and it turned out to be fantastic! We recharge in the cool air-conditioned room for a while, before exploring the rest of the hotel.
Our host, Gaston, has created a lush, peaceful
oasis in the middle of the city. The grounds especially are amazing with lots of loungers set up in quiet, private alcoves that make you feel like the city is miles away.
The lovely pool
I had planned to go for a swim, but I must have fallen asleep after I finished my book. Those loungers are just too comfy! It's a bit of a waste of the rest of the day, but my GI bug has wiped me out and I feel much better when I wake up.
Our sweet host pup Griffin is supervising.
The lovely pool
I had planned to go for a swim, but I must have fallen asleep after I finished my book. Those loungers are just too comfy! It's a bit of a waste of the rest of the day, but my GI bug has wiped me out and I feel much better when I wake up.
Our sweet host pup Griffin is supervising.
I love how soft the sand is here!
We seat ourselves at a tiny table shaped like a surfboard looking table overlooking the water. It's prime sunset time and I walk around the open air restaurant to take some more pictures while we wait to place our order.
We decide to split a “broodje
kroket,” (breaded, deep fried beef roux on bread) a chicken quesadilla and a satay platter. The satay is by far
my favorite, while Sandy says it's the quesadilla the best she's ever
had!
The Equator cover band is playing and they are surprisingly good!
Cool mural
Cool mural
And a funky statue
By the time we settle the bill it's
fully dark outside and we walk along the deserted beach for a while before sitting down on a pair of loungers and chilling for a while. I wonder why there aren't more people out?
Well that's about it for the day. Oh, except the shower at hotel has warm water! Ah, life's simple pleasures ...
Breakfast: Dutch Pancake House
Dinner: Bugaloe
Hotel: Wonders Boutique Hotel
♥
Breakfast: Dutch Pancake House
Dinner: Bugaloe
Hotel: Wonders Boutique Hotel
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