Happy Holidays in Aruba 2013

An early morning drive to Houston for our flight to Miami, then on to Aruba was easy and we arrived in plenty of time for our 6 am flight.  We landed and picked up our rental car and headed out to Malmok to Sunshine Beach Studios.  Our Ocean View Studio #2 was ready and a sign welcomed us on the door.  Dinner that night was at Smokey Joes for some finger licking ribs.  We turned in early, tired after a day of travel.  We did meet a big group of Texans next door that were leaving the next morning and they gave us a bunch of groceries that they had leftover...nice!
The next morning we enjoyed coffee on the front porch before going to the new grocery store for supplies.  The rest of the day we enjoyed the pool and hot tub, talked with other guest, and caught up with the owners of the resort,  J P and Eve.

Getting up around 7 am every morning  and I took a long walk down the road in front along the beach....it was always so calm and peaceful.  A great way to start the day.  Lunch was usually our main meal, with a sandwich or salad for supper.  We always ended the day across the road at the beach for the magnificent sunset display with a glass of wine...a perfect ending to a perfect day!
We spent time exploring the island and discovering new things since our last visit two years ago.  It was fun to meet other guest from all over the world and share stories under the big palapa.  John and Lori from North Carolina invited us to join them in their 4x4 Jeep for a day of exploring the island..Alta Vista Chapel, the Gold Smelter Ruins, The Natural Pool, The Casibari Rocks, Mango Halto, lunch at Zeerover, Baby Beach, etc.  It was a long day, but we had a blast showing them the island.  We ended that day with a snorkel at Mango Halto.

The sail and snorkel on The Tranquilo was another highlight of our trip.  We had done this before and looked forward to another great day on the water.  We sailed from a Oranjestad marina across the turquoise water to Spanish Lagoon and Mango Halto for some snorkeling, and later did a drift snorkel trip outside the reef.  Hot pea soup and sandwiches sure did taste good after we finished snorkeling.....Anthony's Mom's recipe.  A leisurely sail back to the marina was relaxing and beautiful....a great excursion.


Dale surprised me with an exciting excursion for my birthday, which was in a few days....SeaBob Aruba....an electric underwater propulsion device .  OMG...it was so much fun racing across the water and then diving under the water and flying along with the fish.  We had a blast!  We could even imitate the movement of a dolphin in the water. I loved it, and so did Dale!

We couldn't make a trip to Aruba without a day at Mango Halto, so we drove over before lunch and enjoyed a meal at La Granja, a local place.  Later finding a shady spot in the mangroves we set up our chairs and relaxed.  Snorkeling and swimming in the beautiful water filled our day.

On one of our trips to Ling and Sons grocery we had to get some Olie Bollens- a Dutch pastry to ensure good luck for 2014...they were hot and yummy!  Appleflaps were also nice with coffee in the morning.  The cheeses and fresh baked breads in the grocery store were all tempting and delicious.
Christmas Eve we had dinner reservations at Madame Jeanettes, one of our favorites.  Dale had the grouper and I enjoyed the Mahi Mahi....both excellent. A lovely dinner with the man I love!
Our final day was spent down the road at Boca Catalina, under the shade of a tree with our chairs and cooler.  We got their early and I enjoyed a wonderful long snorkel before the crowds from the snorkel boats showed up.  The water was clear and I saw lots of fish.....a nice Peacock flounder laying on a rock.  We spent the afternoon packing and enjoying the last hours of our Aruba vacation.  A beautiful sunset ended the day!
Up early we turned in our car, caught our flight, and headed back to Texas!