The Daily for Tuesday Apr 06, 2021

[GeorgeCharlie]

 

We visited Aruba in Feb 2002, onboard the Viking Serenade.

 

The ship had been doing 3 & 4 night cruises to the Baja out of LA for many years and had been sold by RCI. This was the final RCI cruise for the ship and the cruise finished in Aruba. We stayed in Aruba for several days, before returning to Canada.

 

We found Aruba to be interesting, but not as interesting as our plane change in Miami. This was just after the 9/11, 2001 incident and getting through airport security was total chaos!! If I remember correctly, security was being changed from government personnel to private firms (or vice-versa), with staff from both still being at the check points - which resulted in ongoing arguments between them as to how security was to be done. Almost missed our connection to Toronto and we had 7 hours between flights.

 

We rented a car and drove around the island (several times) to see the sights.

 

Their famous California Lighthouse on the northwest tip of Aruba. Named after the steamship California, which was wrecked nearby in 1891. The lighthouse had a restoration in 2016 for it's 100th anniversary.

 

Their less famous Seroe Colorado Lighthouse on the southeastern tip of Aruba. It was originally built in 1881 out of stone and wood, however, most of what was built no longer remains. The light is displayed at the top of a 8-metre-high (26 ft.) tower protected by a wire cage.

 

The Butterfly Farm.

 

A small Catholic chapel, also known as Pilgrims Church", stands on the hills above the north shore . The present building was completed in 1952 and stands in the same location as the original chapel, which was built in 1750. 

 

 

 

One of the local restaurants. 

 

Tourism was still being greatly affected by 9/11, so we found the beaches, hotels, etc., to be rather uncrowded.

 

We are currently booked on the Oosterdam, which is scheduled to visit Aruba in Nov 2022.

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by GeorgeCharlie

[Overhead Fred]

We plan on being in Oranjestad, Aruba on Nov 30, 2021 (assuming our Nieuw Amsterdam cruise actually sails 🤞🤞🤞). We were there once before during Eurodam's first Panama Canal transit in 2017, but did not get off the ship - 

 

 

 

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2013 Queen Elizabeth-Crystal Symphony combination that included trans-Asia flights with a side trip to Angkor Wat.  On April 6 was QE's last sea day before arrival in Southampton:

 

Roy

[Cruzin Terri]

Good Day everyone.  Greetings from sunny South Carolina.  I haven’t been on CC for a long time.  Have no reason why not.  Just seemed to be off in my own little world during this pandemic.  We have three cruises booked.  One on HAL and one two onOceania.  Not sure any of them will go.  We will see. 

I’ve been lurking on this thread for a few days and thought it was time to post and say “hi” to some old CC friends and the new ones too.  

I will keep those on the Care List in my prayers.  

I have been to Aruba only on a cruise once.

Good to be back.

Terri

Edited April 6, 2021 by Cruzin Terri

[StLouisCruisers]

Hi all,  I'm late today.  Just doing chores before my new neighbor comes over at 10 am for a coffee break.  I don't drink coffee but will have an iced peach tea instead.  She's anxious to get to know some of the neighbors so we'll start with me.  

 

I'm not a beer drinker but DH worked around it for almost 30 years (and drank it too).  He would bring home his monthly allotment of free beer and couldn't drink it all, so gave it away.  Friends, family and neighbors were happy!  

 

I've been to Aruba at least three times and stayed in town each time so I enjoy seeing photos of the outside town areas.  I will check in this afternoon and see what photos have been posted and can perhaps add some if they are different.  Almost everybody on CC has done a Caribbean islands cruise so we should see more chiming in today.

[rafinmd]

9 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

Good Day everyone.  Greetings from sunny South Carolina.  I haven’t been on CC for a long time.  Have no reason why not.  Just seemed to be off in my own little world during this pandemic.  We have three cruises booked.  One on HAL and one two onOceania.  Not sure any of them will go.  We will see. 

I’ve been lurking on this thread for a few days and thought it was time to post and say “hi” to some old CC friends and the new ones too.  

I will keep those on the Care List in my prayers.  

I have been to Aruba only on a cruise one.

Good to be back.

Terri

Welcome to the Daily.

 

Roy

[kazu]

15 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

Good Day everyone.  Greetings from sunny South Carolina.  I haven’t been on CC for a long time.  Have no reason why not.  Just seemed to be off in my own little world during this pandemic.  We have three cruises booked.  One on HAL and one two onOceania.  Not sure any of them will go.  We will see. 

I’ve been lurking on this thread for a few days and thought it was time to post and say “hi” to some old CC friends and the new ones too.  

I will keep those on the Care List in my prayers.  

I have been to Aruba only on a cruise once.

Good to be back.

Terri

 

Hi Terri!  Welcome 🙂. Good to see you posting again and it’s here 😄 

[AV8rix]

3 hours ago, rafinmd said:

My alternative is Chilled Coconut Nutmeg Soup, New York Sirloin Steak, and Tiramisu as served on MS Amsterdam April 6,  2014.

 

 

@rafinmdWill you please *STOP* already with the chilled soups?  <-- Just kidding, only kidding.

 

 But every time you post it, the memories make me sad that they were discontinued a few years ago.  I used to order whichever was on the menu almost every night.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, ger_77 said:

I'm getting tired of cooking - anyone else feel that way? 

 

Right there with you.  I miss my “break” I got when cruising  or travelling 😢 

 

I don’t mind cooking so much most times - it’s the trying to think of something different and avoiding the same ol’, same ol’. My energy is thin just like my patience some days 😂 

[Copper10-8]

3 hours ago, richwmn said:

 

Today is ..................................., and New Beers Eve..............................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good morning.  We have been to Aruba many times.  The first time was in 1991, on the Carnival Tropicael at spring break with our 13 and 14-year old DDs.  This was at a time when you could book a cabin when you were 18, so it was a wild cruise.  One group of college kids were thrown off the ship in St. Thomas, less than 24 hours after sailing from San Juan.  Just after that cruise, Carnival  changed the rules that if you were under 21 there had to be someone 25+ in the cabin.

 

Most of our pictures are the old fashion ones that are in photo albums.  However, I do have some to share.  We always rent a car in Aruba, so we have a lot of pictures outside Oranjestad.  Some of the pictures were taken in January 2020, on our cruise on the Rotterdam, which turned out to be our last cruise and the last time on the Rotterdam. 

 

The first two pictures were taken in San Nicolas at the south end of the island, near the refinery, Built in 1924, at one time it was the largest refinery complex in the world.  It was shut down in 1985.  As of January 2020, the facility was a transfer and storage facility.  Charlie's Bar is a well known watering hole in San Nicolas.  Unfortunately, we are always in San Nicolas before the bar opens.

 

This is Baby Beach on the far south end of the island.

 

These pictures are from the eastern side of the island.

 

A little bar we found on the eastern side where we stopped for a coke.

 

This is Baby Arch.  The original natural bridge collapsed sometime after our first visit in 1991. Behind Baby Arch, you can make out the gap where the natural bridge fell.

 

Just a couple of pictures of Oranjestad.  The last was taken from the ship as we sailed.

 

Lenda

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[garlictown]

☕ Good Morning from California where the poppy can be used for promoting relaxation. 😉

Thank You for the Daily and the Care List! ✏️

We especially enjoyed a beer in Heidelberg.  🍺 

❤️ going to Aruba and hanging out at the beach.🌴 Normally, we just hop on a bus or take a cab, relax and have a bite to eat. An easy "DIY" day..... plus a little shopping for an embroidered cap near the port. (Great gift ideas for family members/grandkids)

🙏Prayers to all in need.

[VMax1700]

Zaandam has departed Gibraltar and is currently listed to arrive at Augusta, Georgia ooops, sorry, Augusta, Sicily, Italy on Saturday 10th April at 9.30 am local time.

Edited April 6, 2021 by VMax1700

[Copper10-8]

Aruba; California Vuurtoren / California Lighthouse 

Located about 0.6 miles southeast of the northern point of the island, built in 1916 and named for the British steamship ss California, which wrecked off the coast there in 1891. It is a 98 feet stone tower with lantern and double gallery on an octagonal stone base. California lighthouse is unpainted with its lantern painted black. The one-story keeper's house has been greatly expanded into a popular Italian restaurant appropriately called "Faro Blanco" (white lighthouse in Spanish). 

[TiogaCruiser]

Good Morning All,

Again we have cloud cover, which should burn off shortly.
 

We have a few California Poppy plants on our slope, of the thousands of seeds I sowed this year.

We also have some very fat doves to go with them. 🤨 So far, only 1 poppy bloomed. Yesterday I pretty much finished weeding the slope and had to carefully work around several poppy seedlings. Bought more seeds yesterday and will see how that goes. It’s likely too late for this year.

 

So far have seen no poppies on my rides. We just didn’t get the needed rain. The mustard is blooming and turning the hills yellow. 

 

Compare to a month ago:

 

This is 1 of 2 lupines that came up from seed from a previous year. I just can’t get them to grow.

 

Scarlet flax

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all!
We're having another beautiful sunny day, I plan to make the most of it before the rain returns tomorrow.

I have a few CA Poppies in my garden, but admit they aren't my favorite only because they came up the bright orange instead of a pale creamy-peach color as labeled. I just don't care for bright orange flowers -- Oops, someone labeled them wrong!  

 

I only drink beer when having pizza, Mexican food, or on a hot day.  And then I only like Guinness, so no new beers for me. 😃

 

Have been to Oranjestad once, back in 2009 on our Partial Canal cruise.  I remember we rented a jeep and took off driving around the island.  My main memory is finding a  beach where we enjoyed having the beach and water to ourselves.  My photos aren't very good, so won't post them, thanks to those posting photos!

 

@ger_77I started out being tired of cooking LOL!!  I do enjoy trying out some of the recipes posted here, though -- helps keep me out of my rut. 😉  

 

DSIL wore his family tartan during their wedding ceremony.  He changed into a suit for the reception.  Photo of their day -- they were very lucky with the weather, an outdoor wedding in mid-September here is very risky 😉  

 

 

 

 

[TiogaCruiser]

This is from the Super Bloom in 2017.

Those are poppies- the color is off. (Taken with my iPhone.)

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

It looks like we're in for another cloudy or partly cloudy and windy day again.  This wind is more like March.  I guess it didn't look at the calendar and see it's now April.

 

We''ll pass on the meal suggestions and instead finish the ham with collard greens and sweet potato fries.

 

California poppies are nice.  I think I have some Scottish ancestors, but I've haven't traced back that far.  I did find some Irish ancestors.  In either case, I don't know which tartan would be appropriate.  Without National Beer's Eve and National Beer Day, our drink and wine ladies would not have anything to research.

 

The quote is so Truman Capote.

 

There are always days that I don't want to cook, but generally I like to cook.  This past year, I've been going back to recipes I used years ago.  I like it when I fix enough for leftovers or have enough to freeze for a busy day.  Then, on those days, I really don't have to cook.  Like others have said, it's really the planning what to cook that's old.

 

@Cruzin Terri  Welcome to the Daily.  Hope to see you often.  The more the merrier, and this is a pretty merry thread.

 

Lenda

[sailingdutchy]

A very good morning all ! 

 

We have also been to Aruba a few times and enjoy roaming around there , went to the butterfly gardens one time made a tour of the island to see the original large Natural Bridge  but there also is some good shopping there  and there are some very good little restaurants there for lunch .

 When on the Zuiderdam in January of 2017 we were in port until 11 pm so lots of time to do all of these things had an amazing Red Snapper lunch and after we did some shopping . After it got dark the atmosphere changed a lot  we watched a real large and noisy Carnaval Parade it stretched a long way , was extremely loud there were a number of bands and a lot of floats providing drinks to the participants who were singing , dancing with string lights around their bodies  and drinking their local and of coarse also the Heineken beer was flowing .........

 

 

 

 

 

 

The local Aruba Beer Balashi 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry they were all moving 

 

 

 

 

 

After we got back on board the Zuiderdam we could see and hear all of the partying still going on in Oranjestad until late at night . 

 

We specially love the Southern Caribbean in particular the A B C  islands , very nice even climate and more than likely the warm connections with The Netherlands play a big role in that  for us . Hope we can go back there soon even for a short 10 cruise just to get going again ! 

 

Tony  😀

[bdrcole]

New Beer's Eve.  Finally a day that I can definitely relate to as I have been a home brewer for 35 years.

If you stopped by to visit me today I could offer you the following beverages.

Hopicana Juicy IPA,

Zombie Fest Special Ale,

New England IPA,

Extra Special Bitter,

White Chocolate Belgium Stout,

Czech Pilsner,

Vienna Lager,

1820 British IPA,

Belgian Golden Ale,

Spicy Pumpkin Ale

and

If you do not like beer I could offer you a Raspberry & Lime Cider.

[Sharon in AZ]

Good morning everyone and Happy Tuesday!  Thank you for the Daily Rich and thank you for your lists Roy. 
 

I wanted to pop in really quick to say hi because I need to get ready to take my DM to an appointment. 
 

It is weird that we haven’t been to Aruba before since we’ve been on so many Caribbean cruises. How many times do you need to see St Thomas?  However, hopefully and with fingers crossed, we will be there on our Zaandam Holiday cruise this December. I picked this particular cruise for two reasons, one it is over both Christmas and New Years, and two it has many Caribbean ports we haven’t been to yet including Aruba. So I’m enjoying all the pictures and comments!

 

Have a great day everyone!  I’ll check back in this afternoon. 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Sharon in AZ

[NextOne]

Good morning! Many thanks to Rich, Roy, and all the contributors for making the Daily "the place to be!"

We've been to Aruba several times. On the last two we toured the island on "trikes" - three-wheeled motorcycles. I think there were 6 bikes in our group. DH drove ours & I sat behind him. Stopped at a local bar on the way back to town. The very best part was parading down the main street on our return so I could do the "royal wave" to the spectators! Good times! No luck in finding a picture, though.

[VMax1700]

We have been to Aruba about 5 times and find it a bit meh.  Much prefer Bonaire and Curaçao.

In 2016 we were there on Oosterdam on March 18th, which is Aruba's National Day (Status Aparte) and there was a large procession down the main street.

 

[VMax1700]

Freewinds, which is owned by the Church of Scientology, was in port.  It seems like it is always tied up there...

[Horizon chaser 1957]

Good morning, all! I love California poppies. They are frequently seeded onto roadside banks here. They aren’t blooming yet, but it’s something to look forward to!
Bavarian sausage apple hash sounds good, but how I wish I could have a chilled soup and a New York Sirloin steak in the Amsterdam MDR!

The sky has clouded over, but we had a lovely sunny Easter weekend. Yesterday I put out the hammock for its inaugural trial of the year. Today the party is over, and I need to tackle the thistles on the back slope before they become a force to contend with.

I have never been to Aruba, so thank you for the pictures!

Meanwhile, Happy Tuesday from the Amsterdam elevators.

 

Also, a little something for my fellow wake watchers.