Time is flying by here in Aruba. Soon we will be leaving this lovely little island with warm, balmy breezes in the 80’s and 90’s to go home to temps in the teens and 20’s. Brrr! I don’t think my body can take the drastic change.

It has been a memorable trip as always here with the wonderful hospitality of the friendly and welcoming Aruban people. We can’t wait to go back again next year!

The weather here is always in the 80’s and above and the water is about the same temp but feels cooler after you have been in the sun and want to take a dip. It is refreshing and difficult to leave once you are in it. There are plenty of water sports for those who want to partake and even boat trips, sailing and deep sea fishing for the brave souls. We have been coming for 20 years so we have done quite a few boat trips, snorkeling and Jeep tours on the other side of the island to last a lifetime. But if you come for the first time you must do them at least once. I have never done the parasailing or other raft rides – too scary for me. I like the sunset sails, snorkeling on the catamarans or trimarans and glass bottom boats.

Here are some photos of places we dined with friends and all the delicious food we ate. Once I arrive home I will share more photos from my husband’s camera after he downloads it to his computer. All the photos I have in my blogs on Aruba are from my cell phone. I think they are pretty good for a phone.

We always dine at Yemanji’s (one of our favorite restaurants) downtown in Oranjestad with friends. It is dining in a courtyard setting with food cooked on a wood fired grill. Delicious!

We always go to this little quaint and colorful restaurant – Wacky Wahoo’s (another favorite). You have to get a reservation way ahead of time. We couldn’t get one during the first two weeks we were in Aruba. It is well worth it! The food is wonderful and the people are friendly and accommodating. There is even a waiter there who looks just like Cheech Marin of Cheech and Chong. John always takes a photo of this Cheech lookalike with me. His name is really Rudy.

There are only four days left of our vacation in Aruba. The time has flown, but all good things come to an end. Sigh! It has been a wonderful and relaxing time. I will have read at least five books, not as many as I read at home. We do spend a huge part of the day in the water which is absolutely balmy and fabulous. It’s like sitting in a warm tub with little waves that bob you up and down in a rhythmic manner. Love it! We talk to friends while soaking up the sun and water about, what else, food and where we went or plan to go for dinner.

Each year we find a new place to dine and cross off another that is too expensive. Prices continue to go up here for everything, not just food, shopping and dining. We don’t have much choice but to pay it or go elsewhere to find something cheaper.

We do bring some food down with us for breakfast and lunch and go out nightly for dinner. That has worked for us so far. Many others shop when they get to Aruba but must pay extra for cabs just to get to the shopping area.

Here are more photos of the last few days in Aruba. We will enjoy every minute until we can return again next year! We snapped a few on our way to dinner on Tuesday. I love this flowering bush. It’s a flowering cactus. There are plenty of cacti on the island since this is a desert island but you will see lots of palm trees too which were brought in from other islands. There are also Divi Divi trees which are one of the only indigenous trees on the island. They grow in the direction of the wind.

One of the nicest places on the island is Madame Jeannette’s. We went with friends, Jane and Tim, on Wednesday during our last week.

On Thursday we went back to another favorite place – Blossom’s, formerly Yee’s, for Asian food. They have a fabulous lemon chicken which is no longer on the menu but they make it for us every year. We had it the first week and went again last week and this week too.

I feel so spoiled. John promises to make some Sangria for me when we get home since I have enjoyed it so much here. He’s a good man!

It’s Friday, our last night in beautiful Aruba! We will miss waking up to look out at the gorgeous shades of turquoise to dark blue water each morning, eating on our lovely balcony, both breakfast and lunch, and soaking up the sun as we take our daily walks. Ahh! I am already missing our home away from home! Sigh!

We went with our friends, Trish & Marty and their friends, Tanya & Jacob, to a new restaurant for us, Ricardo’s, on our last night to celebrate our wonderful vacation, making it a perfect ending.

Here it is our third and last week in Aruba. We have eaten all kinds of fish, chicken, pizza, steak and had lots of Sangria. We walked miles and miles and swam and soaked up the sun but now we are browned and pruned and full from all the delicious food. It’s time to go home! We can’t eat or drink any more! Sigh! Luckily we walked many miles each day to help keep the weight off with all this food. But it has been a fantastic trip and we now will look forward to three more weeks next year!

I will post one more time about Aruba with some of the photos my husband took on his camera of our fun Wednesdays when we have mango daiquiris, pina coladas and sangria with all kinds of appetizers right on the beach. Our group of yearly friends old and new gather together at 3:00 to drink, eat, chat and enjoy the beautiful day in Aruba. John snapped many photos each Wednesday of everyone having a wonderful time. Watch for this post after I get home. I will have lots of laundry to do so it may take a few days or more before I get organized and used to being home in the frigid weather. Yikes!

Another few photos of Aruba and its fabulous sunsets!

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed my photos and will one day get to visit this lovely little island to experience its beauty, delicious food and friendly and welcoming people.

I will be featuring some more photos once my husband downloads them to his computer. It may be a little while though because we need to recuperate from vacation after coming home to frigid temps. Oh well, all good things come to an end.

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Blessings & Hugs! Bon Bini from Aruba – One Happy Island! Goodbye Aruba until next year, God willing!

Janice

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