Tuesday 20th January 2015- A day in Aruba

We were due to arrive around 0900 but we arrived about 90 minutes early as the Captain wanted to avoid some expected windy weather. We had our breakfast on the balcony overlooking the town which was a pleasant way to start the morning.

We watched some of the tourist buses depart for their Island Tours and many other tours which were not of interest to us.

Following breakfast we departed the ship at around 10.00 and walked alongside the dock and watched another huge Carnival ship arrived which was loaded to the gunnel's with mostly Americans. A lot of them got in to 4x4 for tours and there was about 20 such vehicles loaded with whooping people and making a row when leaving the port.

After a short walk we spotted a tram service which ran free of charge down to the end of town and so we hopped on with the plan of starting at the end of town and walking back. We espied a Burger king with free Wi-Fi and bought a coke and used the loos but then found that Wifi did not work. There was also a sign in the Loos to wash you hands please only there was no water in the tap and no soap, but the dryer worked.

We walked down the road and had been texting our friends Mike and Pauline who somewhere in Latin America and they recommended Iguana Joe’s for lunch. Initially we stopped in the large mall and used their Wi-Fi to catch up with outstanding emails and then carried on walking past all the designer clothing, jewellery and watch shops which we everywhere. Of course there were small shops selling the usual tourist stuff of T Shirts etc. which we largely ignored. We found the recommended bar and enjoyed a good couple of drinks next to a very noisy group of female American ladies who seemed to be having a ball.

Lunch was very good where we shared the starter of grilled shrimp and calamari and then Jennifer had the Mahi Mahi with a tomato based sauce and fries and rice whilst Noel had the Groupa, as they called it, fried in a tempura coconut covering which was also very good. Neither of us had room for desert and so we continued looking around the shops for a while but it was quite hot and so after a while we said, wouldn't it be nicer to sit in the shade of our balcony and watch the word go by and so we did.

Aruba town is a much more organised and clean town compared to St Lucia, the shopping street is so clean and tidy it’s almost impossible to believe it’s in the West Indies. The choice of shops and also the amount of new cars and coaches compared to the other two island we visited is very noticeable and impressive. When you look at St Lucia Town compared to here there is actually no comparison.

We left Aruba at around 5pm and sailed in to the setting sun, romantic ay? Anyway it’s unlikely we will eat tonight as we are both feeling rather full from lunch.

Iguana Joe's Aruba

Noel tried to watch the Chelsea and Liverpool match but the B Signals gone and so no chance for the time being.

Tomorrow is another day at sea before on we arrive early on Thursday morning at the Panama Canal and this evening we received an invitation to go to a special restaurant where we could have breakfast form 0700- till 0900 watching the first part of the canal. We are looking forward to that.

Tonight we watched the Meryl Streep Film about Maggie Thatcher called ‘The Iron Lady’ and do remember there was a bit of an outcry about this film as depicting Maggie as old woman, which of course she was in the end, but Meryl Streep did portray her extremely well including the voice. (When I had finished this entry I heard about the cover up of a Paedophile who is still alive and in the House of Lords and that Maggie also allowed it to be covered up) Sometimes you do wonder?

Following this the film ‘The Constant Gardener’ was on , we have seen this several times but it is a well-made film and ironically deals with a ‘Government cover up