Of Pinacoladas ... and getting caught in the rain ...

... no it doesnt rain in aruba .. at least not for 10 months out of 12 .. so its nice hot humid .. all through the year .. with lots of cool winds ... and abundance of coladas ... come to think of it ..coladas are the perfect drink for that kind of a weather ... so what is this post about ? no ... am not going to ramble on about the qualities of a colada ... just wanted to document my trip ... there are pictures .. but it's nice to read about memories .. places .. so i'll try to make it as nice as possible for the reader .. ( which may include me .. a couple of days from now .. :) )

day 1 of the vacation- aruba's pretty much accessible .. the flights are not ... so pretty much of one day goes in flying into the island .. on the way one gets to see the pristine white beaches and green waters .. of the bahamas .. so keep those telephoto lenses out .. the islanders are a very friendly and helpful lot .. some of them can speak upto 9 languages .. so no matter what .. you'll communicate one way or the other ... si .. :) Bon bini ... that's welcome in papiamento .. the aruban native language that has a rythm to itslef and is easy to pick up .. well at least from the guide book .. it seems so ... the airport has the caribbean sea to one side of it ... and the flora is mostly abumdant with cacti .. and coconut trees .. and tropical plants ... with lots of flowers .. "colors " .. that's what it is ... the whole picture is very colorful ...

Aruba .. Ariba

I'm back after a nice four days under the sun on white sand beaches ... and after four days of downing my fill of aruba ariba's and coladas ... Does bliss get any better than this ? Well it might .. but for now I'm happy thinking it doesnt ...

Especially after four glorious days of sand, sun, and wildlife ... aruba's a small island country .. with netherland sovereignty... plenty dirt roads to go hiking on / jeeping on .. to rediscover natural and man made edificies ... they have gold ruins ... lighthouses a 100 years old .. caves with indian drawings a 1000 years old .. underground tunnels .. with bat caves .. that give you that "I have to get out of here .. " feeling ... but are fun to explore anyway ..

the island also has lots of rock formations .. which are a sight to behold in themselves ... 200 year old churches .. in the wilderness along the coastlines ... you can find cacti's and sand dunes strewn by the dozen ... and as the aruban's say ... "the iguana has the right of the way .. " .. so stop .. and the haughty looking lizard will pose for you .. in all it's colorful spiked back arched as if to say .. "hey get on with that snap .. I got work to do .. !! " :)

for the wilder not so interested in wildlife or nature or historics .. there's an abundance of water sports .. from sea treks ( you dont even need to know how to swim .. and for flounderers in the water like me .. :) .. that sounds and is a heavenly exp.. ) to parasailing .. , to windsurfing, kiteskiing .. jet skiing .. in short you name it .. and aruba's got it .. ofcourse, if someone invents "lighthouse bungee" .. i'm not sure if the island will allow it .. :)

in short .. four days were not enough ... not even the cuisine .. of seafood ... fresh caught and cooked .. in local styles .. i can still taste it :)

stay tuned .. for pics .. and more posts on ... aruba ariba ..