Part 98 - Aruba (but not Jamaica, Bermuda, or Bahama)

I actually wanted to fly to Colombia, but the only direct flights from Canada were extortionate, and either left or arrived at Stupid O'Clock. However, I managed to find a route to Colombia that was both cheap and arrived/left a sensible time. It did necessitate spending three nights in the tropical Caribbean paradise of Aruba, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to bear. 

Aruba and its capital Oranjestad

The capital of Aruba is Oranjestad, and its name would suggest, it's a Dutch country (and actually part of the Netherlands). The official language of the country is Dutch, but with a large Hispanic population, many people also speak Spanish. And with so many tourists, everyone speaks English. However, all the locals also speak the local lingo, Papiamento. So just the four languages then. 

I asked my tour guide which of the four languages he could speak, he said "all of them". Bloody show-off. I bet he doesn't have a 450+ day streak on Duolingo. 

Aruba is also notable that despite having a modest of population of around 100,000, it has more than 50,000 cars. Despite this, there are no traffic lights on the island. And while there are certainly traffic jams, pedestrians need not fear when crossing a busy road. More often than not, they just have to glance at the other side of the road and the incredibly friendly motorists will stop to let you across. 

Accommodation

My hotel was delightful and very reasonable, especially considering Aruba itself is extortionate (cost of using the cash machine: $10!)... my hotel had a swimming pool, aircon, fully-equipped kitchen, and a bevy of Hispanic staff who patiently listened to me while I butchered their native tongue.

The only slight problem was the paper-thin walls. The guy next door was seemingly on the phone from dawn till dusk, at which he pointed he switched from talking to snoring in the space of a few seconds. Quite the achievement. 

Tour of the Island

I got picked up by my quad-lingual (I'm not even sure there's a word for someone who speaks four languages), and he took me for a half-day tour of the island. Happily this included a lighthouse, although wasn't the best specimen I've seen on my travels. 

One thing its favour, however, was that you were actually allowed to go inside and climb to the top. For $5. I counted 125 steps in total, which meant each step cost me 4c, but you did get a nice view from the top so I shouldn't grumble. 

The new lighthouse keeper

The next stop was a trip to an aloe (of aloe vera fame) farm. 

Aloe there

It was actually quite interesting watching the woman butcher an aloe and describe what all the bits of the plants do. 

And we even got to watch people beavering away in the aloe factory. But this was just a pre-cursor to guiding you expertly into the gift shop, where I managed to resist the temptation of the various potions and lotions at hugely inflated prices. 

The last part of the tour took us to the coast, where we saw thousands of stones that people had painstakingly piled on top of each other for no reason I could fathom.

And for the grand finale, we were taken to a "natural bridge". There were actually two of them, but unfortunately one of them collapsed, so now they're just left with the less impressive-looking one. 

And you're not allowed to walk on it, the spoilsports 

Going underwater

On my last day in Aruba, I had a good 8 hours to kill, so I decided to go explore the ocean's depths (slight exaggeration). There were two options - a submersible submarine, and a semi-submersible one. I opted for the latter, given that it's much easier to escape from (and it was half the price). 

I needed to walk, bus, and take another boat to get our ship. Once we got below deck (into the submarine part), it was rather impressive. We were surrounded windows everywhere, and we got motored around the ocean, taking in thousands of different fish and the odd turtle. It was like being in a fish tank but in reverse. 

Another cracking underwater picture. Jacques Costeau would be well impressed.

There was also a famous shipwreck, the SS Antilla, that was scuppered by the Germans at the start of WWII. I'd never seen a shipwreck up close (I'm not one of life's SCUBA divers) so it was fascinating seeing how much it had decayed. It was also massive (120m long). 

Anyway, my brief Aruban adventure was over. I just had time to admire their funky square coins before going back to the airport for the next chapter. 

It's hip to be square

And at the airport, I realised with horror that my entry documents for Colombia weren't in order - mainly because the online form you have to fill in was developed by imbeciles. This is what happens when you just auto-translate your entire website during Google Translate.

No idea what "Eel" is supposed to be, but "Old and Bearded" is Antigua & Barbuda 

However, they are sticklers for bureaucracy, so given my unchangeable immigration form had me down as Hewitt Richard Richard, would they let me in the country? Stay tuned for the next thrilling episode (where you find out the answer is yes).