JOURNALING THE JOURNEY
Aruba in Autumn 2021
Part 1:
FEELING HOME
There are many things about Aruba that keeps me coming back – over and above the warm climate, warm sea water and warm people.
For me it’s also the clean air, clean white sandy beach and clear blue sea. Add to that the ease of relaxing, smiling and just lying back on the plush blue beach towel lain upon a firmly strapped lounge chair, under a grass palapa, with my eyes open or closed, while I reflect back, think ahead and just enjoy the moment.
It all comes to me very easily but especially when I see the Canadian flag waving in the wind along side the Dutch and Aruban ones, all swaying in sync with the gentle breeze.
I feel in sync with this whole place. Thank you Aruba.
Part 2:
BEING HOME
Recently, my sister and I embarked on a long awaited trip to the Caribbean island called Aruba. I journaled the journey and will post bits of it here over the next few days.
Aruba is a small Dutch island in the southern Caribbean Sea just north of Venezuela. It is about 16 km long and 8 km wide; the population is around 100,000. Because of its closeness to the equator, the temperature is always warm or hot; the gentle breeze from the Sea makes the hot temps tolerable.
When my dad was in the Royal Dutch Navy, one of his first overseas trips was Aruba. He fell in love with it instantly and vowed to one day return. Return he did, after marrying my mom, raising four children and saving enough money to travel back many, many years later. They went back together a few times and decided without a doubt it was THE place to go regularly, so they bought timeshares at La CABANA BEACH RESORT.
Eventually other family members joined in and also bought timeshares for the same reason. It is just one of those places that instantly assures you that although other locations we have been to or where others have been are nice, absolutely nothing we have ever seen or heard about comes close to what we experience time and time again in Aruba.
It’s a Dutch island, well supported by the motherland (The Netherlands) and we come from Dutch heritage; the people speak Aruban, Dutch and English in various degrees; it has a lot of sunshine and we love sunshine; the sea water is crystal clear and comforting all of the time and we love it that way; the soft, white sandy beach is several kilometres long; it is outside of the hurricane zone; it is relatively easy to get to and relatively cheap travel if you follow the sales; it is NOT commercialized (that’s another plus) but it has everything we need and more.
So now as I reacclimatize and sit here with my dutch cheese on toasted Aruban pumpkin seed bread and café mocha, I will review my Journey Journal and photos for future anecdotes to share with you.
Part 3:
ARRIVING WITH CONFIDENCE
I woke up the morning of September 21, 2021 with an additional reason to add a jump to my step and do a happy dance on the white sandy beach on the Island of Aruba. I had just heard that my long ruling favoured political party secured another election victory — a minority government is after all a victory of sorts even though the participants would have preferred a different outcome!
I was delightfully surprised that a few of my on-side and off-side political friends and acquaintances and the non-political ones, who knew I was away for the first such election ever in my life, kept in touch with me in real time to be sure I was up to the minute up to date as the Canadian networks unravelled the regional results bit by bit. Although I, too, was watching the outcomes in real time on my iPad, having my astute contacts keep in touch made me feel like we were all in the room together, mindful and respectful. It was a new way of celebrating democracy, friendship and humanity.
As we often hear after the election results are known: “the people have spoken” — from here the elected Members of Parliament move forward with what we’ve got, and hope for balanced decision making for the greater good of all.
With that event completed, I shut the door on all of the complaining and criticism that always follows elections results. To me ‘vacation’ means to vacate the dominate lifestyle and switch to a whole different ambiance, routine and opportunity to enjoy a wonderful temporary distraction. This time I am travelling with my sister Cathy.
The moment the United Airlines flight landed at Oranjestad airport, we forgot about the length of the trip, breezed through Customs and jumped into the SUV taxi that was waiting for us at the taxi station. We followed the protocols for checking in to our lodgings at La Cabana Beach Resort and Casino, unpacked, dressed for the 32 degrees Celsius temperature and reacquainted ourselves with the grounds and people we have gotten to know over the years. It truly is our home away from home, and we love it. This shoe definitely fits and we wear it so very well.
Part 4:
ESTABLISHING OUR ROUTINE
ARUBA is a place I have visited 30 times over the past 22 years. Family members have been coming for about ten of those years. As such, we have developed a routine that meets our needs just fine. We do add something new now and then to see if it works, but by and large we are happily set in our ways.
On this trip, my guest was my sister. She got up extra early every morning to secure a front row palapa (grass tiki hut) on the beach so we have no obstructions in front of us. We see nothing ahead of us except the clean soft white sand and the various shades of blue that define the Caribbean Sea. I show up with my cappuccino and the local newspaper in hand about a half hour later. By then Cathy has already embarked on her very long walk down the beach and does not return for at least 30 minutes. When I see her come by, we wave and she continues on to the north end of the beach before entering the warm, soft water to cool down and relax.
Eventually I join her and we talk to each other, or not; we talk to strangers, or not; we talk to ourselves, or not — for sometimes as much as an hour. On average, we are in the water about four times a day, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. By midday, we individually break away from the beach and return to our villa to enjoy the air conditioning and make lunch. It is a nice break from the heat.
While under our palapa, we stare at people walking along the beach or wading in the water; we smile when we see people do selfies and amateur photo shoots; we marvel at the many variations of bathing suits worn by men and women; Cathy reads and I write. We both enjoy watching the pelicans and other sea diving birds navigate and prepare for their unsuspecting catch over and over again until they’ve had their fill. We watch the jet skiers, para-sailers, water boarders and the occasional wind surfer enjoy the pleasure of being free out on the wide open Sea. We also enjoy engaging in conversation with the people in the palapas beside and behind us — all more than two metres apart. We have met a diversity of people from all over the world and each has taught us something interesting and something new about life, lives and living.
Before we know it, the afternoon ends, we pack up to enjoy some pool time and socializing on the pool deck, before returning to our unit to freshen up and prepare for a much anticipated dinner. The evening usually ends with a good evening walk, sometimes a special dessert or time in the casino to see how long it takes to lose ten dollars (or not!) Or, we play a couple of games of cards at the kitchen table before watching a bit of television and then very easily falling asleep.
Oh what a life it is!
Part 5:
SATISFYING THE PALATE
One of the great things about vacating regular life to enjoy a vacation, is the special attention we get to pay to our palates. This is no time to stick with the at-home norms; it is a time to branch out, be bold, experiment. Food is also a popular topic of conversation with strangers and acquaintances on the beach or on the pool deck.
On the day of our arrival, cooking or going out is the last thing on our mind. The trip is long and long trips can be tiring especially when you start off with the red eye out of Vancouver. But, you gotta eat!
My sister was anxiously awaiting a first opportunity to walk across the street to our favourite grocery, bakery, deli, café and liquor store called Super Foods. “Super” is an understatement as that place surpasses ‘super’! Once there, she took a b-line to the café where we can buy take out Dutch beef croquettes — definitely our life long most favourite light and delicious treat. They are deep fried log shaped ragout that have been dipped in egg, then bread crumbs, egg again and bread crumbs again. The ragout is a delicious mix of chunks or strands of beef, beef stock, spices and these include purée potatoes. We enjoy eating them with or without bread; with or without salad. It is the perfect ‘just what we need’ first night meal.
Since we both enjoy cooking, we take turns creating interesting dinner meals usually making more than we need so there will be leftovers. For breakfasts and lunches, we tend to do our own thing. If I do a take-out for breakfast, for example, I usually don’t need a lunch because the offerings are very generous. Sometimes a take-out lunch is so generous I can easily eat the leftovers for a subsequent dinner.
I enjoy going out for dinner at least 3 times a week and always select something I don’t normally select in my regular life. The beef in Aruba is usually from Argentina and it is so naturally tender, it almost melts in your mouth. The chefs know how to spice it up just right and how to cook it, and I have never been disappointed.
At the Bohemian restaurant, the meal started with a charcuterie plate of bread, sliced deli meats, pickled onions and a good pile of Dutch cooked potatoes topped with melted Swiss cheese; the filet mignon meal includes various roasted veggies and creamy scalloped potatoes au gratin. Dessert? No thank you … too full!
Las Ramblas, a five star restaurant located at our Resort, is the place I order Surf N Turf which is a nice piece of bbq beef tenderloin and skewers with bacon wrapped scallops plus prawns, with roasted potatoes and other veggies. Cathy had the catch of the day which was a delicious Red Snapper with all the fixings. Our meal was preceded by a delightful glass of red wine sangria. Dessert? No thank you … too full!!
On another evening I also start my dinner meal at the Islander Grill with that sangria before enjoying a delicious and very garlicky Caesar salad topped with grilled prawns. It is a light meal, but it definitely pleased my palate very nicely. Dessert? Yes, over at the bakery in Super Foods, I selected a chocolate mousse pastry and Cathy got her favourite white chocolate doom on an almond flavoured cookie crumble crust. Both very Dutch.
Aruba does have hundreds of restaurants spread out all over the Island; but, during this COVID era, tourists are being more careful and more aware. I prefer to eat-in most of the time, and that includes take-outs from the local restaurants close by. Some people eat out all of the time or do take-out all of the time or eat in all of the time, but that is not something that I enjoy. For me, I choose a nice mix of different choices — different from the home front, giving me a vacation away from the norm, leaving me stress-free and my tummy happy.
Part 6:
AS THE SUN SETS
Well, as they say, all good things have to come to an end eventually and a vacation falls under that umbrella too.
Aruba is my haven of peace and joy, relaxation and spiritual solace, and where I get the best tans. We had a fabulous 16 days of time in a magical place, our paradise on earth — Aruba ta duchi!
But, as with every day here and around the world, the sun rises in the morning and gets our day started, and sets in the evening, to gives us time to appreciate what was, what is and what is about to come.
Life is good and we are happily blessed ….
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