Morning routine: Wake, pack, lay out clothes, wake up family, showers, breakfast, get off boat. Again we gave our kids the vendor warning and headed off the ship to find a taxi to Moomba Beach. I immediately fell in love with Aruba. We weren't attacked by vendors. The taxi were origanized by the port with a sign advising visitors that the taxi's were country regulated and prices were set by the country. Where we paid $15 a piece in the DR we paid $14 one way for the whole family in Aruba. When we arrived at the beach the cab driver told us all beaches in Aruba were public and there was no fee and to enjoy. We located the Paddle Boarding hut and checked in. Our instructor was out with another family so we got to swim for about an hour. The water was perfect. As a mom it's what I love the most about the Carribean. No waves and shallow water. It allowed me to breath easy with my kids being in the water. I found 4 lounge chairs by the water and asked how much. "No charge in Aruba," the lady replied. Man I loved his place.
Sun screen on and everybody was in the water. As I was sitting there I pulled out our waterproof camera and realized it was dead. :( Fail: Sabrina I had no idea the camera batter wouldn't last a full day. Nate ran off to grab a disposable waterproof camera. There was no way I was going to miss pictures of Ethan paddle boarding in Aruba and there was no way Nate was going to let me take my cellphone out there with me. FYI: Waterproof cameras aren't free in Aruba
We met with Dennis at 10:30 and chatted with him a bit. It ended up that he had lived in Jacksonville before. Surfed the jetties. Then lived in Jupiter (by my work) and we had common ground in fishing. We immediately liked him and his swagger. You can't go wrong with a surfer marine lover. Because Nate and I had paddle boarded in the past and Ethan was familiar with navigating a kayak I didn't book the instructed or guided tour so Dennis gave us quick lesson and we were off.
I love paddle boarding. I'm pretty damn good at it I must say and I love the peace of it. Ethan loved falling in. Lorelei loved falling in. And Nate enjoyed it but not as much as in the VI. It was a tad windy that day in Aruba and that caused for a more challenge day. In our past experience it was in a bay and the water was pure glass. Despite the extra big of challenge we all liked it. Hopefully after some good old fashion camera developing I can share some pics.
After paddle boarding we met Dennis back up at the beach. He told us that he was getting his fishing boat ready and next time we need to book a fishing trip with him. Ethan and Nate loved that idea. By then the idea of visiting Aruba again in the future had already crossed my mind. Nate asked Dennis about a local spot to eat and explained to him we didn't want French fries and tourist crap. What would he eat. He said that he was actually done for the afternoon because of the stronger winds coming and had a standard lunch time at a place called the Kitchen. He could drop off his boat tower at his house and come back in 40 minutes to take us with him to lunch in town. Nate said sure! The kids swam a little more and played on the swing set while I quietly wondered if we were doing a bad thing. Was this guy going to murder us? That's when I pulled out my phone and googled the restaurant, text my sisters of our plans, and said a little prayer.
Dennis came back and we headed to the restaurant. We asked him how far the port was from the restaurant and he said about 5 minutes but a longer walk but he could drop us off after. At this time I was more relaxed but weary because most locals just want money from the cruisers. He hadn't mentioned money yet and was having a genuine conversation with us. He told us about his daughter and ex wife. Why he lived in Aruba and how he got back there after living in the US. We could tell we had a new friend. The restaurant was so nice! Not a hole in the wall but small and everybody in there knew our new friend! Everybody! He was like the mayor of Aruba.
The food was amazing. You paid by the plate and by weight. He warned us to only get what you wanted. Nate and Ethan filled up their plates...$20 a piece! Lorelei was $4 and mine was $9. They wrote each plate cost on a ticket and at that time Nate told Dennis we were buying him lunch for his hospitality and told the server to please add his plate to ours. Dennis' "girlfriend" joined us for lunch and we talked about life in Aruba compared to the US and had a nice lunch. Did I mention the food was amazing???? When it was time to leave Nate noticed that Dennis' lunch was included and Dennis waved his hand and said, "No man, I pay monthly. Don't worry about it." He also told us that if we planned a trip to fly down to Aruba he knew some friends that rented their homes and we could plan a guided tour paddle board mangroves and a fishing trip. Yes please!!!
He shook our hands and dropped us off outside of the port.
Outside of the port was a large market similar to the Bahamas and then shops. Lorelei and Ethan found their souvenirs right away but Nate and Ethan wanted to check out some watch shops. Lorelei and I were tired and she had the candy shop on her mind so we headed back to the ship. We got back onto the ship, took showers and laid down in bed for our nap. She asked that I read my book out loud to her and she fell asleep. Nate and Ethan came back shortly after and we turned off our cabin lights and everybody took our mandatory naps.
I don't remember much from that night. I know it was a quiet night. Lorelei wanted to go to camp so Nate and I went to see the Diva show. It was good and I loved all the songs. I probably sang along with them too loud but I can't help it. We ended up picking Lorelei up early because we wanted to watch a movie with her out on the Lido deck. We hit up the ice machine and grabbed our buckets of popcorn, laid on a deck chairs and watched Avengers under a full moon. Lorelei and I deemed it the worst popcorn ever. We even tried dipping into her ice cream cone. Occasionally we saw the teens walk past but they stayed away from us. I think they had labeled the adults uncool by then. We eventually met up with them again for pizza before we all headed to bed.
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