Aruba Friday: Downtown Trolley, Aloe Farm, and Arashi Beach Sunset

avatar
(Edited)

IMG_1124.jpeg

I missed the Friday post yesterday so I will catch up today.

We were visited during breakfast by this whiptail lizard who fancied some scrambled egg that fell to the ground. These fellows are about 20cm long and are beautifully colored.

IMG_2403.jpeg

IMG_2443.jpeg

The streets downtown are narrow, but traffic is pretty light. We managed to find free parking on the street only a couple of blocks from an information kiosk and trolley stop.

IMG_1109.jpeg

At the port where the cruise ships arrive there is a trolley station. The trolley runs up one of the shopping streets, turns around and returns. It is free to ride. Along the street there are numerous restaurants and stores where you can buy watches, electronics, clothes, and so on.

IMG_1098.jpeg

IMG_1104.jpeg

The trolley goes by the Architecture museum as well. You can see the old buildings in front with a modern building just behind.

IMG_1114.jpeg

IMG_1125.jpeg

We spent the morning into the mid afternoon in this area and my friend found a very good deal on a Citizen watch. Just for fun we went into the Breitling shop where I learned that the most popular watch sold in the store cost more than my car: $5000+ US! Maybe that was in the Omega shop. The cheap watch in there would only set me back $2000+ US. I cannot fathom having that much money. There are plenty of t-shirt shops and souvenir places along the many streets here in the embarcadero area.

From here we ventured inland to the Aruba Aloe Farm and tour. After an outdoor demonstration about the aloe plant our guide took us through a brief, informative, and free tour of the factory. It was quite interesting. Of course, the tour ends at the gift shop. There are plenty of samples to try and with a purchase and the surrender of your email address you receive a free bar of soap. So you've got that going for ya.

IMG_1126.jpeg

IMG_1127.jpeg

IMG_1139.jpeg

After a lazy afternoon at our Air BnB we headed up the coast to Arashi beach to watch the sunset. Many locals go on the dirt roads that veer off the road that goes past Arashi Beach to the California Lighthouse, so we followed them. It must be amazing to live in a place that has such beautiful sunsets every night.

IMG_2496.jpeg

IMG_2509.jpeg

Apparently, this crab was also enjoying the sunset!

IMG_2477.jpeg

This young local couple was there enjoying the sunset and a couple (large) bottles of Heineken.

IMG_2494.jpeg

There is a protected area of beach where you can walk around but you may not take anything from the beach. I found some huge Conch shells.

_MG_0004.jpeg

_MG_0005.jpeg

Behind the sunset, the California Lighthouse and restaurant overlook the north end of Aruba. It is a beautiful backdrop to a beautiful sunset.

IMG_2520.jpeg

If you come to Aruba, do bring some shoes or sandals that you can wear in the water. You can find some nice shells by venturing out among the rocky shore where I believe many tourists don't make the effort to go.

IMG_2511.jpeg

Thanks for stopping by. The next post is beach day, especially for @tattoodj!



0
0
0.000
5 comments
avatar

Congratulations @kicktheball! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

You published more than 10 posts. Your next target is to reach 20 posts.

You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

To support your work, I also upvoted your post!

You can upvote this notification to help all Steem users. Learn how here!

0
0
0.000
avatar

Congratulations, Your Post Has Been Added To The Steemit Worldmap!
Author link: http://steemitworldmap.com?author=kicktheball
Post link: http://steemitworldmap.com?post=aruba-friday-downtown-trolley-aloe-farm-and-aroshi-beach-sunset


Want to have your post on the map too?

  • Go to Steemitworldmap
  • Click the code slider at the bottom
  • Click on the map where your post should be (zoom in if needed)
  • Copy and paste the generated code in your post
  • Congrats, your post is now on the map!
0
0
0.000
avatar

Beautiful post about your Aruba adventure. I visited that aloe vera factory myself a few years back as a tour from a cruise ship. I'd love to go back and spend more time in Aruba. Thanks for sharing!
@tipu curate

0
0
0.000
avatar
(Edited)

You bet! Thanks for stopping by. I have just a couple posts left as we leave tomorrow. Back to the midwest winter. I'm glad you got to visit. It is a beautiful island.

I see you ride a Harley. Very cool. I'm a V-Strom guy. I talked to a Harley guy today. Apparently there is a cruise ship getting in tomorrow with a bunch of riders. They are going to tour the island all day, tomorrow. With all the sand on the road and stiff winds I'm sure it is an exciting place to ride!

0
0
0.000
avatar

Hiya, @lizanomadsoul here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #685.

Your post has been manually curated by the @steemitworldmap team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider upvoting and supporting us.

0
0
0.000