Little did we know how different Curaçao and Aruba would be. As we mentioned in our blog post of Curaçao, it is a melting pot of Dutch, Caribbean African and Latin American cultures. Aruba also has some similarities, but it is mostly influenced by the US.
It turns out that the destination is extremely popular amongst Americans, and there are daily around 20 flights to and from the US. Restaurant, hotel and grocery brands were mainly American, and US dollars seemed to be the preferred currency.
Sailing in Aruba is easier than in Curaçao, as you can anchor anywhere you like. However, when you arrive in Aruba, the customs office forces you to checkin by going with the boat to their dock. The problem is that it is located in a very shallow area with lots of strong winds and a narrow approach with several shoals and debris in the water. Absolutely not ideal, and a reason why many sailors skip the island all together.
The fact that we had two customs officers board our boat (with boots on 🤨) and going through all bilges and cabinets, did not make the experience any better. We were fined USD 133 for bringing in too much alcohol… Lucky us that Christopher and Lorena were on board as well, otherwise the fine would have been even higher.
We started out exploring the island by a 4×4 jeep, as a lot of the roads are made of sand and are fairly bumpy.
After a couple of nights at anchor by Surfside Beach, we moved the boat to a lovely anchorage up North, just off Catalina Beach. There is great snorkeling on multiple reefs there, as well as plenty of turtles as well as an impressive wreck.
It was truly exciting to snorkel the wreck of SS Antilla. She was a 400 foot Hamburg America Line cargo ship launched in 1939 and sunk in 1940. It was built for trade between Germany and the Caribbean. The ship was intentionally sunk by its crew as Germans invaded Holland in the Second World War.
The guys went back to the wreck for a night dive (Christopher’s first 😀), and had a great experience. They saw tons of fish and several large turtles sleeping on the wreck!
Carine’s roommate from university in the US is originally from Aruba, but now lives in Amsterdam. She happened to be on Aruba with her family at the same time as us. They stayed close to our anchorage off Catalina Beach. We picked up Danielle’s family on the beach with our dinghy, and spent a day together snorkeling and hanging out.
We were lucky to share one more day with Danielle and family. We visited them at the house they stayed at, and shared an awesome lunch.
The captain / chef made a fabulous meal the last night Christopher and Lorena were at the boat. Self caught lobster and home made focaccia and hummus. YUM!
Christopher and Lorena moved onshore to a hotel their last night on Aruba (desire for a hot shower before flying Trans-Atlantic😊), and invited us for a fabolous Italian dinner at a restaurant in the high rise hotel area. The night started at a couple of bars in the Renaissance Marina area, and the guys went all in for the touristy experience of doing a tequila shot with a scorpion in it! They even got a t-shirt 🦂😎
It was sad to see the “kids” leave 🥲 We really enjoyed having them on board, and treasure the experiences we shared ❤️
We went back to our twosomeness on Noxoma, and started our preparations to put the boat on the hard for a few weeks. Preparing for the Pacific is the next big thing on our agenda!