We were looking forward to Aruba because the scheduled itinerary had us pulling out at 11:30 pm ship time; that would be 12:30 am local time on New Years and the thought of seeing all of the fireworks as we pulled away was pretty cool.
So, of course, the Captain comes on about noon….”We regret to inform you….”. Port will close at 9 pm so we have to leave by then. Bah!
The plan here was pretty simple; get off the boat, hail a cab, and get to Palm Beach.
In hindsight, maybe a trip to less crowded Eagle Beach would have been more in tune with how we like to do things. But….the boys got to go tubing, so that was fun, and it was nice to see the really ‘popular beach’ and hang out. But it was crowded and in general I was not a fan of this beach.
This picture, while pretty, does not really convey just how many people were down here today.
Had dinner at Smokey Joe’s before heading back. This drink, the Green Monster (Boston-named for the Boston-boy) was advertised as having 5 shots. And he finished it…..and was a little giddy for the next hour or two.
These red things well, let me google and find a better explanation…
“Throughout the night and the rest of the weekend you could hear Fucu exploding everywhere. Fucu is a string of very loud firecrackers, wrapped in red paper that burn very loudly and brightly on the ground leaving behind shredded paper everywhere. Arubians believe Fucu sends away evil spirits and draws in good vibes so in no time the streets were covered in red.”
(Click on the picture above for the short video of one of those Fucu’s going off!)
Leaving Aruba….we sailed slowly away because well, we only have to get to the island to the right there. Wish they could have just hung off shore of Aruba until after midnight…..
Will talk about New Years Eve on the boat in the next post…..
