December 1, 2011 22:34 (Holy shit I can't believe it's December already!)
So saying the past week or two haven't been the best is an understatement. Luckily yesterday and today was the best 48hours I've spent on board and I didn't even go out today.
Yesterday started early as we got into Oranjestad, Aruba at 7am. This is the only time we go this season so we knew we only had one shot to make a great day of it. Only problem was when we got the weather the day before it called for rain and a chance of thunderstorms… bummer. BUT as I already said these two days were amazing so do you think the rain came? Hell no! Not only did it not rain but it was 35C and sunny. A perfect day.
We left the ship and found a cab that was willing to take us to the beach for $3 per person. After a 10-15 min drive we found ourselves in their downtown at a beautiful beach populated with resorts like Westin and Hyatt. The water was an brilliant aqua and although too cloudy to snorkel it was perfect in the heat. After a dip and a nap in the sun Tina, Roby, and got to play some beach volleyball with some locals and other tourists. This was especially great because beach volleyball is all that Tina's been saying she's wanted to do since we got down south and for me I got to remember what it's like to sweat because of exercise.
At this point we were hot, sweaty, hungry and thirsty so we tore into the ocean again before walking over to Hyatt's bar. I had a Mojito and the most amazing fish tacos before heading back for even more swimming before we had to catch a cab back to the ship. While we were packing up I had a chat with a local selling tours and asked him a bit about the area. He told me that houses 10-20 mins from the beach go for as low as 50k and that Aruba's revenue was 80% tourism. Hmm cheap housing, high tourism demand, AND a Hyatt on the beach. I think I need to see if they're hiring… ;)
Work, as always, was tough after a day in the sun but our saving grace was that since all the guests had also been out in the sun all day they were in their cabins resting instead of at reception giving us a hard time while we recovered.
After work we headed to the crew bar where I was reminded by one of the Andreas (pronounced Andrae-a) that it was our name day and they were going to be celebrating in the bar. Now being from North America I don't know anything about name days but after experiencing my first one I can say I'm a fan. December 1st St Andrew/Andrea's day so people with those names are celebrated. There were 5 or 6 Andrea's plus me so we had a nice little crew of 20-30 in our bar celebrating. For a change we actually had music, and dancing which lasted until about 3:30 this morning. Needless to say there were a lot of happy and tired people around the ship today. I was exhausted getting to work but it was totally worth it.
Today I didn't get off but I got to work with my old shift again which is always a good time. On our two hour break tonight Tina, Roby, and I ate in the fine dining restaurant again and once again was blown away with the food. This time I had scallops, a lobster pasta, angus steak, and coconut cake. Let's just say my pants didn't fit right after and I couldn't stop smiling. To top it all off I was off at 10 tonight and now I'm off to the crew bar to grab some brewskis for Drewski. Ciao!
HAPPY NAME DAY! Dedo celebrated his every year with a big house party. Probably 50+ people would file through before it was over. Always a lot of fun. Where is Andrea from?
ReplyDeleteYeah, check into the Hyatt! We'll come visit you!!
ReplyDeletexoxo