We continue our road trip to avoid Wisconsin’s winter with two weeks in Aruba! I know, I know what you’re thinking – obviously we didn’t drive there! Nonstop flights on Southwest from Fort Lauderdale were very reasonable, so why not include two weeks in paradise since we’re already here! We parked our car near the airport, made sure we had our passports and Embarkation/Disembarkation paperwork ready, and we were off.

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit Dodging the Deep Freeze 2020.

Technically this post was added after a two-week vacation in 2017. I never finished the series at that time and have lots of great photos to add in with the ones I took this year. This post was really just an intro as to how we made the decision to go to Aruba in the first place, and may include some things that others may struggle with when choosing vacation destinations.

When a vacation involves a trip over an ocean and above average airfare, we like to go for at least two weeks to make it seem worth the extra cost. When contemplating Aruba, we had to seriously think about the fact that Aruba is touted as a beach location and we aren’t really beach people. Aruba is an island and not a very big island, so there’s probably not much to do, and we usually like to pack in the day trips, tours and sightseeing. Just how much laying around can a person handle without becoming bored or going stir-crazy?

Is it hot? 85-90° (all year ’round) sounds hot. I don’t really do hot. The pool looks fantastic, but we rarely use the pool at all while on vacation – mainly because swimsuits are just a cruel joke, but also because we usually run out of time, since we’re packing in the aforementioned day trips, tours and sightseeing. The list went on and on as to why Aruba wasn’t for us. I mean really, do the photos below really look that appealing?

OK, Let’s Give it a Try

I am part of a Facebook group of happy timeshare owners who are always ooo-ing and ahhh-ing about Aruba – to the point that we finally said we should give it a try. Maybe Aruba could become our go-to place instead of Hawaii which costs considerably more, with twice the flight times. OK, OK, let’s give it a try.

So Many Misconceptions!

As it turned out, all of our misconceptions about Aruba were refuted. Our resort was called La Cabana, a Bluegreen Vacation Club resort. It sits just across the street from Eagle Beach, which we found out over the next two weeks, is the best beach on the island. Not only does the sun feel great on our frost-bitten skin (it was February), but the water is the most fabulous shade of turquoise and so clear you can see way down to the whitest sand I’ve ever seen. Aruba may indeed, be paradise.

Eagle Beach

Once I observed the folks at the pool and the beach having such a great time, I remembered – OH YA, I don’t really care what other people think, and as momma said on the Kuku Bus (more on that later), “Nobody knows you and nobody gives a crap!” Of course momma’s mouth wasn’t quite that conservative, but you get the idea!

Securing a Palapa can be Stressful – OR NOT!

To reserve a palapa, you have to get up way too early in the morning. It didn’t take long to establish our routine: sleep till whenever, grab a cup of coffee and hang out on our balcony till whenever, grab a little snack from the fridge and maybe a cocktail till whenever, then make our way to the beach.

Our shade while waiting for a palapa.

Here’s the OR NOT Part

We head down to the staging area (that’s Jim on the left) where a row of lounge chairs awaits in the shade in the back row. We show the handsome young men our wristbands that prove we are staying at La Cabana and they keep an eye out for an open palapa.

By then, some folks have tired of the sand, maybe soaked up a little too much sun (or rum), or have decided to share the palapa that they’ve been hoarding all day, so we usually didn’t have long to wait. If we didn’t get one, well, being under a tree in paradise, close to the drink hut was better than even a great day at work.

Happy Hours

Happy Hour was actually two hours and includes two-for-one drinks. Pina Coladas became our drink of choice for this trip. We tried others, but always came back to them. They took the edge off our very stressful days. Ha ha – who am I kidding – there were no stressful days!

When that Happy Hour was over, we’d head across the street to the pool, where there was another happy two hours. The pool was fabulous, with lots of room to escape the crowds near the bar area. The water was clean and cool and perfect.

Don’t Forget the Sunscreen!

It was apparent by the red skin and even blisters, that folks had decided to rush the “tanning” process. It was also apparent by the laughter and boisterousness, that folks really enjoy their happy hours on this Happy Island. And what’s not to enjoy!

Wildlife!

It appeared we were not the only ones enjoying the pool. First there were cute little bright green or blue lizards/iguanas. Then the big guns came out, which at first was a little scary. They didn’t jump on us or even pay too much attention to us really, they were there just in case a scrap of something yummy would make its way to the ground. Since they were here first, we enjoyed their company and shared the sunshine. Every now and then there was a big rustling in the nearby bushes and a bunch of them would come running out. At first that was a little creepy, then it was kinda fun imagining just what was going on in there. Ya, we had a lot of time on our hands!

Save Your Money for Dinners

One of the advantages of staying in a condo is the kitchen, and a huge grocery store is just a short walk away. If you are over-zealous with your purchases, you’ll suffer about halfway back as the handles of the bags dig into your fingers, so someone suggested a roller bag. The path has improved since our first visit, but Jim brought his backpack for heavier purchases. Plastic bags are not allowed anywhere on the island, so bring some reusable bags from home. Since they are very light, they won’t add much weight to your suitcase.

We like to keep breakfast foods and a few lunch or snack foods on hand, leaving dinners up in the air, to try the local eateries – and in Aruba, there are lots of FABULOUS restaurants! There were so many wonderful restaurants within walking distance or just a quick bus-ride away, La Cabana was an ideal location for our vacation on Aruba. I will talk more about restaurants on upcoming posts.

And then there were the sunsets!

Turns out we may be beach AND pool people after all!

Next up: Exploring Aruba

Happy trails,
Barb