Bon Dia
Trip Start
Apr 08, 2009
1
2
12
Trip End
Apr 19, 2009
Where I stayed
Oranjestad,
Aruba
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Our room was located on the ground floor. When you get out to the patio, the swimming pool is just right there which is good for us. In front of our building is the beachfront Tamrijn. You just walk pass it and the beach is just within easy walking distance.
We went swimming. The water was cool at first but our body adjusted to it easily. We stayed in the water until lunch time.
After we showered, ate lunch and rested a little bit we headed out to go spelunking. We wanted to see Fontein Cave and Quadiriki Cave. Since Aruba is so good with street signs we relied on the different maps that we had. DH does not want to go all the way to San Nicholas because he said it will be too far. So we drove to the entrance of the Arikok National Park and got direction from there from someone who was in the guardhouse.
swimming pool just outside our room
We drove in the middle of Arikok National Park and the road was scary. Very rugged and we were bounce around. We also made a wrong turn and climbed up this very steep hill and there was no way to turn around so we have to go all the way to the top. At the top there were people on a jeep tour. The view was beautiful. Going down was another story. I have fear of heights. I thought I will have a heart attack. We made it through. Because of this adventure we saw a different side of Aruba. But if I have to do it again I will take the longer route in San Nicholas if that means an easier and less scary road. When we arrived at the Fontein Cave it was close. The sign says it closes at 4:30pm. We got there about 4pm. There were couples who were there before us and told us that it's been close seen they got there. We stopped by the snack bar for an ice cold coca cola. We also went to the gift shop to buy some trinkets for our geo caching. We proceeded to Boca Prins. I don't know the highlight of this place since you can't swim in it because the surf is strong. It turned out to be a favorite past time site by locals; dune sliding on this area.
On the way to Quadiriki Cave we stopped by for geo caching and found our very first cache as a family. DS has been geo caching with his Boy Scout Troop. When we check out the geo caching website we found out that there are caches in Aruba and most of them are hidden in the places where we plan to visit. So we decided to do it. I printed some info of the caches locations but somehow it did not make it to Aruba with us. And we did not have an internet access at the Divi Dutch Village. So we were geo caching solely with our GPS without any added clues. On top of the rock where we were looking for our cache we saw a lot of bullet casings. We wondered why there was so many in the area. The view of the ocean on top of the rock was really beautiful.
We proceeded to Quadiriki Cave. The sign towards the cave says Quadiriki but a lot of people and websites refer to it as Guadiriki. Anyway, we can only go as far as the area where it was illuminated by the sunlight streaming through the holes on the roof. The walkway towards this area was dark but we have a flashlight with us.
As we drove out of the area we saw a lot of dug holes and a sign that says, "Military Live Firing Range". That explains the bullet casings. We can be a target!
Since we were in the neighborhood we decided to have dinner at the Old Man and the Sea. Once again, we didn't have a reservation but we were able to get a table. The ambience was really romantic. We were dining on the white sand beach with linen covered tables nestled between coconut trees and watching the sun set. There was a piano and saxophone playing jazz music. They also have a private hut that can accommodate up to 20 people. You pay extra $100 and you can use it from 5pm to 8pm. The food was good.
