Dr T delivers the keys at the reception when we check out. I do not want to give them feedback on their 'service', I have a plane to catch!
Delivering the car at the airport, checking in, all uneventful. A couple of tax free shops in the little airport, all closed! Monday morning 10h30. While at least one international flight is leaving: hmmmmm. Wonder when they ARE open... . So: no booze!
The plane and especially for our captains: the cockpit! So, Greg, what is it?
Dr T does not get sick anymore in those planes! We even got a drink: a choice of juices and we both took uvas juice. You do not know what uvas is? Neither do we. I was surprised Hubby was so adventurous to try something at random. He wasn't. He just taught it was strawberry. And did not like it!
Arriving in Aruba, after a 40 minute flight, we went looking for the AlkeFly office. Dr T booked our home flight weeks ago in Curacao. The problem was: you could not book a one way flight on the website. You had to call. Calling, you could not pay with credit cards, you had to drop by at an agency. Tony explained that we only arrived on Aruba the 8th of August (he just said something, our flight to Aruba was far from booked, then). The lady said: 'no problem, we will keep the tickets. The last 2 for that flight!
So it was urgent for us to go and pay for that; only: no AlkeFly office at the airport.
Taxi to hotel then. Taxi driver does not know the address. Only speaks Spanish. Oh, dear, there we go again. But, he finds it in the end, drops us of and we 'enter' the hotel. A little boy is playing on the porch. Dr T goes: 'hello, hello?' Nobody. He asked the little boy to fetch mum or dad. He comes back with: grandma. Who has 1 walking stick, 1 eye and no teeth. She talks the local language. A tiny bit of English, tiny bit of Dutch. She brings a business card from the hotel. Tony calls, the home phone rings. He explains: this is the home phone, we need mobile. By now, we understood her son is at the airport. Picking us up? Dr T calls again. Phone is ringing and passed to me. A very unclear conversation follows. I have no idea what language to speak. The guy asks: 'Marie?'. I say yes, thinking he is confused. He says: 'we are at the airport! Oh, we did not know about a pick up. Anyway: he will be back.
We wait for another hour. And the couple does come back. It was not us they were picking up. It was a Marie from Germany, who did not show up. And they did not know we were coming, their son made the reservation. We are checked in anyway. The apartment is cr.ppy. Really is. NO pictures yet. Dr T got shy because he is n.ked on them. But, we do have a private bathroom, airco AND internet, so we do not complain. We knew it would not be shiny.
Priority: finding the AlkyFly office. Dr T calls them and gets the address. We go searching. It is hot. Fucking hot. The breeze we had on the other islands, is not here. We find the agency. And the lady says: 'you are lucky, they cancelled the reservation because it was not paid yet, but I extended it'. Relieve, that we can go home.
With the tickets in our hot little hands, we explore Oranjestad. We go for a local beer. And a meal: grouper and surf and turf. VERY nice.
Exploring the city some more: local Rodeo drive; Dr T being lazy; the yacht harbor. Hubby, do not drool so much, the pub. Oh, my Hubby bought me my next Pandora: lime green, I am in my lime green period.
Dr T sucks my sangria and does not like it.
We try to do the shopping afterwards: everything is closed but a very dodgy mini market.
A little diner later we are ready to go to sleep, are you?
Next day: Hubby sleeps in. I am the social butterfly: chatting and mailing. I am NOT a happy puppy: I have 6 fever blisters on my lip and next to my mouth: I am a MONSTER. Also: I cannot dive like that, my lip feels like there are 100 needles poking it and my heart beats in it. This is only the 5th time or so, I have this: it is the stress from my diving adventure.
We go to the 'real' supermarket: a very well hidden anonymous building. It is OK but no Appie, Springmuis!
We have brunch at noon and brainstorm what to do. Rent a car! Very easy said but we did not manage. Dr T calls and calls: no cheap cars left. One company has SLKs! Since the phone line is bad, we decide to go to the city, we saw car rental places.
A little ship sailed in today.
The car rental places (in the big hotels) are ... closed for the day. Come back tomorrow.
What to do, what to do, what to do but: go and sit on a terrace and drink beer?
Dr T chats like crazy (business as usual, qoui) and gets inspired to take arty pictures.
We change our mind and go for diner in our yesterday's apero place:
http://www.iguanajoesaruba.com/
Very upbeat and nice food. We walk home where Hubby chats some more and glues himself to the computer afterwards.
Tomorrow maybe a car, maybe not. Or it might be a bike! I'll send you some pictures of our 'apartment', too.
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Oranjestad Hotels
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