It's For Sail: 84) Aruba

Commercial Harbor, Oranjestad, Aruba 12° 31.339 N 70° 02.580 W

Sint Nicolaas Baai or Rodgers Bay, Aruba 12° 25.070 N 69° 53.239 W

Anchorage off Oranjestad, Aruba 12° 30.586 N 70° 02.055 W

Last night I did not sleep much. This anchorage was too exposed to the swells breaking on the fringing reef. The boat rocked and rolled all night. In the pre-dawn hours the winds increased into the high 20s and then the rain started. It was a fairly brief shower. If you looked only at the fringing reef then this was a nice looking anchorage. But, if you turn around and look at the refinery then this was a dump. A little slice of paradise invaded by progress.

Pulling up the hooks was a challenge since there were 2 of them in the water. We pulled up the main one first and then hand lined the stern hook. See ya!

Customs dock in the commercial harbor.

We headed for the next place so we could check-in. It’s a bummer that private boats have to tie up to the large commercial pier. It never favors the size of the boats and we always have trouble with fenders and fending off. On the radio they said that immigration would drive out to us at 11 and they showed up at 1050. I tried walking out the gate on my way to Carlos & Charlie’s but got stopped and told it would be best if I waited until we checked in. Then some guy leans his head out of some unmarked door and asks if I am the captain. He says to tell the captain to come over and check in. After that we still had to wait for the other people to arrive. They were early and very friendly. John and Nancy have been asking most of the officials that we meet about the disappearance of Natalie (the US girl). Everyone has an opinion. But, the overall consensus is that she is a troublemaker and so is her family. They have put quite a stain on Aruba yet no one should disappear because of anything. The locals are very opinionated over this issue.

After check-in we motored a mile to the anchorage since there was no way we were going to fit in the marina. That is one of the drawbacks of having a large boat with no bow thrusters. We dropped the hook, dropped the dinghy and motored over to the marina.

Since I could not find Hooters on St. Lucia and Tina told me there was one on Aruba I had to go there. All on board knew that Hooters was on my list of things to do and they agreed to go there for lunch. It was down on hotel row and that was a $13 USD cab ride. But, it was well worth it to have an American bacon cheeseburger. Not to mention the trinkets and, uhm signs on the walls…

After that fine meal we needed to head back to the general area where the boat was. Nancy needed to go to the immigration office to get a letter stating that it was ok for her to get off the boat and buy an airline ticket to Columbia. Alan went his way and the 3 of us got a cab to immigration. We drove past the anchorage, past the airport and pretty far into a desolate area until we came to a dockyard. And, it was the right place. It was open and she got her letter within 10 minutes! The banks are closed, the grocery stores are closed and this was open! The cab waited for us and took us to the airport. The airline ticket window was closed. But, some USD and some patience got her a ticket for a 4pm flight. It was about 3pm and the timing was perfect. Nancy had herself a ticket to fly to Columbia and gets to pass on the potentially difficult run from here to there. Basically, the seas build up in the area that we are going to transit and she just did not want to deal with it. The last several passages have been rough and I don’t blame her. Rough means that you cannot get comfortable, your neck aches, you are hungry, the boats rolls back and forth, and did I mention that you can’t get comfortable?

John and I headed back to the area where the dinghy was and I said let’s walk along the waterfront and find a poolside bar. We found one! This was the 1^st time that we actually sat in one and experienced what the paying crowd paid for. We sat there and got a pitcher of beer, and then a couple of frozen drinks and just relaxed. The funny thing was that on the several TVs was the Pittsburg/Denver playoff and a crowd of Americans watching it. But, the moment was nice while it lasted. We left there and met Alan at the dinghy at 530 to head back to the boat. We want to go to Tony Roma’s tonight, hello! Tony Roma’s! We have been craving this since the Atlantic! We are sitting on the boat, offshore in the anchorage, we know where the restaurant is and it keeps raining!! Every 15 minutes it pours. How bad do we want ribs?