Hi everyone :) Hope the first week of the new year has been fun and productive. Today I am bringing you the last installment of Cruisin' with Canival. Today I'll be combining the last two places that we visited, which were Curaçao and Aruba!
Now these are two places that we would definitely go back to and stay for a couple of days at each! They both had the most beautiful beaches, but they each had unique aspects that made me want to come back for more.
CURAÇAO
So let's start with Curaçao. This stop was the longest of the four, so we spent the most time here. We arrived around 1:30-2p til almost 10pm; meaning the ship was docked the entire day. Around 9:30 was around the time where you saw people boarding the ship at the end of the night. By this time we were already back on board because we were tired. LOL. Anyways, once we arrived we were greeted with tons of little souvenir shops and locals selling tours and things like that. We decided to walk around for a little while on our own, which was nice. I was really looking forward to this stop because I ALWAYS wanted to see that picture perfect postcard I would come across everywhere online. You know...the one with all the colorful buildings in front of a bridge...? Let me tell you that it was even better in person! It was so beautiful ! There was a ferry nearby, so we rode on it to go to the other side of the town, which was where the colorful buildings were at. The ferry was free and it was about a 5-10 minute ride, which was cool ! The highlight of this stop I have to say was the Queen Emma bridge! This bridge is across St. Anna bay and it connects the Punda and Otrobanda (two districts) quarters of Willemstad (the capital). The unique aspect about this bridge is that its no ordinary bridge. When a boat or large vessal want to cross it, it actually just slides in the water and moves to the side as opposed to a bridge that usually lifts up from the water...like the ones I'm used to at home lol. So in other words, if you're currently walking on the bridge and a boat needs to pass, you will need to stay on the bridge while it moves for the boat to pass! I thought that was very interesting because I've never seen that before.
Ok moving on, so one of the first things we did here was shop for what we wanted to shop for, which was, souvenirs (for me it was magnets, I got one at each stop!) liquor, cups, etc. We did this first so we wouldn't worry about it later. The shops tend to close pretty early and we did not want to miss out if we came back late from what we were doing. So when we finished, we went back to the ship to put everything we bought in our room and came back out and took a little bus taxi! Our taxi driver was really nice and was pretty knowledgable of the island. He dropped us off at Moomba beach, which I quickly learned it was their most popular beach, and I could definitely see why. It had the most crystal clear water I had ever seen. I was super impressed; it kind of put our beaches in Miami to shame..LOL. And we arrived there at a great time because we were able to catch the sunset...it was just amazing! So in this area, its filled with cute little restaurants and outside bars. We spent most of our time here, just relaxing and drinking a bit. I was also catching up on some emails because I was able to get some wi-fi connection there too! So by this time, we were pretty tired...so we waited for our taxi driver to come and pick us up to take us back to the area around the ship til we boarded again.
This is the "Queen Emma Bridge" that moves! lol
Moomba Beach
Reminds me so much of Amsterdam...so pretty :)
ARUBA
Now onto Aruba! Aruba is known as "One Happy Island" and it definitely is. People were so happy and friendly..it made me question where I was living to be honest. Why are people so rude back home? LOL. We had a really memorable time in Aruba. We decided on a open-window bus tour that drove us around to notable spots around Aruba. I really enjoyed this tour, our bus driver was a lady who was really quirky and gave us a bunch of history on Aruba. Here, the diversity is at its peak. So many people from different countries, it was very interesting. The main languages here is called Papiamento, which is a mix of portuguese, creole and spanish. At times I was able to catch some phrases here and there because some were similar to spanish. So the first stop on the tour was at the rock formations where you were able to see an amazing view of Oranjestad, which is the capital of Aruba. We climbed to the very top to be able to see it; this also made me realize how out of shape I really am...geeez! This area was also filled with trees that are very common in Aruba, which are called the "Divi-divi" trees. The ones that look like they've been swept to the side by a hurricane or something lol. These were everywhere and also cacti! I've never seen so many cactuses at once in my life. It was pretty hot that day so maybe thats why it felt so dry at times. LOL. After the rock formations, she took us to the "California lighthouse", which was a nice stop because it had a beautiful view of the ocean and it was an opportunity to capture great photos! It also had a fabulous restaurant where you dine outside and enjoy the view. We didn't have enough time to eat there, but I definitely would if you get a chance to go! This stop was pretty short; it was about 15-20 minutes tops, just to get a look around til we had to board the tour bus again. We also stopped by a church, which I don't even remember the name because by this time I was tired and just climbed back on the bus while everyone else was taking pics of the church.....I'm good! LOL. So our last stop in this tour was at Eagle beach! We spent the most time here..about 2 hours I'd say. She dropped us off here and we were able to enjoy the beach....and we rode on jet skis!!!!! It was my first time on one, so it was quite the experience. I didn't drive of course..I was too busy in the back with my go-pro filming video ;) As far as the jet ski goes, we did it for about 30 minutes and it was $50 for two people. I felt that was a reasonable price because I know here at home, they charge way more than that. After the two hours, the tour bus was back to pick us up to take us back to the area that was close to the ship. Now, one thing that I took away from Aruba is that there is some serious shopping here!!!! So many great places to shop, I was almost drooling :) That would be one reason I would come back because there's no taxes and no fees when you shop! :) I was able to get the "cruise" pandora charm for my bracelet there...now its even more special because of where I got it :)
The rock formations!
The view up top!
Divi-Divi tree!
California Lighthouse!
Told ya there was fab shopping ;)
We couldn't leave without taking a photo here ;) DUH!
So much european culture here.
Made me so nostalgic of when I visited Amsterdam.
Funny story to this photo: This was right after we finished jet skiing and we needed to change clothes because we couldnt get back on the bus all wet. At the time, there was a huge line to go to the bathroom, as there was only one stall available for each. So me, being the impatient person that I am, I just told my bf to hold a towel up for me as I quickly changed my clothes at some little hut nearby. I hope no one saw me. LOL!!!!!
Thanks so much for reading and that you stuck til the end of the post.
I appreciate it ;)
'til my next adventure <3
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