I always get excited when leaving NC to go, well...anywhere. I always start with the obligatory airplane / airport / travel shots, mainly because I need to entertain myself!
As soon as I arrived at my hotel, The Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, I took a quick photo from the balcony, changed into my running gear and headed for the Carolina Lighthouse.
3 miles later, I found it!
I took a few photos and headed back. The sun sets quickly that close to the equator! 3 miles later, I sat down to enjoy the warm water and the amazing sunset...
The Marriott was a great hotel! Along with the pools, beach, bars, restaurants, huge fitness center and spa, there were 2 things that I love: a casino and video games!
I absolutely love dining on the beach. The first night, I ventured down and was lucky enough to get a table at Simply Fish, about 5 feet from the ocean, complete with candles, wine and an amazing meal of seafood ceviche, blackened cobia, tostones, red beans and chardonnay. After dinner, I headed to the casino for a little fun...
There's no better way to get acquainted with a new location than by doing so on foot. Here are a few shots walking around the hood near the Caribbean Palm Village Resort. The first photo is of the local beer made in Aruba - Belashi. Belashi is a pilsner, while Belashi Chill is like a Corona. Polar is a Venezuelan Beer. So light and easy to drink - nice and refreshing! I love the tiny cans too...perfect to carry around while doing a photo walk!
The tree in front of these houses are Divi trees. They line the streets of Aruba and grow at a 45 degree angle because of the wind that constantly blows. In Aruba, lost tourists are told to follow the divi trees, as they always point to the hotels.
I found it interesting how residences and huge commercial spaces were so close together.
Love my tiny beer!
The Blue Lobster - where the locals eat. Not many places outside of the high rise district are open for lunch. The Blue Lobster is open for lunch and is a favorite among the locals.
I was hot, wanted a beer, but decided it probably would be smarter to have some caffeine instead of alcohol before photographing that evening's wedding. I had no idea what they called 'Arubian Coffee' would be a wonderful alcoholic treat! If only I could read Papiamento!
Cuban Cigars...not a big deal anywhere outside of the US
I love Aruba signs are everywhere!
I stopped for some coffee in the middle of a morning run. Juan Valdez makes one heck of a latte!
One of the spots on my list of things that I must see was the Altovista Chapel. Luckily, it was only 5km from my hotel. Little did I know it would be desert like conditions since I was running through the middle of the island!
It was a beautiful chapel and I was lucky enough to catch a Sunday service there. They kept the doors open and sang familiar hymns in their native language of Papiamento which is a combination of Spanish, English and Dutch.
The streets leading to the Chapel were lined with crosses on one side and verses in both Papiamento and English on the other.
The Chapel isn't very far from the coast. Since I had already run up and down western coast of the island, I figured I'd venture to the eastern coast, potentially called Post di Noord. On the way, I located the Peace Labyrinth. I spent about 20 minutes in the hot sun silently reflecting and contemplating while walking through the labyrinth. Peaceful...
These are a few of the views between the labyrinth and the coast...Along the way, I couldn't even count the number of lizards that I saw. Most were about 8 inches long, while others were more like 2 feet long!
Finally, I reached the coast! I decided to explore this cut out in the rocks that appeared to have a tiny sandy beach. Once I got closer, I realized how sad that part of the island is. Tough to capture with an iPhone that can't zoom, but if you look closely at the photo below, you'll notice all of the trash that has washed up onto the rocky shore.
Since I was out of water and the sun was continuing to get hotter, I decided to head back to the hotel. On the way there, I had to stop to document this bit of randomness.
Inside the resort walls, everything seemed perfect - music, lodging, fitness center, restaurant, bar etc. Outside the walls, feral dogs, cats, and chickens roamed through the neighboring area.
Another photo walk...
Little lotto shacks were everywhere and seemed to be very popular among the natives!
Pay phones, you don't see them very often anymore!
The Caribbean Palm Village Resort Pool. This is where I collapsed after my last run of the trip, conveniently 5 feet away from a chair and 5 feet away from the pool. Still not sure what happened, I'm guessing my IT Band had had enough. Luckily another guest of the resort recognized my wincing and returned with a bag of ice for my knee. About an hour later, I could move again. Couldn't have happened in a better location, at least!
Dutch Island = Dutch Chocolate!
Can you tell I liked the tiny Polars?
Now for some fun on the water! I bought an Olympus underwater point and shoot camera a few months back so I thought it'd be fun to take along for some ocean adventures. I'm sure whatever I signed was kosher...
Sea Kayaking!
Stand Up Paddle boarding!
Obligatory Beach Shot
There was a wedding somewhere in between all of this, of course. The bride and groom were amazing as was their wedding! Had a blast throughout the trip and will definitely go back!
