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ARUBA
SEPT 17 - 24, 2000
DIVI ARUBA BEACH RESORT
*click on the links to see photos associated with the text*
We lurked around the Aruba BB for weeks before our honeymoon and the more we found out, the more anxious we became to see for ourselves…
The big day arrives: Sunday Sept 17th we arrive at Newark airport at 4:45am for our 7am flight on Air Aruba.. When they opened the check-in counter around 5 am, we checked in our suitcase & handed over our ticket & passport. I am glad that we decided to get passports, these made it easy. I recommend them to anyone travelling out of the USA. We were given our boarding passes & passports & we were on our way to the gate to wait patiently for our flight. I was prepared for at least a 2-hour delay since I had heard that Air Aruba was always late. Fortunately we were on board by 7:45am. The flight down was smooth. We had seats on the planes left side, which was nice because we saw the Caribbean Islands one by one as we flew over them. What a beautiful sight!
When we landed in Aruba we went through immigration & then onto the baggage claim where we picked up our luggage & sailed through customs. Across the street from the airport we found the DePalm Transfer bus waiting. The first stop was our resort the Divi Aruba Beach Resort. How exciting it was to be driving up to the resort finally! We left our bags out front & went into the open air lobby to check in. While we were on line, the "funmaker" came over & handed my husband & I an Aruba Ariba (very tasty drink) and said "Welcome to Aruba!". When we got there, our room wasn't ready yet - we would have about a 2 hour wait. They put our "Mega Coochi" bracelets on & told us to go ahead out to the bar & relax while we waited. So we did just that! We went over to the Coco Bar & Grill, ordered some very good Strawberry Daiquiris & a brick oven pizza.
Around 3pm our room was ready. We stayed in room 605 of the Lanai Bldg. Although it is a good walking distance to the main area of the resort from the Lanai's, we liked it a lot because the beach was not crowded & it was peaceful. The room: King size bed, nice size room, tile floors, clean & a wonderful view. When we drew back the blinds & saw the ocean right there only about 10 steps from our door to the beach, we were VERY pleased. Dave & I couldn't ask for anything better! The room was cleaned daily in a timely manner. No complaints at all…..
The Ocean: On Sunday when we got to our room we changed into our bathing suits & ran into the ocean. We quickly ran back out & up to our hotel room. We put on our water shoes & went back into the ocean with no problems. There was a lot of shells in the ocean & it hurt our bare feet. I am glad that someone on the BB recommended water shoes - and glad we took their advice. I don't know if this was just how the ocean was in our area or all the resorts… but I think I like the water shoes because it protects your feet from the hot pavement around the pools & we wore them to the Natural Pool for better traction on the wet rocks. I recommend them…. They are cheaper to buy here in the USA than in Aruba. I have to say that the water truly is a gorgeous aqua blue. Amazing! And we were in water up to our chins & could see our feet like we were looking through glass. I was in awe of how clean & clear it is. I wish the Atlantic Ocean was like that too! The waves, if any, were so minimal that you could swim, lounge or snorkel in the water with no difficulties. Every day we spent time in the ocean collecting sea shells & swimming with the fish, laughing & enjoying life.
The Resort: The staff at the Divi Aruba Beach Resort could not have been any more pleasant & accommodating. We were always greeted with smiles & friendly hellos. The concierge was so good. He would ask us where we were going & make sure we got on the right bus or into the right white van. Every adventure we went on, we were told "We'll be picking you up in a white van." After a few days I started to think it was one big joke on the tourists because they ALL had white vans! The bartenders & restaurant staff were exceptional as well.
The resort grounds were nice. Of course there was the normal maintenance being done: grass seed being planted so sections of the lawn were roped off, renovations at the Veranda Bldg…. Etc - but this is to be expected. If you want to go to a nice resort - the work has to get done sometime. My husband is a carpenter so I totally understand & don't get mad at all. The pools were nice & we went in the one by the Veranda since it was never crowded. The iguanas like to come around that area for food too.
All the buildings were nice. We were in the Lanai. (see diagram). I think the best views would be from the Vista Bldgs & the Lanai. The Casitas were nice but it would depend on which one you get. I wouldn't want the Veranda Bldgs because they are not ocean view. No matter what they tell you - you are not getting an ocean view in those rooms. It is garden/pool in my opinion.
The restaurants were good. Variety was mediocre but we managed to find different things to eat. We ate at the buffets a few times for dinner, the Red Parrot for dinner twice & at Paparazzi at the Tam for dinner once. The Red parrot & Paparazzi were very good. Try the Napoleon Chicken at the Red Parrot - very different. We mainly ate breakfast at the Tam for 2 reasons - we found the variety for breakfast to be better there & the view in the morning was a wonderful way to start the day. Don't expect a 5 star meal at either resort. If you want fine dining - try some other restaurants like Flying Fishbone. (We didn't eat off the resort. We were not there for the food - we were there for the fun!)
The drinks were awesome. Ok, well most of them were. The Blue Hawaiian was way too strong. Yuck! Our favorites were Strawberry Daiquiris, Zoom, Aruba Ariba, Chi Chi & the Chocolate Kiss. All of those are MUST have's when you are there. The Coco Bar & Grill at the Divi has great grilled sandwiches & brick oven pizza to die for. At night you can sit at the Pelican Bar & watch the sun set while you drink down your Zoom & listen to music. At the Divi - you fall in love all over again & laugh & enjoy life.
Activities: My husband & I booked 2 activities on line before we got to Aruba…. One was the ATV tour with Rancho Daimari. They pick you up at your resort (in a white van!) & bring you to the ranch. The ATV's were very user friendly & ran well. We went riding through the countryside to the Natural Pool where they stopped to let us take photos, have some refreshments & go snorkeling. What a great time we had! This adventure inspired us to rent a vehicle later in the week & do some 4 wheeling of our own!
Our other pre-booked activity was horse back riding with Rancho Notorious. We took the private sunset beach ride. Our guide Alex was excellent, even if he didn't speak English at all. The horses were nice & well kept. I used to be a guide at a stable here in the USA & so I was prepared for the typical "trail horse" - they followed the horse in front of them & wouldn't veer off the beaten path at all… The scenery was great & we arrived at Malmock Beach just in time for the sunset. Oh how nice it was! Alex took photos of us on & off our horses. We walked around a bit & had refreshments. The ride back to the ranch was cool. The sun had set & it was very dark out there. The horses are very sure footed so I had nothing to worry about. All I had to do was make sure my knees didn't brush against any cacti!
The other things we did: we rented a 4x4 from Touristica. The car was not well maintained - but it got us where we wanted to go & over the roughest off roads there - so I cant complain too much! We had the car delivered to us at the resort & then we headed up to the California Lighthouse. Nice scenery. Then we went really off road! We came upon the Bushiribana Ruins, The Natural Bridge, Alto Vista Church & the Natural Pool. We were glad that we didn't do the off road Jeep tour because we saw them out there & they were driving so fast that I doubt those people saw any of the cool things along the way other than the major stops. We stopped often to explore & take photos… we went at our own pace too. It was great. If you want to do the jeep tour - I recommend skipping it & renting a 4x4 for about 2 days. We did off roading one day & the next day we took the car into Oranjestead. The malls were nice & we felt totally safe in town. No need to worry just be sensible. We saw the Kukoo Kunuku Bus - but didn't go on that tour. I think we will next time we are in Aruba.
Oh - cant forget to talk about the island itself… the scenery is cool - it is a desert island but has some cool plants & wild life (lizards, parrots, wild pigs, donkeys & goats). I saw a few stray dogs too. I love iguanas so it was a thrill to see them in the "wild" running free! The Divi Divi trees are awesome. And the constant breeze that blows on the island is good because it stops you from over heating. The sun is strong & I recommend some sort of SPF. The temp was around 88 to 91 degrees but it didn't feel so bad because of the tradewinds. A definite plus in my opinion. The water - crystal clear & about 85 degrees. Remember though, Aruba may not be for everyone…. But it certainly is paradise for us!
Diagram of:
Divi
Aruba Beach Resort
Tamarijn
Enjoy!
Kim & Dave
To see more Aruba photos we took, please go to my webshots page & look at our 2 Aruba photo albums!
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