January 9, 2013 17:50, just northwest of Aruba in the Caribbean Sea

We had a really good time today, hanging out in Aruba. It is the first island that I have been to either than St. Thomas or St. Maarten that I think I could hang out for a while. It has nice, white sandy beaches with coral surrounding it, from its former days as a volcano in the BC era.

We did take a you today, just because it was very well priced ($70 for the both of us) for a trip all the way to the north side of the island to see the California lighthouse and to Palm Beach.  The lighthouse is so named in honor of a ship, the USS California that did not return the distress call of the Titanic and ends  up crashing on the coral reef just off the island. The lighthouse is unmanned and run simply by electricity. It is on the far northern tip of the island and is in a protected national park area, from what we were told. One can see the whole beach and pier scene from the lookout point near the lighthouse.

At the lighthouse, I had my first-ever coconut water. It was straight from a coconut, and it was really good.

We the went to Palm Beach for several hours and enjoyed the sun, sand, and somewhat cool yet beautiful blue green water. It was simply fabulous. We just set sail from the island, which is about 15 miles off the coast of Venezuela. We tried to use our binoculars to see that country, but it was too hazy due to the high winds in the area. We heard that we will most likely encounter a bit of rough weather on the journey back to Florida, but that is ok. I could  use the rest after today!

The to we took was the California Lighthouse and beach, on the Banana Bus. Our driver, Alfred, was excellent and fun.  I highly recommend his tour to anyone who wants to see the sights, visit the beach, hear about the island’s history, and have fun along the way. He even drove us back to the end of the pier after we got off the bus and came back out of the terminal.

One thing that I really enjoyed about today was the great temperatures (80 degrees) and the constant wind.  If there was that much Sun without with wind, it would have been hotter than Tulum, and that is just about the hottest I have ever been on vacation other than Disney World in July.

Here is to all of you, from a tired but joyous traveler.

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