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| Feeding ostriches. They couldn't seem to get enough seed! |
It is now after midnight, going into Wednesday. Dear brain is driving me nuts – I tried to go to bed just over an hour ago but the ‘off-switch’ couldn’t be found. I wonder if there is a way of short-circuiting the whole wired route and bypassing the switch, pulling out the wires. Grrrr…. I’ve been assigned to a tour in the morning and no doubt I will be very poeg-eyed (bug-eyed).
After not such a restful night’s sleep I managed to persuade my legs and arms to get me out of bed and dressed. The brain was willing but the body was tired even though I had a nice day to look forward to: the “Colours of Aruba” excursion.
The Maasdam docked in at the former container pier, a bit further down from the cruise terminal because one of the Carnival ships was docked there – a much bigger ship than ours. It meant a 5 minute walk from the Maasdam to the entrance to the port, along the pier. Entrance security staff were kept busy due to so many passengers and more so when a 3rd cruise ship docked a bit later.
The tour I went on was a bit of a mixture – visiting Casibari rock formations, a natural bridge –carved out by the sea, an ostrich farm and California lighthouse.
Casibari rock formations looked like a pile of huge stones dumped by a giant. We could walk around on them, getting up to the top by man-made steps.
The natural bridge, on the other side of the island, was smaller than the original one which had collapsed into the sea due to erosion. It was still impressive though. Although there was a sandy inlet close by, swimming was prohibited due to strong currents.
The ostrich farm was interesting, seeing these big flightless birds and their beautiful eyelashes (girls – eat your hearts out!). There were some emu as well. Our guide gave a rundown of the average ‘vital statistics’ of ostriches and also of their breeding habits. We were allowed to feed the ostriches from a bowl filled with pellets, a time for the farm photographer to take photos for the guests which they could purchase at the end of the tour. The ostrich farm on Aruba is for tourism purposes only. No feathers or ostrich eggs were sold. We got to see an incubator for the eggs – if the male ostrich rejects an egg, a member of staff will remove the egg and put it in the incubator in the hope of being able to salvage the egg and get it to hatch. We were also shown the differences between emu and ostrich eggs, an emu’s eggs being smaller and a beautiful blue colour compared to the cream coloured large shell of an ostrich. Guests took photographs of our farm guide as she showed the eggs. Her brilliant sense of humour got the better of her and she posed like a film or catwalk star, batting her eyelashes! It was very funny. She then asked for a volunteer guest to hold an ostrich egg next to a painted ostrich on the wall, bending over a bit and hold the egg near the painting’s rear-end - as if catching the egg - for guests to take photos. However, unbeknown to the guest our guide bent down behind the guest and held an emu egg just underneath his bum, between his legs at a respectful non-touching distance! The other guests howled with laughter. The chap on display soon realised why! Unfortunately I forgot to press the capture button on my camera ☹ The visit was interesting but I felt sorry for the ostriches – their pens were small and I sensed they were stressed. Also there were no bushes or thorn trees for them to shelter under during intense midday sun.
At the lighthouse there was an opportunity to take photographs and/or go to the nearby hotel for a quick drink. Unfortunately time was not on our side to go up into the now restored lighthouse.
Our driver/guide, Johan, drove us back to the ship via the coastal route so that guests could see some of the beaches that they could visit after the tour later on. People were snorkeling, swimming, others kite surfing or on leisure boats having a great time. Although the island is very dry compared to lush and tropical islands that we visited during the Pacific cruise, sunny Aruba is a popular destination for cruise ships and also for anyone wanting to have a beach holiday. The tiny Dutch island off the coast of Venezuela is only 32km long and 10km wide.
Back on the Maasdam is was good to cool down for a bit in the sanctuary of the cabin. Paul was able to go ashore for a bit so late afternoon we headed into town for a bit of a wander. The place was heaving with people, more so because of the ships late departures. Bars and restaurants were full; the small local market was doing a roaring trade. We decided not to have dinner in town and headed back to the ship, away from the hustle and bustle. At least we are guaranteed a seat in the Lido restaurant or in our cabin!
Paul will be up late this evening because of the Maasdam’s late departure. Our next port of call is not too far away – Willemstad, Curacao.
Please see my photographs on facebook via this link: Colours of Aruba
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| Oranjestad to Willemstad, Curacao - by sea! |
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