Blogs from Aruba, Central America Caribbean - page 9

Bombini na Aruba The customs declaration card had a cheerful greeting, "Bombini na Aruba". It is not too hard to guess what it means, but it certainly does not look like Dutch, and Carol confirms that it is not Spanish. The JetBlue stewardess had never even wondered about it. It turns out that Aruba has its own language, and we were just outside the air terminal when we first heard it spoken, in the car rental office. I had no idea that it even existed, but it is certainly not in any danger of going extinct. The car people preferred it over English, which they both spoke quite well. You have to be careful how you accent it. "Bóm bini na Aruba" means "Welcome to Aruba" but "Bombi ní na Aruba" means "He did not come ... read more

Aruba... One Happy Island... similar to Virginia is for Lovers, Aruba has staked claim to One Happy Island. Having visited just recently for a week... I can wholeheartedly agree. Aruba is one happy island. The minute the airplane started the descent onto the island, I immediately relaxed. The whole week we were there the weather was partly cloudy, low to mid 80s, with a constant Caribbean breeze. Upon landing, you go thru Aruban customs, which was relatively painless. We stayed in Oranjestad at the Renaissance Ocean Suites, which was considered "downtown" and the less touristy section of Aruba. The island in itself is about 19 miles long, not too big. The airport was a short cab ride to our hotel. In Aruba, the driving is the same as if in the States. In addition due to ... read more

Enjoyed a lazy day at sea. Opted for the wine tasting, no surprise there, and sat at a table with Purdue alums or former Purdue employees. Lovely ladies and so easy to remember, two Nancys and two Marys. The Cellar was funny and very knowledgable and the wines he chose were interesting and distinctive and good representatives of their variety. I particularly liked a Savignon Blanc (sic), Nobilis from New Zealand. I usually don't care for this type of wine as it seems too acidic for me but this was quite good. The winds have picked up since we passed by Haiti and the skies clouded over so I decided to read and nap. Soon I was rocked to sleep. Good thing I set a wake up call or I probably would have missed dinner. This ... read more

Travels with John Steinbeck Probably the ‘best’ book Joan and I read on our recent 6-week voyage from Los Angeles to Miami was Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck. This nonfiction book was originally published in 1962. Steinbeck was disenchanted with the rampant consumerism and blatant selfishness that was destroying communities throughout the country. He was disillusioned by the rush to buy and have more and more ‘things’! The book is a beautifully written travelogue of the road trip in 1960 in which Steinbeck set out with his French Poodle called Charley in a homemade recreational vehicle that he named Rocinante after Don Quixote’s horse, to rediscover America. He commenced his travel from Sag Harbor, New York, driving north through the smaller New England states and spent some considerable time in Maine, ... read more

What does diversity look like in this country? What different races are prminent in the society? http://www.phrasebase.com/countries/aruba/ url=http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=pfSm32d3a6QO-M&tbnid=vzx7nyqXVvy5yM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.conference-board.org%2Fconferences%2Fconferencedetail.cfm%3Fconferenceid%3D2346%26view%3Dspeakers%26eventid%3D2337&ei=XddUUo185e3ZBYO5gegB&bvm=bv.53760139,d.aWM&psig=AFQjCNEKbiFHBk0VOqkOgEAB-RQwFdLrPg&ust=1381378197866464 The aricle on Aruba is mostly about that specific country and jsut facts about it. It tells where Aruba is located, What are the religions in Aruba, and the type of government etc. But then at the very end it tell... read more