Aruba
Renaissance Resort & Windsurfing
Jan. 11 - 19, 2005
Setup:
We spent 8 days in Aruba from Jan 11 to Jan 19, 2005.
This is a report of that trip. This was our third
trip to Aruba, but unlike previous trips, we didn't
stay at an all-inclusive resort. Our primary intent
was to do some good windsurfing and maybe get a little
better at it. Aruba is known for good windsurfing at
a section of the beach know as "Fisherman's Huts"
where the water is shallow and the wind generally
blows strong. I'll make some general comments and
then do a brief "day-by-day" account.
Geting there and back:
We took advantage of Delta frequent-flyer tickets and
Marriot Reward points. The only dates we could get
Delta tickets was for a Tue - next Wed schedule,
making for a rather unusual arrangement. The regular
Marriott at Palm Beach didn't have Reward rooms
available on those days, so we stayed at the
Renaissance hotel in downtown Orangestad and got a
rental car to get around. The flights were on time
and reasonably comfortable (with exit-row seats) and
included a small "snack" meal each direction. Flying
time between Atlanta and Aruba is about 3:40 and we
got to Aruba about 3:00 PM. Customs was quick and we
had our car and were on our way within about 30
minutes. On the return trip, you clear US customs in
Aruba, so you end up going through multiple
customs/immigration, and security checkpoints. On a
Wednesday afternoon there were relatively few
passengers and essentially no lines. Last year when
we came through the Aruba airport on a Saturday on our
way back from Bonaire the airport was mobbed with
people and the lines stretched all over the airport.
The return flight was running a little late so we got
in about 30 minutes late into Atlanta.
The Hotel:
The Renaissance hotel is on the main road through
Orangestad, which was reasonably convenient, but
turned out to be a disadvantage. We had an outside
room on the sixth floor close to the front of the
hotel. However, the room was not well soundproofed
from outside noise and there were loud cars, loud
motorcycles, and party buses with musical horns going
down the main road almost all night. Getting a good
night's sleep was difficult, at best. If you stay at
this hotel, I suggest either an inside room or a room
at the rear of the hotel, although the view will not
be as good. One feature of the hotel is a water taxi
that loads in the lobby of the hotel and shuttles
guests to a "private island" where there are nice
beach facilities. More about this island later
Windsurfing
Aruba is known for the excellent windsurfing area at
the end of Palm Beach in an area called "Fisherman's
Huts". There is a large area of relatively shallow
water and the consistent wind provides good
windsurfing for both beginners and advanced
windsurfers. There are several windsurfing
"outfitters" along the beach, with Vela and Sailboard
Vacations being the largest two. We used Vela this
time because they just have more comfortable
facilities and we liked the way the instruction was
structures. We also talked to a couple of people who
said that SBV had significantly lower prices, but the
equipment was not as new or well maintained. We were
very happy with Vela; they had very good and new
equipment with enough different boards and sails so
that we could get just the type and size we wanted.
Susan and I took a group lesson and made good
progress. I was able to do a waterstart for the first
time and Susan got much more comfortable in the
harness. I think we could have made much more
progress but the wind died the last three days we were
there and we could only sit on the beach.
Snorkeling
Snorkeling tours are a popular activity and are
heavily promoted, but the actual snorkeling is not
really that good, compared to other places we have
been. The most popular, and probably the best,
snorkeling spot is a shipwreck that is largely at
snorkeling depth. The Antilla was a 400' German
freighter that was scuttled during World War II.
Day by Day:
The day of arrival, we just took a walk around town
and ate at a restaurant in the seaport mall. It was
reasonable, but nothing special.
Wednesday:
The second day (Wednesday), we had breakfast in the
coffee shop at the rear of the hotel. It was OK, but
most of the rest of our stay we had breakfast at the
McDonalds next door: about the same breakfast for 1/3
to ½ the price. Then we headed to Vela for some
windsurfing. The wind was not real strong this day,
but we wanted to get our 'sea-legs' back so it worked
out well. We spent the day on and in the water.
At lunch we went next door to the Marriott and got a
sandwich and fries each. They turned out to be very
large sandwiches and lots of fries (and relatively
expensive at about $11.00 each). We quickly figured
that we could split a meal next time. After a day of
windsurfing and relaxing on the beach, we headed back
to the hotel and rested and cleaned up for dinner.
Since we had a large lunch, we only wanted a light
dinner and ended up at Iguana Joes. The bouillabaisse
was good, but the service was terrible. Apparently
they could not decide who was supposed to be covering
our table and we were ignored for long periods at a
time. I had to go "retrieve" a server a couple of
times.
Thursday:
On Thursday we had a few sore muscles from the previous
day's windsurfing, so we decided to check out the
'Private Island" of the Renaissance. The water
shuttle picks up in the lobby of the hotel and drops
off at a dock on the Island. We took our snorkel
equipment with us and, after a walk around the area on
foot, we snorkeled around the protected beaches and
breakwater. It was nice to swim around, but not
really much to see. We spent a couple of hours
relaxing on lounges and walking around the trails
before heading back to the "mainland". We drove over
to the beach at the windsurfing area and took a nice
walk on the beach. That evening we went to "Carlos
and Charley's" Mexican restaurant. The food was
pretty good and the service good, but the real
attraction was the "entertainment" provided by the
staff. After dinner we went to the latin dance review
next to the hotel. It was interesting, but was really more
of a show than true dancing.
Friday:
Friday was another windsurfing day. We spent the
day at the beach for some good windsurfing. I
switched to a smaller (160 l) board and Susan dropped
down to the 190 L board. We split a sandwich and
fries from the Marriott for lunch. We wanted to eat
light because we were planning on a big dinner. After
a full day of activities we were hungry for dinner and
looked forward to our reservation at El Gaucho. The
El Gaucho has been popular in Aruba for quite a few
years and is known for excellent Argentine beef, and
we were not disappointed. We had an excellent meal
(food and service) and especially enjoyed some
excellent Sangria. While not cheap, we thought it was
relatively reasonable for the quality received.
Saturday:
Saturday was probably our best day of windsurfing from
the point of view that we both made good progress in
getting better. We took a lesson and Max helped both
of us with our beach and water starts. I was able to
do several deepwater waterstarts after the lesson and
had some good runs between the starts. Susan got more
comfortable in the harness and was much better in
working upwind in a board without a daggerboard. All
in all, a good day and at the end, we were looking
forward to another lesson and more progress. At the
end of the day we had a pizza at "Tomato Charley's".
Sunday:
On Sunday we decided to take a day and do some
sightseeing around the island. We took our snorkel
gear expecting to check out an area called "Baby
Beach" on the eastern end of Aruba. After a few wrong
turns we did find Baby Beach, but it looked like we'd
have to go outside the protective breakwaters to see
anything very interesting and on this day the waves
were a bit too much to go out there, so we just took a
good look around. From there we looked along some of
the beaches at that end of the island and slowly
worked our way around to the Natural Bridge. We
wandered around there some, getting a light lunch and
then stopped to explore the ruins of a gold smelting
facility up the beach from the bridge. We continued
to work our way around to the lighthouse and ended the
day with a nice walk along Palm Beach. This evening
we went to the "Tango Argentine Steak House" and had
both a good steak (well, I had BBQ Ribs) and a nice
tango demonstration. A couple danced three
demonstration tango dances and we thought this was
actually a better dance demonstration than the
expensive show downtown, and this one was free!
Monday:
We got up on Monday, and there was NO WIND! This is
unusual for this time of year since there is almost
always some wind in January, but not today. So, we
relaxed… all day. By the time we realized that there
would be no windsurfing this day, it was too late to
take any snorkel trips or such activities, so we did
some research in case there was no wind the next day.
In the evening we went to an Italian restaurant across
from the hotel, on the harbor. It was a nice meal,
although our after-dinner coffee at an outside table
was interrupted by a brief rain shower.
Tuesday:
On Tuesday, there again was NO WIND!. But this time
we were ready, and we took a snorkel trip on the
"Jolly Pirate". This is a sailboat (about 80', I
believe) styled like a pirate ship. We made three
snorkeling stops, including the large shipwreck,
Antilla, another small shipwreck, and a shallow reef
area (the coral was dead but there were some fish
around). The ship provided a nice lunch and an open
bar (rum and fruit drinks were the most common). The
friendly crew helped make it a very enjoyable
experience and a nice way to spend a day, if you can't
windsurf. That evening we ate dinner at a German
restaurant at the Seaport Mall and had a nice meal.
Wednesday:
On Wednesday it's time to head home. We had time for
one last walk on the beach (there was still NO WIND)
so we took a long walk along Eagle and Manchebo
beaches before heading back to clean up and pack. We
got to the airport in plenty of time: in fact, the
Delta ticket counter was not even open yet. Someone
did show up after about 20 minutes and we got checked
in, went though customs (Aruba and US) and waited for
our flight. As an indication of the lack of wind, the
airplanes were landing and taking off in the opposite
direction of the normal prevailing winds.
Summary:
It was a good trip, we had fun, did some windsurfing,
and ate some good food... the only problem was that
the wind died about three days too early!
Some Sample Photos
Western tip of Aruba from the air.
Palm Beach and Fishermem's Huts are on the far side, about the middle of the picture.
Downtown Orangestad
The view out our room window/balcony.
That is the Seaport Mall and casino across the street.
The atrium area of the Renniassance hotel.
The launch that picks up in the hotel lobby to take guests to the "private Island".
Vela Sindsurfing, where we spent much of our time.
Some of the beach area in the windsurfing area, next to Vela.
Looking west along Palm Bech and the High-rise hotels.
This is one of the less crowded sections of Palm Beach.
My view of the windsufing area of the beach, from a lounge chair nex to Vela.
Some of the Fishermen's Huts, along the part of the beach called Fishermen's Huts (!)
There are always some fishing boats at Fisherman's Huts.
Looking at Baby Beach, with the refinery in the distance.
Natural Bridge, a popular tourist stop. It is rather pretty.
Some of the ruins of an old gold smelting facility.
Susan in front of the El Gaucho restaurant. We did enjoy that meal!
Here Susan is in front of the Tango Argentine Steak reataurant.
We enjoyed the Tango dance demonstration.
Getting ready to go snorkeling.
Here is the Jolly Pirate boat...er... ship.
A water level, snorkler's view of the Jolly Pirate.
Part of the reck of the German freighter, Antelli.
Tired (?) snorlkers resting on the deck after an exhausting (?) dive.
A couple of the ships that visited Arube while were there.
The same ships, but at night with all the lights on.
This was out last night and we had to head back home the next day.
