Aruba continued (Day #4)

Last night Dave decided to do a little gambling on his own. I remained in the room, on-line, updating the blog, researching more info on Aruba, etc. and each of us managed to get into bed around 3:30 am! This morning; I read to Dave much of the research I had done; including a travel report submitted by a couple from Alpharetta, GA who had been to Aruba twice; once in January 2007 and again in November 2007. Here is her link that has helped us on some dining choices thusfar.

http://www.aruba-travelguide.com/trip-reports/2007/carolina_ken/index.html

RENTAL CAR! After today Dave and I have concurred that this is a must. While the island of Aruba is nearly 20 miles long and 6 miles wide; we've accomplished saving more money in one day then we could have imagined. It seemed that while each of our various cab drivers have been polite and helpful; they offer arbitrary rates. Dave got into the habit of asking before we left; "how much will this fare cost us?" I wanted to tell a cab driver when they said; "Oh it'll be twelve dollars" with, "how about we give you ten and call it even?" A rental makes all the difference especially if you're coming and going often; the cab fare will eventually kill you.

After the mid morning car rental; we made our way to the most southern point of the island to Baby Beach for snorkeling. On the way; we stopped in San Nicolas. San Nicolas touts a unique Caribbean influence as the majority of the residents originally hail from the British Caribbean. It is also Aruba's second largest city. Of course we had to stop and have lunch at Charlie's Bar; one of San Nicolas' main reasons for its visitors!



Charlie's Bar was founded in 1941. WW II made San Nicolas a boom town. Seamen, contractors and refinery/harbor workers helped make the bar what it is. This bar has been famous since the 1940's when scuba divers began to hang their underwater discoveries on the walls there. It has become a bit of a museum in the decades since.
Today we saw a catch all of items; artwork, drivers licenses, Id's and bumper stickers. Check out this sticker I saw in the women's restroom! Can you see the San Antonio sticker?

http://www.charliesbararuba.com/Intro/intro.html

After lunch we got back on the road to Baby Beach to snorkel. On the drive to San Nicolas and to Baby Beach; we passed all the oil refineries. Valero is an influence here. Valero is huge in San Antonio so it was a familiar name for us.



Why is it called Baby Beach? Who knows! All we know is that it is a shallow, sheltered man made lagoon on the southeast end of the island of Aruba frequented by locals and tourists alike. The snorkeling at this location is great for kids or travelers new to snorkeling. Dave struggled slightly as his brand-new snorkel gear (recently purchased at Bass Pro Shops in San Antonio) was defective! His mask and fins were fine but his snorkel kept taking in water! Not so much fun for an asthmatic. We stayed out there for a few hours then made our way back to the hotel to shower off.

This evening we had a dinner reservation at a great Italian restaurant; Sole Mare. Foodies....this is for you! We had the special of the house for dinner; the Pasta Parmigiana. For those of you who have ever dined at Boudro's in San Antonio and ordered the guacamole table side you'll appreciate this pasta. The waiter wheels out this cart with a 60-lb wheel of parmigiana cheese on top. He scrapes a heaping portion of the cheese from the center; leaving it in the middle of this huge divot of the cheese wheel. He then poured flaming whiskey into the center and tosses the pasta, cheese and other ingredients you ask for (we requested mushrooms) into this huge, cheesy, melty pile of delight. It was great! We had ordered aps as well and Dave had the escargot and I ate the prosciutto and mozzarella. I had a cocktail and Dave a glass of Chianti. We were so stuffed from the pasta that we declined on dessert. Here are some photos of the prep of the entree.






Unfortunately the photo's don't show you the blue flames from the whiskey; it was quite impressive in person!

After dinner we made our way back to the hotel for another round at the slots but nada!

Tomorrow we check out and spend our last night at the Marriott as the Westin is sold out and we could not extend one night. We plan on another day of snorkeling and seeing things on the other side of the island. Tomorrow night we have one last night of dining so we'll report back on our day.

Till then! Pin It Now!