In which we take a look at the animals of Aruba:
The lizards:
These little guys were so cool – they were running around in the sand and near the pool. When the sun hit them just right, they’d sparkle.
And of course, iguanas:
I love iguanas, but their uber-long back toe kind of creeps me out. What’s with that thing? These dudes hung out with the black swans at the hotel, sunning themselves and bobbing their necks whenever another one got too close (I guess these 2 are friends).
Macaws:
Pretty bird! That top one tried to eat my hair while I took a picture of his friend.
And ostriches:
Yes, ostriches. Seriously. We thought it was weird too. They weren’t running around wild like the iguanas (thank goodness), but some guy thought it would be a great idea to start an ostrich farm in Aruba, and then they bribed the jeep tour people to take all of the people (tour-takers? tourees?) there. I’m pretty sure the only people who go to the ostrich farm are the ones that get trapped into it on the tour – maybe I’m just jaded, but I’ve seen plenty of ostriches, and they aren’t any more fascinating in Aruba. They served ostrich burgers, but they don’t use the ostriches at the farm for those (???). We passed on the burgers.
There were also tons of morning doves – they hung out on the beach and begged for food. Kind of like our grackles, but prettier and less annoying.
More pictures coming…eventually. 
If I knew how to say “2″ in Dutch, I would have used that instead. I wonder why it’s ok to call the language Dutch, but not the islands? I guess Netharlandese has too many syllables.
The first day we got to Aruba we scoped out the beach and the pool, and met up with some of Neil’s coworkers / friends. The entire trip (plus a few extra days) was paid for by Neil’s company, and most of his current and former team were there. I know for some (most?) people, going on vacation with coworkers would be a complete drag, but everyone was really cool – the kind of people you’d enjoy hanging out with even if you weren’t working with them.
For dinner that night, we struck off towards all the restaurants and shops north of the hotel, and passed up Tony Roma’s (seriously) and Texas de Brazil to eat in this little place behind the Marriot, right on the beach. The hostess sadly informed us that we’d have to eat “inside”, which actually meant outside, but not ON the beach – we were forced to sit under the huge gazebo about a foot from the beach and 30 yards from the ocean, instead of being able to wiggle our toes in the sand as we ate.
After we recovered from our extreme disappointment, she led us to our table and we all decided on the bbq buffet. The buffet could have been great had they had enough food. But it was less all-you-can-eat and more almost-but-not-quite-enough-to-eat buffet. I had decent timing and happened to get there during one of the rare grilled shrimp (YUM!) appearances. I missed out on the grouper, but took a bite of Neil’s, and it was one of the best pieces of fish I’ve ever tasted – spicy and flavorful and perfectly cooked. Good wine, good conversation, and good food – the perfect combination.
I was exhausted after dinner (not sure if it was the 3 hours of sleep or the 3 glasses of wine), so Neil walked me back up to the room, then hurried back to the casino to join everyone else. We’ve adopted the don’t ask, don’t tell policy of how much money was lost gambling, but suffice it to say that we did not leave Aruba richer than we came.
The next morning we went to this little cafe across the street from the Hyatt. The food was unremarkable, but the cutest little birdy flew in and perched on the syrup dispenser on the next table.
He looks kind of hacked, doesn’t he? Maybe because he couldn’t seem to get to the syrup?
I took a look at some of the shops around the restaurant. The shopping in Aruba is interesting. If you’re in the market for Cartier, Louis Vuitton, or Coach, you’re set. And if you need a fake iguana or a embroidered dress or some hand-painted maracas, Aruba’s your place. And that pretty much covers all your options. But there were these really cool Dr. Seussian trees on the way back from the shops:
More to come, but it will have to wait for tomorrow!
