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| Spending the night in the world's busiest airport! Running out of things to do so we rode the rails... we could be tour guides! |
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| Our Story: B and I have been married since February so, I have needed to change most everything legally to my new name to get my license as a registered nurse. I did not change my passport and purchased the ticket under my new name, this did not work with the airport and they needed a marriage certificate to let us through. After sleeping on the ground trying to stay warm all night; we were emotionally drained. They claimed the mistake for not checking earlier and paid for a couple meals and a nice hotel, this was so nice! Since we didn't know anyone in Virginia quite yet, our managers from our apartment complex kindly found the document in our file and faxed it... Cleared for Aruba the next morning! Instant relief. |
Made it to the wonderful Island!
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| The tropical chalet we rented; so beautiful! Traditional Aruban house, made completely out of wood; one of the only ones in Aruba! |
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| Very comfortable and cozy! |
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| Grocery Shopping- for some reason, the only shopping centers were owned by chinese people. |
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| Downtown Oranjestad |
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| Palm Beach: one of our favorite beaches! Beautiful coral & Fun snorkeling. (Nasty sea grass - stings like no other!) |
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| Very bright sun= squinty eyes |
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| B found a huge shell with a conch inside- he wanted revenge on the ocean for stinging his chest |
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| We grilled fresh swordfish and tilapia with vegetables on our porch! We also went out for dinner a few times and watched a carnival festival... the men were very flamboyant to say the least! |
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| Bon Bini= Home Sweet Home |
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| My hair 70% of the time |
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| We were told you can see Venezuela from the Island... Brian and I could never find it! |
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| Bargained my way to a $35.00 hair braiding, the cheapest I have ever gotten it! I felt bad, she kept on saying "so much hair.... so much hair" my response: "sorry :/" |
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| B waiting patiently, what a stud! |
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| Towards the end... super painful, my eyebrows say it all! |
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| Lunch on the beach! The view was great... food was not so great (our only bad experience with the food in Aruba) |
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| Here are some underwater shots of our snorkeling adventure/ stinging grass on our first day! The water was crystal clear and there was a lot of sea life. After a little while of seeing so many fish getting bigger and bigger, the thought of sharks came into our heads and we got a little nervous! Never saw any. |
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| The sea urchins were a lot bigger than this at different beaches but, our underwater camera died after the first day. |
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| Loved this colorful fish; the colors would change from blue to green at different angles; so fun to follow around! My friend and I from California would pretend to be mermaids in the pool and the ocean... instant flashback! I love it! |
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| Lots of really pretty sailboats; pretty windy this day! |
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| So grateful to be able to enjoy such a beautiful scene with my husband. |
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| This meal was scrumptious at Yemanja grill |
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| We had such a great experience and I was eyeing something else on the menu; we went there the next night. I loved their grilled fresh fish! |
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| The end to a really fun day! This picture really doesn't do it justice. |
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| California lighthouse at the northern most of the island. Used as a guide for ships in the old days; obviously didn't help all that much because there were quite a few wrecks all over the island! |
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| Aruba has the most unique boats. |
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| Last hour in Aruba; sad to say goodbye after our 5 day trip! |
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| Finally taking braids out! B and I worked on this together for over an hour if you can believe that! |
