From Bermuda, we headed back to the good old U.S.A. for a day. We docked early in the morning in Fort Lauderdale, and there was all kinds of activity on the ship. Sadly, 500 or so of our fellow passengers, including some people we have really enjoyed spending time with, were ending their cruise here. We stayed out of the way of all the commotion, but we eventually had to get off the ship to go through mandatory U.S. Immigration formalities. So, after most of the crowds had cleared, we left the ship for a few hours. We showed our passports to the immigration officer and walked out of the port. We walked a few blocks to …….wait for this………Walgreens! It was very exciting. We also spent a few hours (yes, hours) having lunch in Einstein’s Bagels. A little taste of home. It was nice. And then, back to the ship to more chaos. 500 or so new passengers! Luggage in the halls, everybody excited. We enjoyed our day.
Our next port was Aruba, which bills itself as “One happy Island”, and as far as I can tell, it is! This island, only eighteen miles from Venezuela, is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. You can see the Dutch influence in some of the buildings and restaurants.
Two lovely Dutch people.
We had lunch in a restaurant called the Paddock that doesn’t look very interesting from the front, but it is right on the water, and it is open to the beach from the back. It was beautiful, and the food was good. Can’t beat that.
The main street of Oranjestad, the port city of Aruba, has its own particular charm. There is a lot to look at. There are some large concrete animal sculptures.
We didn’t really take up surfing, but it looks like some of us would be good at it.
See you all soon.
Blessings,
Linda
Kloeeeeeee….You are surfing!! I love it!! We miss it and love you so much!!