All of the thoughts I had ever had of Aruba involved beautiful blue water, soft sandy beaches, and very occasionally, Carnival. That all evokes restful beauty and family fun. So, that’s what I expected when planning for our 2015 vacation. I should have known better. Something unexpected and exciting often happens when Bill and I get together with our friends Tim and Kelly. Especially, when we venture outside the boundaries of the continental United States. I can’t figure out why. (But I’m willing to continue seeking the answer!)
I believe it was Bill and Tim who thought it might be a good idea to coax Kelly and I off our beach loungers to take a Jeep tour. They must have been pretty persuasive because the beach was very nice…
Sandcastle on the beach
The Jeep tour took us to the Bushiribana Gold Mine Ruins. Gold was found on Aruba in 1824 and mined there for the next one hundred years. The name “Aruba” actually loosely translates to “there was gold”. (Save that little nugget of information for the next time you want gold for Christmas or your birthday. If your husband flinches, tell him that you’ll settle for a trip to Aruba!)
Bushiribana Gold Mine Ruins
What began as just a little off-roading in the Jeep quickly became a crazy, thrilling, roller coaster ride through Arikok National Park. Evidently there aren’t any roads in this park. Or, maybe our tour guide stayed off of the roads intentionally because he didn’t have a driver’s license-I couldn’t tell. The park proved to be a diverse area that began as desert then transformed into a rugged terrain of rock cliffs. Our guide seemed to take great pleasure in driving us right up to the side of the cliffs so that we wouldn’t miss the glorious view of the Caribbean Sea.
Cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea, Arikok National Park, Aruba
Our next stop was at the top of the Natural Pool. Mesmerizing.
The Natural Pool, Arikok National Park, Aruba. Isn’t it beautiful?
The Natural Pool is in a remote area on the East coast of Aruba. Like the rest of Arikok National Park, it is only accessible by Jeep, ATV, horseback, (or helicopter, I suppose), so it ought to be relatively deserted, right? Nope.
It appears that Kelly and I are not the only adults who believe this pool looks inviting.
Although they should know better by now, our guys don’t look like they are properly supervising us…
Because we just had to experience the Natural Pool (it might be the real fountain of youth):
No, I was just kidding, but Kelly wasn’t!
Our Aruban experience was filled with adventure, relaxation, rejuvenation, and laugh-out-loud fun.
Proverbs 27:9 reminds us that ‘sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy’. Bill and I are so thankful for our good friends. God has blessed us for sure. How has He blessed you today?
In the summer of 2017, my daughter, Becky, graduated from the College of St. Mary (a women’s college) with her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. In lieu of a party, she chose to celebrate in Isla Mujeres (the Island of the Women), Mexico. Yay!
Becky and I have often taken girl trips with Marilyn, so having her join us on the Island of the Women to celebrate Becky’s accomplishment couldn’t have been more perfect.
Becky, Marilyn, and Angie enjoying fun in the sun in Mexico
At the time, Becky and I were residing in Nebraska; Marilyn lives in New Hampshire. Becky and I made all of the reservations for this trip and planned to meet Marilyn at the airport in Cancun, from where we would travel together to our hotel.
I hadn’t bothered to relay all of the logistics to Marilyn, because, well, she trusts me to take care of all those ‘little things’. After all, we’ve been friends for more than 30 years, and I’ve proven myself to be trustworthy, right? Unfortunately, a thunderstorm delayed Becky and I in Chicago hour after hour, and I was unable to reach Marilyn to tell her of the delay.
When I finally reached Marilyn by phone, she was sitting alone in a cafe enjoying an umbrella drink and taking in the sites and sounds of downtown Isla Mujeres. I’m so glad she’s resourceful!
As she tells the story, upon landing in Cancun and finding that Becky and I were hours delayed, she devised her own game plan. Marilyn recalled only the name of the island and that our intended hotel had “something to do with the moon”. Admittedly, not much to go on! A taxi fare and a beautiful ride on the UltraMar ferry landed her on Isla Mujeres. Luckily, Marilyn speaks Spanish and was able to explain her moon hotel theory to an “ancient” tricycle taxi guy. In case you don’t know what a tricycle taxi is, well, it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like: an oversized trike with a gigantic basket on the front, powered by a guy just trying to make a living. It’s actually a very popular thing on the island. Normally, a tourist’s luggage rides in the basket, and the taxi guy leads the way while the tourist follows along behind. But not Marilyn. And, oh man, I really wish I had a picture of this-Marilyn rode in the basket, on top of her luggage! To her credit, she said that the old guy insisted. I nearly wet myself when she was telling me this story. I believe the guy must have endeared himself to Marilyn, because it turns out that she tipped him, in U.S. dollars, the equivalent of an entire day’s wage!
Fun Isla Mujeres
pictures ‘cause I don’t
have a tricycle taxi pic!
Marilyn is impressive, she found her way to the Ixchel Beach Hotel. That only sounds like it has “something to do with the moon” if you know that Ixchel is the Mayan goddess of the moon and fertility. I’m not well versed on Mayan goddesses, but evidently Marilyn and the ancient tricycle taxi guy are!
The hotel was awesome: beautiful, walking distance to the shops and restaurants on Avenida Hidalgo, and right on the beach. Perfect.
If a tourist has already taken a tricycle taxi, the next most preferred method of transportation is a golf cart. Of course, none of us had ever driven a golf cart, but we weren’t about to let that little issue hold us back-we’re college graduates, celebrating college graduation, right? The ride across the island was fun, bumpy, and just a little bit scary-even when we weren’t lost.
We loved the Women’s Beading Cooperative. The beading cooperative is run by talented local women who come together to practice the art of beaded jewelry making and selling it to tourists for profit. This project supports women by bringing them together in a community where they teach this craft to the next generation, and allows them to earn an income to support themselves and their children. Plus, I just love bracelets!
Cute picture of an anklet…but no worries, I bought some bracelets, too
Our next stop was to check out the Ruins of Ixchel Temple. The ruins are on the southern tip of the island, and were built to honor the Mayan goddess, Ixchel. The Mayan civilization populated Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize approximately 3000 years ago. Known for their advances in math and astronomy, they built stone temples and pyramids as worship centers for their gods and goddesses. Although, as a Christian, I don’t worship the Mayan gods and goddesses, I can appreciate the beauty of the Mayan workmanship.
Ruins of Ixchel Temple
The temple grounds
While relaxing on the beach outside our hotel one afternoon, we decided that we each deserved to get a massage. One by one we enjoyed relaxing massages while listening to the waves roll gently onto the beach. Three massages later it was time to pay the piper. Oops, come to find out they only accept MasterCard. I only had Visa. Marilyn only had Visa. Getting desperate, we turned to the broke, recent graduate…did she have a MasterCard, or did we really just get ourselves into a jam? Or a pickle? Quit talking about food because we might have to sing for our supper! Yay, Becky had a MasterCard and she was willing to cover us this time! Whew!
Fully relaxed on the beach
My graduate
Like all vacations, this trip ended way too soon. Celebrating women on the Island of the Women was awesome. What are you celebrating today?
And beautiful water…I mean crystal clear, stunningly colorful, see the sea shells on the sandy bottom, water.
I will admit that I’d love to spend all of my days looking at, sailing on, floating on, snorkeling in, paddle boarding on, or swimming in the Bahamian blue water. But life just doesn’t work like that, does it? My sensible side reminds me that I’m not Bahamian, so I can’t simply decide to live there. Hmmm…that was a tough one to swallow! The Nana in me wanted to just move right in with my grandkids-I guess you can imagine what their parents thought about that idea. So my husband and I chose to move onto our sailboat in Jacksonville, Florida, where we are very happy.
Of course, moving across the country meant leaving some great friends and family behind in the Midwest. When visitation opened up at the assisted living facility where my mom resides, we immediately headed to Nebraska. Bill and I so enjoyed our visits with mom, finally face-to-face, in these very restrictive Covid 19 times. My mom is a life-long Catholic, and a more kind person would be hard to find.
Speaking of good people, our friends Steve and Susan, opened their home to us while we were in town-such a generous example of hospitality. In 1 Peter 4:9, the apostle reminds us to be hospitable. In the book of Colossians, Paul instructs us to to put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience,and forgiveness. I love to spend time with those kind of people-I strive everyday to be those people! In His goodness, God has sent us so many of His people to do life with.
On day three of our trip, Bill and I took our friend, Mary, sailing on a Hobie Wave at the Lake Manawa Sailing Association. The winds were calm at 7 miles per hour. We had a great time catching up and relaxing together.
The very next day we sailed with Steve and Susan. Same lake, same boat, only now in gusty 15 mile per hour winds! I mean we were screaming back and forth across the lake; waves of water soaking us through and through. Even in my face! In my mouth-eek!
But we had so much fun-laugh out loud fun! I’m blessed to recognize that beauty isn’t in the physical properties of people, places, and things, but rather, the beauty is in the people and the experiences we have with those we choose to do life with.
Bill teaching Steve to sail
Susan and Angie awaiting the next gust
Steve taking our lives into his own hands
As we travel back to Jacksonville, Bill and I are thankful for the beauty in our lives; beauty in all its forms.
