Tuesday in Aruba

Aruba from our stateroom balcony on Tuesday morning. LOVED the color of the water and the little island. I think there were two beach chairs next to the palm tree!

our first stop off ship and the first geocache

Tour buses willing to take cruisers to a beach or farther inland to see what the island has to offer its visitors. Tourism is Aruba's main industry.

another colorful tour bus

iguana on a pillar at Royal Plaza Mall

The Royal Plaza Mall with lots of shops showcasing products from Aruba, Dutch goods and items from Indonesia. We did not check it out. Aloe has been a big export since 1890!

some BIG birds

some flora and fauna in Oranjestad

Fort Zoutman originally built in 1798 by African slaves with materials supplied by the Amerindians. The fort is the oldest standing structure on the island. The Wilhelm III tower was added to the fort in 1868. Today the structures are the Historical Museum of Aruba.

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

longest reigning Dutch Monarch

Anne Frank statue

colorful buildings across from Queen Wilhelmina Park

I think every island had one

Peach on the Beach and a Fajita pancake at...

...The Dutch Pancakehouse

we enjoyed the fajita one more than the boozey Peach on the Beach

Paardenbaai (Horse Bay)

livestock used to roam freely on the island

horses were in the area just north of Oranjestad 

We enjoy exploring a location through geocaching as it often takes us to popular and historic locations, as it did in Oranjestad. We wanted to get a specific rare geocache called a web cam. The goal is to go to a specific location with an active web camera that takes a photo either constantly or on a specific schedule. The geocacher is to stand in a spot where the camera catches you. A smart phone allows you to see yourself on camera and then you take a photo of the webcam photo on your phone screen. Easy IF you find the correct spot. Easy IF you can find yourself in the webcam photo, which we couldn't because the sun was so bright. I think we were there for 30 minutes or longer trying to get a photo of the two of us on the hotel web camera. Luckily no one was around watching the two of us trying to figure out where to stand and IF we were actually caught on the camera! The center photo is the two of us in the black circle. I was able to find Hubby's red T-shirt! Getting to the hotel on the beach was another adventure, too. Let's just say we saw more of the island than we expected to see!