Day 5 - Oranjestad, Aruba

Tuesday January 7

It promised to be a very nice day. We did some walking around deck 3. There were these birds flying with the ship and every so often diving into the sea. Lovely to watch. James and I are also fascinated by "flying fish" and always happy when we see them.

We didn't book any excursions. Neither did Kate and Dave. We decided to just walk around the town. One of the friendly gangway crew took this photo for us.

I must admit and regretted it somewhat that I had not done any research beforehand. So first we just strolled across the street ... through a small shopping center which also had a Starbucks ... with free WiFi. Kate was looking for news from home, James had to answer a consulting email and I had given up being able to blog. Of course every mother likes to touch base with her children.

Yes, it was hot. We were thirsty. We managed to get a thirst-quenching beer here and sat in the shade. Lovely. We saw a streetcar going by which looked inviting and I found out that they are free.

We even had a map. The red line is the route for it. But there was no telling when one was coming.

Kate and Dave went one way and James and I the other. This street was very nice and pedestrian friendly. No streetcar in sight. 

Finally one came and we went on the top. Way way way too hot. No place in the bottom one so we waited for the next.

Yeah, finally. But it didn't go for at least 15 minutes even though it was full. It was fun nevertheless.

We didn't do the whole round but got off and consulted the map. We decided to visit Fort Zoutman, built in 1796 as a coastal defense during the Napoleanic wars. It is now a historical museum.

There were signs apologizing for the untidiness. It mainly billed itself as a weaving exhibition, explaining about woven hats etc. But there were all sorts of old things donated by people who didn't know what to do with it.

We could have come back in the evening for a folklore dance show. 

A model of the fort.

Highlight was that we could climb into the tower.

The view was fantastic. The second (smaller looking) ship was ours.

Climbing down is definitely more challenging than climbing up. 

Glad we had done it. It had been fun.

Now to the statue we had seen from the top.

Back to the boat. Another blue horse. They were all over. Sorry my photo is not better.

Paardenbaai (Horse Bay) embodies an important part of the early history of Oranjestad; the natural harbor facilitated horse trade that dates back to the early days of Spanish colonization of Aruba. This trade in livestock and primarily horses was one of the key factors in the early development of commerce and later settlement of the town at the bay. During the following three centuries, the horse trade remained important for the island: for the Spanish period during conquest (1500’s), and later for the Dutch under the West Indian Company rule (1600’s and 1700’s) Aruba remained as what could be considered a ranch that facilitated the colonization projects. In the early Dutch Colonial period (1800’s & 1900’s) this role diminished and a shift to other industries and small scale farming became more important. Thus for over four centuries a great variety of livestock (primarily horses) was kept on the island where it remained accessible and could easily be transported to other destinations.

Historic accounts relate that at times the herds would count up to thousands of horses, roaming the island. Testament to the foundational importance of this period is the simple fact that from this period onwards and to this day, almost two hundred years after the official re-naming of Playa Caballos to Oranjestad (1824), the town at the bay is still referred to as Playa and its residents are still known as Playeros, in the local language Papiamento.

The importance of the Caribbean Sea and the Horse Bay is also evident in the symbolic blue color of the horses, serving as a reminder of their voyage to and from the island. A deep blue color that still bathes their skin as if they seemingly just emerged from the bay pacing forward into town confronting us with the rich identity of our past. – Renwick Heronim

Just before getting onto the ship again James has to check his email again because of his consulting. Thank you, Starbucks!

We decided we had to have happy hour in our cabin. After all, we had those bottles of wine which we had been allowed to bring on board. Lovely family time.

These two pianists were quite amazing. They were listed in the daily "When & Where" at different times to be in the "billboard onboard" (bar) named "All Request". Never found out their names. There was always a large crowd around them.

And one last game for the day. 

I guess this is a peacock?