Aruba 2022 - Day 6: JetBlue

We finished all of the leftovers in the fridge, cleaned up the condo, checked out, then headed to Aruba Bob's to return our snorkel gear. Nobody was there, so we left the gear on the table, as instructed, with some cash.

It was only about a 15 minute drive to the airport, where we returned the rental car and then began the strange journey through the Queen Beatrix International Airport.

Also, there was an iguana wandering around the airport grounds. I think it was the first and only iguana that we saw, the entire trip.

Once inside, we figured out why they recommended getting to the airport 3 hours early... we had to go through Aruba security, outbound immigration/passport control, then enter a separate area for US flights, and go through US security and immigration/customs.

It wasn't especially busy, though, so it was around an hour total, from getting out of the rental car to clearing all the security.

We had a few hours to wander around, eat lunch, and browse the shops. In case people didn't get enough of the food from the Netherlands during their trips, they can take a wheel of cheese home on the plane.

It was a rather hazy afternoon with an overcast area right over the airport as we left Aruba.

Everyone was incredibly friendly, everywhere we went. And it was genuine, not that they were being paid to be nice to tourists. They really seemed to embrace the "One Happy Island" theme.

I think if we were to visit again, I'd probably want to stay somewhere in the north, outside the resort area but with an ocean view. It might be worth a day trip to Eagle Beach, but I wouldn't want to stay in that area.

Practical notes, for our (hypothetical) next visit:

• The Aruba Florin (AWG) is pegged to the USD at a ratio of 1.79:1, and literally everywhere we spent money accepted credit cards and/or USD cash (exchanged at 1.75:1). We got USD bills and AWG coins as change, several times.
• Food:
• Almost all of the food is imported, for obvious reasons, but it wasn't outrageously expensive (unlike some other islands we've visited). The produce seemed to mostly be from Colombia.
• The local cuisine was a blend of Caribbean (BBQ chicken/pork, various seafood, curries, rice, fried plantains, etc.), South American, and Dutch. Bar snacks included options like "krokets", sausage, and fried mac-and-cheese balls, for example.
• At least in the southern area where we stayed, "johnny cakes" (sort of like fried pita pockets) were available everywhere, stuffed with ham and/or cheese. This seemed to be a common breakfast option, along with pastechi (similar to empanadas).
• The beaches in the Noord area (roughly Eagle beach to Malmok) were much calmer, due to the wind direction (which seems to be nearly constant, year-round?). Snorkeling at Boca Catalina was excellent, for this reason.
• We got some cred with the locals for staying outside of the tourist area. I can't find any reference to it online, but several people used the terms "east of the bridge" and "west of the bridge" (over the Spanish Lagoon) as a dividing line.
• Almost everyone spoke English, except at the random fruit stand we found somewhere in the Paradera area.
• The weather was nearly perfect, every day: high 80s, sunny, steady 20mph wind. The dry season is from January through August. It was hazy/partly-cloudy a few times, but never rained.
• Almost the entire island is a desert, with more cactus than I'd ever seen. Entire hillsides were covered with nothing but (several types of) cactus. Yet it was also humid; due to the tiny size of the island, you're never far from the ocean.
• There were wild donkeys and goats roaming around. Apparently they've adapted to eat the cactus. Other than those and the occasional dog, there weren't a lot of stray animals anywhere, and they were never in the road.