Might as well make my first post about one of my favourite trips.

Aruba was a whim. A lovely whim. I got the idea for travelling to Aruba while I was on a plane en route to Texas a few months prior. There was an ad in one of the airline magazines I was entertaining myself with and I decided right there and then that I was going to Aruba. A few weeks later I had purchased my plane tickets, booked lodging, and a few months later, I was there.

I have only travelled outside of the country by car in the past, and only to Canada and Mexico. Canada is always easy to get into and I was about 5 when I went to Mexico, and things were simple then, so this was a new experience for me. Everything went fairly smoothly the first day. The flights were uneventful and on time and customs was easy. When my friend and I arrived in Aruba, we were met by four different languages, no phone service, and we were completely unfamiliar with where anything was or how the roads worked. We got in  line to grab a taxi and we were asked our destination. I only had a number and a town name, so I gave them that and I was handed back a piece of paper with the destination and price on it. When the taxi pulled up, I was directed to give the driver the paper, so I did. She apparently was confused by the address I had, and she decided to try calling the number that I had on my confirmation email I had printed out. She couldn’t get a hold of anyone, so she gave up and drove around the confusing, unmarked dirt roads until she finally found the place. She dropped us and our luggage off at the front gates, we paid her, and then she left in a cloud of dust. Nobody was around. The gates were locked. We had no cell service. Eventually after just standing around and trying to figure out if there was something we were missing, the lady who owned the place saw us and unlocked the gates to let us in. After that, everything was relaxation. She showed us to our apartment and then sat us by the pool with two ice cold beers and a pizza. There’s nothing better than basking in the evening heat with an ice cold beer and your feet in a warm pool. After we ate, we explored our surroundings a bit (since we’d only be there for a night), and then watched a movie while our next door apartment neighbours threw a party with loud local music and plenty of dancing. Thus my adventure in Aruba began…

The flowers in Aruba were a lovely sight to see when coming from New York in December.

This was the only day we had rain the entire 9 days that we were in Aruba, and even then, we only got a brief sprinkle.

The grounds around the apartments.

Random fact about Aruba: There are chickens everywhere and almost everyone has a coop in their backyard. That’s all you hear all day and night; the crowing of roosters.