What’s New … { pics from Aruba vaca | resort }

Happy weekend!!! I FINALLY managed to gather pics from our vaca in Aruba, we have tons so this is part 1. Ready? We stayed at the Marriott Surf Club, an a timeshare referral thanks to one of my hubby’s buddy (we stayed at the resort for …. now don’t faint … $299 for almost an entire week!!! … did u faint?). Now since it is a timeshare we had to make an appointment to review timeshare opportunities for us to buy. Have u see The King of Queens tv episode where they ‘tried’ to avoid being sucked into the timeshare meeting? It’s hysterical!!! Hubby and I didn’t go to those extremes (or did we?!), we didn’t buy … the resort is nice, we simply do prefer smaller villa-type accommodations. We did enjoyed every minute in Aruba! Here’s a photo below of us roughing it at the beach, we rolled out of bed early in the morn and walked to the beach ….

By the time the activities vendors opened their store huts, we were wide awake and ready to para-sail …. onto the boat we went:

Can u see me below giving the thumbs up of fun approval? At one point the wind had us freefall …. it felt aaaawesome!!!

Then we headed to the resort pools (they had about 5 different pools). When we went to trade our beach towels we asked were we could buy the floaties and got the inside scoop that if we arrive a bit before check-out time that we will probably see a few floats left behind by guests. So, we waited and snagged 2 cool floaties for free, below was hubbie’s pick:

Can you spot the iguana below? No, not my hubby (heheheh) or on my feel. Hint: it is on the rocks. The iguana was such a peeping tom (an adorable one) staring at us every time we floated it’s way.

The main reason hubby and I don’t like staying at most resorts is bec the restaurants’ menus are usually filled with American food! We did NOT travel a gazillion miles to have regular french fries, burgers, or steak so we ventured out of the resort:….

And we (actually hubby found it) spotted a restaurant with authentic Aruban dish. I loved the open oven, don’t you?:

Here’s the view we had while having lunch:

Even the coca cola’s have a Caribbean twist to it … see the turtle?

We found the mailbox to mail my mom’s postcard (we arrived back home before the postcard haha .. had something to do with mailing it the LAST DAY we were there .. oops):

The best way to see an island and semi-feel like a local, is to rent a car!!! Below I am pointing to where our resort is, we drove alllll the way to the other side of the island to the Baby Beach (took about 35 minutes including getting a bit lost):

We asked for directions and was told to follow the refinery and we will find it. Did he just say refinery by the beach? Yep! Hey, did I tell you how deliciooooooooos their drinking water is! Their water is distilled in one of the world’s largest saltwater desalination plant. All pure and delicioooous. Oh, I digress … so throooough the desert (with cacti, goats, and lizards) we went to find the Baby Beach known for it’s pure white soft sand + colorful fish. See the trees below with the branches swaying to the left? It’s called the Divi Divi tree famously known for it’s natural COMPASS, it points southwest.

Land, we found it!!!

It was very serene …. (nice to get away from the pumping American music from the resort … like Pitbull, the Beach Boys, and Nicki Minaj). I took about 10 (felt like 50) pictures to get this photo without the ocean water’s waves washing the writing away:

Then, of course we had to strike-a-pose:

Heading back we blasted the Aruban (aka: Arubiano) music in the car radio, and managed to get back to the resort just in time for the timeshare appointment (yeaaahzzzzzz).

Ohhh, I have MORE pics …. from our jeep excursion to the natural pool (sooooooooooooooo much fun!!!), plus our venture into the caves and the adorable baby donkey that turned me giddy from joy! I’ll posts those next weekend. Have a GREAT weekend!!!

(photo credits: Ada’s Interior Design ) Every comment is read, appreciated, and loved. To leave a comment please scroll down!