Day 3- Aruba

 Oranjestad, Aruba!

 This island is gorgeous and way, way tinier than I thought! We rented a car (which took 45 minutes to get) and traveled to the other side of the island to follow the main road through lots of really cool spots. We were happy to have our own car and be on our own schedule.

Our 1st stop was on the east side of the island where the water splashed up high against the dark rocks and was so stunningly beautiful!

 

WE continued up the coast to a fort where you could ride ATVs along the coastline but we took pictures and headed up the coast.  There was a HUGE area of layered stacked rocks, like a zen graveyard? It was so cool!

We made it up to the hole in the rock which was beautiful!

Then we found the church where most of the slaves were forced to become Christian. The history of slaves in the Caribbean is sad everywhere :( The whole middle of the island looks like Phoenix with tons and tons of Cacti and so very dry.

The beaches are gorgeous! Some day we would like to go back and spend time at each beach, visit the animal rescue sanctuary and ostrich farm, and find the thousands of Flamingos!

Almost every night we were able to catch the sunset from our balcony!  So beautiful!

That night we went to the comedy magic show to see Fred Moore.  It was FANTASTIC! I have no idea how he did it all, but he kept us glued the entire 45 minutes!

Side Note: Day 2 was a day at sea. We enjoyed walking around and eating amazing food. At night, we watched the ballroom dance show called "Burn the Floor." It was absolutely amazing!!!  These were top of the line professional dancers and I was blown away. Yes, it made me miss dancing. What a fantastic show!