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Caribbean Travel RoundupNewsletter - Paul Graveline, Editor |
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March 15, 1999
Anguilla has a colourful new building in a tropical style, and it
serves food in a Caribe Mediterranean style. . . .
"La Veranda" Restaurant
La Veranada opened for business recently in Sandy Ground and we went
to the unofficial opening, where proprietors Anastasia ("Stacey") and
Didier Rochet toasted us with champagne. Stacey grew up in St Kitts
and Anguilla and her husband Didier is a highly successful chef from
France.
The prices are low for Anguilla and the quality is high. Even though
chef Didier is a trained French chef and has worked at Malliouhana
and Cinammon Reef, this is not nouveau cuisine -- the portions are
generous. From personal experience I can recommend the Mango Gazpacho
Soup $6, and the Curry Chicken Pot Pie $16, which has a light French
Provencal crust and assorted condiments for dipping. They also have
my favorite dessert, Creme Brulee $7, rich and creamy with a nice
ginger flavor.
The setting itself creates a unique ambience, with open dining
verandas on all four sides and a high pitched center roof enclosing a
Tapas bar/lounge area. The surrounding gardens are already lush and
green -- every table has a view over the balcony into the garden. The
lounge has congenial sitting areas and comfortable seating, with an
antique glass chandelier from St Kitts.
La Veranda is a family venture. Stacey is the hostess, Didier is the
chef, mother Denise organizes the back office, and Jerry Brown
(Denise's husband, who runs the Anguilla Garden Center next door)
does the landscaping Even the children helped out, working furiously
to get La Veranda opened before the tourist high season is over.
Telephone: 1-264-497-2225. Open every day. Future plans include lunch,
and breakfast.
Directions: From the airport parking lot, take the only exit and turn
left, then left again and drive back past the airport. Go straight
through the roundabout and west down the main road. Turn right at the
next roundabout and drive down toward Sandy Ground. Partway down the
hill, turn right at the sign for La Veranda restaurant.
Election Results
Existing Government Re-elected. The incumbents were re-elected in all
seven districts and reformed the same coalition government with
Hubert Hughes as Chief Minister. Read all about the voting on the
elections.ai web site, created by Griffin Webster and Wycliffe
Richardson.
Updates and Feedback
Update on Allamanda Beach Club . This small popular resort on upper
Shoal Bay now has a beach cafe: Zara's Beach Bar, which is located
next to Shoal Bay Scuba & Watersports (they have a new dive boat, but
more on that in a later issue). The low season is just about upon us
and Allamanda's rates for April 15th to December 14, 1999 drop
significantly, and if you stay 6 nights, the 7th is free. Apartments,
all with kitchen, range from $85 to $162, but Allamanda's summer
special includes the 18% service and tax, so the actual rates are $72
to $137 . And they have installed air conditioning. Telephone: 1-264-
497-5217. Email to Ava in the office at info@allamanda.ai or
hnorton1@aol.com in the USA. Web site: www.allamanda.ai
Update on Roadwell Cafe. This gallery, coffee bar and cafe now serves
lunch. As usual, I volunteered to investigate. Two very nice bageutte
sandwiches, with a glass of wine and iced tea were US $12.50.
Splash Villa
Splash Villa is the creation of a young contractor named Ian "Sugar
George" Edwards. Ian did the house design himself using Autocad and
the construction too, including many fine finish details often
skipped in Anguilla: custom wood kitchen cabinets, washed wood
ceiling, a feature stone wall, a deck with pool, a jacuzzi tub
overlooking St Martin in the master bath, wooden baseboards and door
trim, and wooden French windows with brass slides on some windows. It
is even painted a nice shade of yellow instead of white! For more
pictures, click here ).
Splash Villa is very private and very quiet, down a long windy road in
South Hill, behind Rendezvous Bay, with spacious and unobstructed
views. It has an open design with entry (8' door), kitchen and dining
area overlooking sunken living room, and pool deck with St Martin
beyond. On the left up a half flight of stairs is a master suite and
on the right, separated for privacy, are two more bedrooms and
another bathroom.
This is an ambitious venture for a local builder, even doing
landscaping and trying to grow grass. Ian and his fiance Janine have
furnished Splash Villa, including some antiques, and are ready to
start renting it to holiday guests. They already have one booking,
for the Millenium week. Phone/fax 1-264-497- 2262. Cellular 235-7667.
Email: edwards@anguillanet.com and web page at splash.ai
Shipping to Anguilla
Shipping to Anguilla is a bit of mystery, since you can use Fedex,
DHL, the Regular Mail, Four Star Jet service out of Miami, American
Airlines freight, Tropical Shipping, the Karma inter-island freighter
from St Thomas, various freighters from the Pan-American docks in San
Juan, and various other means. What we need is for everyone who knows
something and some method of shipping to contribute what they know.
Reader Lee Ann Cox (email: lacox@coam.net ) starts the process by
sending us some information on using ocean freight shipping to
Anguilla: Tropical shipping in Miami - 1-800-638-8767 Tropical
shipping in Houston - 1-281-272-0185
If you don't have enough to fill an entire container, you can send
Less Than Container Load (LTC). The basic rate from Miami is 4$ per
cubic foot, (from San Juan, $2 per c.f and from St. Thomas, $2.75),
but there is a minimum of $80 and other factors may modify the charge
(weight, type of goods).
Schedule from Miami - Ship leaves Miami Friday and arrives Anguilla
the following Wednesday. v Schedule from San Juan - Ship leaves
Thursday and arrives Anguilla the following Wednesday.
Schedule from St. Martin - Ship leaves Tuesday and arrives Anguilla
the next day (Wednesday).
Tropical shipping Website - www.tropical.com Now we still need to know
what it costs to send an entire 20' or 40' container from Miami or
San Juan?
Send in Shipping Information
Your Name:
Your Email Address:
Valley Primary School Newspaper
Students in Grade 4 at Valley Primary recently produced their own
newspaper. It was called "The Sun" and sold for EC$ 1.00 (equivalent
to $0.37 US). Here are some highlights:
My Class. The name of my class is Grade 4. My teacher is Teacher
Vivienne Vanterpool. My class is rectangular in shape. The colour of
my class is cream and yellow. The blackboards are black. There are
twenty two pupils in my class. In class at mornings we have Maths,
Composition, and Reading. In the afternoon until school finishes we
have Social Studies, General Knowledge, Science and Comprehension. At
the end of the day we have homework. When school is finished we put
up the chairs, close the windows, say our prayers, put on our bags
and go home.
By Lesandra Morton All For An Apple. Once upon a time there was a boy
who always went by a farmer named Ken. One day he decided to go over
by the farmer. When he went over he saw an orchard with a lot of
apple trees. A dog was sleeping behind the tree. He ran to pick an
apple to eat. He fell down. The dog woke up. The dog smelt someone in
the yard. The dog started barking. The man came outside running and
saw the boy. The dog stopped barking. Ken called hs mother and told
his mother all what had happened. His mother talked to him. He never
got permission to leave the house again.
By Kerlyn Hughes
School Library. Our school is presently setting up our library. We
have some books, but we need more. Help us if you can.
By Teshana Brooks A Poem.
Remember "M"
Remember "E"
Remember yourself
Then remember me.
By Renee Dore
My Little Pear Tree.
I have a little pear
It bears every year
But when I got to feed it
It goes very bare.
By Kishena Webster [Editor's Note: avocados are called "pears" in
Anguilla]
Thanks The staff and pupils of the Valley Primary School wish to say a
big THANK YOU to La Serena for the lovely plants which decorate our
school yard. We really like them very much. We will take good care of
them. Thanks also to Wilmoth Richardson Backhoe Services and Terry
for digging the holes for us.
By Kenville Hall Sports Day. The annual interschool Sports Day of the
Primary Schools will be held on the 25th of March. It will be on the
Ronald Websters Park. The six primary schools will be taking part in
these sports. There will be races such as relay, long distance
running, bicycle race for boys and girls and many more. We hope to
see you there.
Tuning In On Anguilla, 1999
Here's an update on the Anguilla radio dial from visitor Roger Fenn. (
We were back for the fifth year to enjoy beautiful Junks Hole Bay and
much more. While relaxing, we did our usual dialing around and
dropped by some of the local stations.
Some delightful anomalies are found on Anguilla. A few include driving
on the left (British) side of the road in cars which for the most
part are imported with left side steering wheels. Speed limits are
posted in miles per hour though speedometers in some vehicles on the
island show only kilometers per hour. Likewise, there’s a melange of
radio (and TV) protocols which don’t match, since adjacent St. Martin
stations broadcast under the guidelines of both France and The
Netherlands, and Anguilla is tuned up to British standards.
Some AM auto radios are tuned to U.S. type standards, which step
frequencies in 10 kilohertz increments, while others are set for
international 9 kilohertz increments. The latter is fine if you want
to hear the stations from E.C. islands which were once part of the
British empire, but when you try tuning in some others from the
U.S.V.I. or distant night time signals, forget it. On the FM band,
most stations are tunable in the odd megahertz available on most car
radios, but some of the stations in Marigot fall on even decimal
numbers, making them untunable. Be prepared. If you want the most
variety, bring a good digital tuning international radio such as the
Grundig Yacht Boy. When all else fails, you can tune in the BBC or
Voice of America.
----------------------------------------------------
March 1, 1999
Last week we took our house guests to Palm Grove for lunch and a swim.
They were enhanted by the way Clement ("Leo") Lake's mellow saxaphone
combined with the gentle surf at Anguilla's remote Junk's Hole Bay . .
. .
Clement Lake ('Leo') Plays a Quiet Sax
Anguilla has scores of musicians that blast you out of your seat and
onto the dance floor with their beat and volume, but sometimes you
just need some romantic music that still allows a private
conversation. That is when you look for Clement Lake.
Clement is playing Sunday afternoons this season at Palm Grove. He
also played for romantics on Valentines Day at Koal Keel Restaurant in
The Valley. He and his two saxaphones and his gentle drum machine are
available to support any easy listening, easy dancing soire on
Anguilla. Extremely civilized.
For booking information, call 1-264-497-4127/3729
News Tidbits from Anguilla
New Phone Books. Anguilla has new telephone directories this week.
Contact Cable and Wireless at 1-264-497-3101.
Anguilla Elections on the Internet. Elections for the House of
Assembly are scheduled for March 4th, 1999. You can see all the
candidates (their pictures and biographies), the district polling
places and election officers, the political parties, and much more on
one web site: elections.ai ... This election site was created by two
local Anguillians for the benefit of remote Anguillians. They will
update the site with live results on election night.
Career's Fair at High School. February 25 was the annual career's fair
at ALHCS, with presentations from the community on tourism, hotels,
insurance, real estate, health and medicine, Cable and Wireless,
secretary, pilot, massage, computer technology, small business, fixing
electronic equipment, airlines, ferries, education, police, bakery,
hairdressing, auto mechanics, accounting, banking, construction,
architecture, landscaping, and politics!
Express Mail Service. The Anguilla post office announces Rush EMS to
the world. Typical prices are EC$ 28.50 for 500gm to St. Kitts,
Dominica Antigua, Guadeloupe, St Martin; EC$ 35 to Barbados, Puerto
Rico, etc.; and EC$ 50 to Canada and USA. 1-264-497-2528 ext 35
Desalinization Plant. There was a ground breaking ceremony last week
for the new water desalinization plant in Crocus Bay. The pure water
will be pumped to a resevoir at the top of Crocus Hill (highest point
in Anguilla at 200+ feet) and fed by gravity to the entire island. The
plant is to be built and operated by Ionics , using electric motors
instead of diesel, due to concerns from villagers about the noise.
More News From Anguilla. Visit The Light's web site , one of
Anguilla's local newspapers. The March 1 issue has a letter to the
editor, more on the elections, a word search puzzle with all the
candidates names hidden in it, and an update from the environmental
club.
Upcoming Events in Anguilla
The Anguilla Local News has an Calendar for the year showing events,
holidays, and activities.
Here are some events scheduled for the next few weeks:
Cryptographer/Programmers in Anguilla
Anguilla was again the center of the financial cryptography world (aka
"digital money") for the third year running , with the hosting of the
FC99 Conference . 140 specialists attended from 10 countries,
including Russia and China, 8 of whom paid with electronic money via e-
gold .
There were many fascinating speakers and attendees this year,
including:
Mark Miller of The E Project (a new open-source programming language
with networking and crypto built into it);
Ron Rivest (one of the principals of RSA a leading and pioneering
cryptography firm that holds many of the key patents);
Vince Cate of Anguilla (proud of his new T1 line and presenting his
latest venture, Secure Accounts );
Ian Goldberg of UC Berkeley (who pointed out that having unknown
programmers fix Y2K problems in old software may introduce worse bugs
than the Y2K bugs!);
Lynwood Bell of Hansa.net and Hansa Bank ("locating and managing your
intellectual property offshore"); and
Nicko van Someren of n-Cipher in Cambridge England. (showed that
"secret keys" could be spotted by visual inspection because they are
different from ordinary data).
Other organizations who sent attendees and speakers were Microsoft,
IBM, Divx , Certicom , Stanford University, University of Tokyo, ICSI,
Mondex , Weizmann Institute (Israel), ETH (Switzerland), Xcert , Bell
Labs, MIT, Gutenberg University (Germany), CorpFlow , and Certco .
With the cryptographers returning to Anguilla for FC-2000 and some
showing an interest in living here, Anguilla may be on the way to
becoming a Silicon Isle . Several proposals were being discussed for
Technology Campuses, Parks and Centers in Anguilla.
FC99 was sponsored by: hansa.net , Euro RSCG , e-gold , n-cipher ,
Offshore Information Services , and Cable and Wireless
Updates and Feedback
Update on Fishing Boats . "No Mercy" is a 1998 Rebel Marine 26' center
console with twin 90 HP engines. Designed for fishing. The captain
goes after anything he can catch: tuna, barracuda, mackerel, whatever
is biting that day. "A REEL Caribbean Experience." Fishing trip is
about 6 hours, out past Dog Island and is in the price range of
$350.00 US up to 6 people. Includes refreshments. Contact Captain
Shaun in Sandy Ground (1-264-235-6283) or the owner Bill Mold (email:
moleman333@aol.com )
Update on Joan's Sarongs . Joan Richardson sells sarongs and wraps
under a tree on Shoal Bay. Prices range from US$ 10 to 30. Telephone:
1-264-497-3413. Joan may be the first Caribbean beach sarong vendor
with an email address: rasjoank@hotmail.com
I've Found Paradise! The Anguilla Tete-a-Tete is a place on the
Internet where people can post questions, opinions, and information
about Anguilla. Like a giant bulletin board. Click here for a typical
"I've Found Paradise" report from a visitor.
Le Bon Pain French Bakery and Pastry Shop
For 1999, Le Bon Pain Bakery has added an outdoor garden cafe, fresh
coffee, and salads to their selection of pastries, baquettes fresh
from the oven, sandwiches, and pizza. The result adds gentility to the
fishing village of Island Harbour. Bernard from France and his lovely
wife Yvonne of Island Harbour create delicious pastries and baked
goods. If you are heading out to a beach picnic at the eastern end of
Anguilla, just call to order a lunch of inexpensive sandwiches, cold
juice and French desserts such as lime tarts. This is fast food with a
difference. And for phone-in, take-out dinner, their pizzas have great
style and flavour. One of the best bargain on the island.
They supply many of the gourmet restaurants, but you can just walk in
and buy your own private supply of French bread and croissants
(warning: the almond croissants, chocolate bread and danish pastries
are often gone by 10am). Telephone: 264-497-4090. Closed Wednesday.
Directions: from the airport parking lot, take the only exit and turn
left, drive straight past Island Car Rental, National Bank and through
the main interchange of Anguilla at Albert's Market. Follow this road
through Stoney Ground and Little Dix villages, resist the paved left
turn to Shoal Bay, go past the concrete plant. Take the next left fork
in the road, go up the hill, down through Welches village, and on into
Island Harbour village. After the first speed bump you should see
Harry's Taxis on the right, then another speed bump, then Le Bon Pain
on the right in about 200 yards (where a paved road goes off to the
left toward Searocks). It is easy to miss, since the sign faces the
other way. If you get to Smitty's, turn around and go back.
Le Bon Pain-French Bakery - 1999 Menu Sandwiches: Served on a Baguette
with Lettuce & Tomato Cheese (American) US $3 EC $8.00 Cheese (Swiss)
US $4 EC $10.75 Ham (Buffet) US $4 EC $10.75 Turkey (Buffet) US $4 EC
$10.75 Cheese: w/Ham or Turkey US $5 EC $13.40 Tuna US $4 EC $10.75
Club: w/Ham,Turkey,Cheese US $6 EC $16.00 Egg (Fried or Omelet style):
US $4.50 EC $12.00 Egg w/Bacon, Ham or Turkey US $5.50 EC $14.75
Pizzas:
Ham ~ Cheese ~ Pepperoni ~ Groundbeef ~ Vegetable
Vegetable: Onion, Peppers, Mushrooms, Olives, Tomato, Zucchini
Call 497-4090 to order your pizza. Medium Pizza (11"): US $8 EC
$21.50 Extra
toppings: Extra US $1 Freshly Baked Pastries: US$1: Baguettes ~
Croissants
US $1.25: Danish ~ Chocolate Bread
US $1.50: Almond Croissants ~ Apple Turnovers ~ Butter bread
US $1.75: Garlic & Parsley Bread
US $2.00: Hot dog in croissant roll
US $2-3: Cold desserts
US $2.50: Slice of Egg & Ham Quiche
SALADS: served with a fresh salad dressing of olive oil and basil;
Ask about our special salad of the day. Cold Drinks: US $1 to $1.50
Freshly brewed coffee or tea, US $1 to $1.25
Web Sites About Anguilla
Paradise Restaurant has a web page at net.ai/paradiserest
Email Addresses: Sombrero Information Services: info@sombrero.ai
Tropical Shipping(correction from last issue. They are not at
anguillanet.com): shaskins@tropical.com
St. Gerard's West Indian Garden Party
Many visitors to Anguilla last week took the opportunity to sample a
local social event . Saturday night, February 27th, 1999, was the date
of a garden party with West Indian buffet dinner and music, on the
grounds of St. Gerard's Catholic Church and Wallblake House , with all
proceeds going to the church.
The party featured a bar with drinks, music by Sprocka, buffet dinner,
and dancing under the stars (on the dance floor made of 4 sheets of
plywood on the lawn).
Over 200 people attended the outdoor party, and this year it did not
rain even once. There were three serving lines for dinner, but there
was no reason to jump lines or worry which line you were in. They all
carried identical dishes: rice, curry beef, pigeon peas, chicken,
plantains, mashed pumpkin, green salad, and cole slaw. Far too much
for a single plate, but luckily there was enough for seconds.
St Gerard's West Indian Garden Party is very much like a church social
in any small town: you buy tickets for the bar ("three tickets for a
glass of wine"), you queue for food made by the parishioners, you buy
tickets for a cash raffle (half to the church, have to the winner),
the children are bored and go off under a tree to play hide-n-seek,
all the church members are there and they invite their friends and
neighbors, ... lot's of fun.
And, there were at least a dozen desserts. But you had to choose only
one!
Make the Anguilla News Your Start Page
You can easily make News.ai the first page that shows up when you
start your web browser.
For Netscape 4.0:
1. Select "Preferences" from the "Edit" menu.
2. Click on "Navigator."
3. In the "Navigator Starts with" section, select "Home page."
4. In the "Home page" section, type "http://news.ai/" in the text box.
5. Click "OK."
For Netscape 3.0, select "General Preferences" from the "Options"
menu, then click "Home Page Location" under "Startup" and type
"http://news.ai/" in the text box and click "OK".
For Internet Explorer 4.0:
1. Select "Internet Options" from the "View" menu.
2. Click on the "General" tab.
3. In the "Home page" section, type "http://news.ai/" in the text box.
4. Click "OK."
For Internet Explorer 3.0, select "Options" from the "View" menu, then
click the "Nagivation" tab and set "Page:" to "Start Page" and
"Address:" to "http://news.ai/". Then click "Ok".
The Importance of Refresh/Reload:
You will typically be seeing the copy of News.ai that is stored in the
"cache" of your personal computer, not the latest copy at the News.ai
web site (usually updated about the 1st and 15th of the month). When
we update the site with new news, you won't see it. But, you can
"refresh" or "reload" the News.ai. For Netscape, select "Reload" under
the "View" menu. For Internet Explorer, look for "Refresh".
Trip March 13-21, 1999 Getting there... Continental flies a couple of times a week from Houston to Aruba, so we went down on a Saturday leaving 1:30pm Houston time and arrived about 8pm at Queen Beatrix Airport. The international departure counter at Continental in Houston was a mess. The line backed up all the way to the doors. We were there the suggested two hours prior to departure and were in line for the entire 2 hours. So many kids heading to Mexico for Spring Break and lots of families traveling together so it was taking forever for them to check documentation. Only about 6 agents were working all those people which was just insanity and stinginess on Continental's part. It is still amazing to me that consumers put up with so much from the airlines. Things they would not stand still for one minute from a hotel or restaurant. They really have us over a barrel. So we ran for the plane, and realized that our plan to buy duty free cigarettes was a bust. My husband was pretty aggravated. They do not sell Marlboro Lights in Aruba. He smoked everything from Camels to regular Marlboros while we were there. I just thought I would mention this to people, since next time we will bring plenty of cigarettes and depend on the duty-free smokes for just a take home bargain. Flight was incredibly turbulent for the entire 4.5 hour trip. Our little girl did quite well. I was quite nervous with the bouncing. She had lots of toys and coloring books, so we managed to keep her amused and she did not make noise or bother other people thank goodness. I highly recommend a travel size MagnaDoodle. It was the ticket for this trip and went to restaurants, car rides, everywhere! Flight was totally packed, but we arrived on time in Aruba, zipped through customs (go through the resident line after it quickly empties out - no one ever says a word), and there was no wait for our luggage. Passports had expired so we used birth certificates and driver's licenses and had no problem. Grabbed a cab and it was nice to be back home on our favorite island. Hotel... Arrived at the Allegro. The lobby and exterior looked a lot different and better from its days as the Americana. A wonderful lady, Nickie, checked us in and she was fabulous. We were upgraded to an ocean front suite. The room was great but the air conditioning was not working. The hotel apologized and kept promising to have it back on line in the next 30 minutes. They said they had a chiller out and the whole south tower was effected. Then they said only the 6th floor was effected. Then they said only rooms that ended with 51 were effected. The stories got a little lame and opening the sliding glass doors didn't bring in a lot of air but a whole lot of humidity. The hotel would do this for the rest of the night and all day Sunday. Finally, Nickie came back on duty, apologized and found us a great room with a/c in the same tower. We moved to one of the lanai rooms on the ground floor and although it was a little smaller than the suite, we had room for a king size bed and a twin cot for our little girl and there was a table and chairs. It opened onto a big patio with a table and chairs and two chaise lounges. A bellboy came and helped us pack even moving our refrigerator and contents and Scarlett's cot. We ended up about 15 yards from the pool. (This proved to be ideal since we would put our little girl down for a nap at 4, and play bingo on our patio while she slept. I won full card bingo two days in a row sharing a $93 pot on the first day and was a solo $100 winner the next day.) The noise level might bother some people in the lanai rooms. If you nap every afternoon, forget it. Since from 1pm on there are activities such as volleyball, sexy leg contests, bingo, music, etc. which are broadcast on big speakers poolside. But luckily our child can sleep through a hurricane. At night you could hear the music from the nightclub, but we were seldom to sleep before midnight anyway. We thought the maid service was great and our room was very clean. The towels and sheets could all use a good bleaching. We have never seen such dingy towels. We never actually had HOT water but find that to be the norm in Aruba (the Hyatt being the exception). But all in all, we did like the Allegro and will stay there again. You get a lot for the price. Our last visit we stayed at the Hyatt and worried that this would be a big step down, but I agree that the Allegro is a 4 star and just a notch below the Hyatt. The beach/pool accessibility for our situation made it so great. Also the beach is very wide and deep there and was very clean. No seaweed throughout our stay. Water temperature was fine. Their beach towels need replacing and it would not kill them to have waiters at the pool and beach, but I guess since it is mostly all- inclusive it is as good as it is going to get. I thought their frozen drinks were just okay and ran $4.50 each. I do like that they let the sun set before kicking you out of your chaise lounge. If you are not AI, you can rent a float for $5 a day. Would we go all-inclusive at the Allegro next time? No. I don't think we would have been as happy with the place if we had been tied to it the whole time. Kid's Program... If you are of a flexible nature, then the Allegro's kid's program is the place for you. Their ad on One Cool Family on Aruba's Tourism Authority's website stated that the Allegro's Kid's Program ran from 9am to 5pm seven days a week with a one hour break for lunch. Actually their program is from 9:30am to 5pm but I am unsure whether it actually ever runs until 5pm. The catch is you must be there at 9:30 when it kicks off. If no kids are there then, they don't have a kid's program that day. We took advantage of the kid's program though every day we were there from 9:30am to 1pm. That gave our child a break from us, and we were able to go snorkeling every morning. No other kids were in the program until the last two days of our stay when one other little girl joined for a few hours each day, so it was one on one mainly and the activities geared towards our child who is almost 4. The lady in charge, Carol, was very nice and sweet. Scarlett had a fine time with her and managed to meet lots of people in our absence on her daily walk around the property. They have a little putt putt course and the kid's room has all kinds of toys, crafts, games and Nintendo. They had a treasure hunt and one day made sand castles on the beach in the shade but basically mostly everything was inside at our request and it gave Scarlett a break from the sun and heat. One day Carol was out, so Omar the Activity Director was there when we arrived and arranged for a substitute. We found all the Activities people to be young and friendly and very well mannered and anxious to please. I think the hotel has a great resource in these young people. For parents going there, I think since the program was rather loose, you just need to meet with them the first morning and kind of tell them what you want and expect. They were very accommodating. We felt our child was foremost safe, or we would not have left her with them for a minute. We tipped them each day and they appreciated it. Traveling with a Kid... We went into this trip not really knowing how our little girl would do in Aruba. She loved it. When we went down for breakfast the first morning, she looked out at the pool and pronounced that "Aruba is wonderful." We really had a nice time with her. There were a lot of kids there actually at the Allegro. We had beach time very early since to get a cabana you must be out there by 7:30am and we needed the shade. I tried to tip the beach guy, Johnny, up front for the week, but he handed the money back. He said he could not hold places for people since he would get in trouble. He was good about finding us a shaded spot up front every day though, but we really had to be out there early to get it. So Scarlett had beach play until breakfast and then on to her program. We would then head out to the snorkel location of the day. Then on our return we would pick her up by 1 or 1:30pm, and have lunch with her, a swim and more time at the beach under the shaded palapa. Then she would go down for a nap until 5:30. Then we would all hit the beach again until after the sunset. Then we would go out for dinner either with her or without her. She did fine. She was still on Houston time really so late nights did not seem to slow her down. We just kept to a routine which helped a lot. For the plane ride, I had read a magazine article that suggested a different little toy or activity for every 30 minutes of the flight along with snacks and a meal that your child can actually eat. You can't depend upon the airline for food or amusement. This plan worked out well for us. Also, we took 24 juice boxes and individual packs of goldfish, applesauce and animal crackers for snacks. That worked out great for the whole 9 days. We had a wonderful babysitter for nights that had been recommended to us through a guy in New York whom I had written through the Caribbean Travel Roundup. The babysitter's name was Clara Zaville, and we would wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone. A very warm intelligent sweet lady and our little girl loved her. She charged $8 an hour, we bought her dinner and then tipped her pretty good. The last bus to San Nicolas runs at midnight so you have to be in so she can catch her bus. Water Safety... Of course we never took our eyes off Scarlett around the water and kept the dead bolt on in our lanai. We took swimmies, a life jacket, and an inflatable ring. The inflatable ring was the ticket. We also highly recommend Banana Boat Waterproof for Babies SPF 50. It works. Our child is very blond and fair and came home with hardly a hint of tan. Nothing like ruining a trip besides making your child sick with a bad sunburn. She wore a hat when we could keep one on her but mainly the lotion applied twice daily did the trick and she was in and out of the water. We put it on her before we dressed her in the morning from top to bottom and then once again after lunch. She was very good about wearing sunglasses. Aruba is one hot sunny place, but you can work your way around the dangers if you are just cautious and diligent. Getting Around... We got a cab from the airport to our hotel. After a long flight, I just don't feel like messing with forms and waiting for a car at a rental office. I want a room, I want to unpack, I want a bath after being part of the cattle herd! But the next day, Budget picked us up at our hotel and we got a nice Toyota Tercel with power steering and air for about $200 for the whole week. Pickup was at their location near the Tam. We like to snorkel every day, so we don't just use a car for dinners out. This gave us a lot of freedom and we would do it again. Randy says I just love parking on sidewalks and maybe that is part of it. We were able to return the car to the airport and the Budget office opens there at 6am, so it worked out good with our departure. Ran out a tank of gas during our stay. Fill up was $20 at the Shell next to Taco Bell. Restaurants... The Topaz Restaurant at the Allegro - Although we just had a basic room rate and did not go all-inclusive, we were happy to receive vouchers for the buffet breakfast for every night of our stay which was unexpected. The food was very good and well prepared. They had an omelet station, French toast and pancake grill and lots of cold and hot foods and lots of good pastries, breads, fruits and juices. We liked the gouda croissants. I thought the menu could have varied a little more, but well what can you do with breakfast? It was a clean place and everything was fresh and plentiful. The open air restaurant on the ground level looks out onto the pool and waterfall. There are lots of sugar birds flitting about. We enjoyed starting off each day here in this lovely setting. There was usually a big old iguana sunning himself on the waterfall rocks. La Petite Cafe (downtown Oranjestad) - outstanding food and service, kid friendly. This is where we like to go for dinner for our first night in Aruba. The people are nice. There is a La Petite at the Playa Linda next door to the Allegro, but we still went downtown. It wasn't very busy and it is a good value and this place too seems to appreciate repeat business. We both had drinks, and 12 oz. Filet mignons which you cook on a hot rock with a slice of onion, tomato, and bell pepper. It comes with a potato and vegetables and their bread is good. With cocktails and service charge less than $50. Tony Roma's - great food, not so good service, kid's menu but the hamburger was running with blood so we traded it in for the ever present chicken nuggets. Their onion loaf is good and I had the BBQ chicken and Randy had the rib sampler. For the 3 of us with drinks it was less than $50. We tipped 15% but the service was surprisingly nonchalant for a place where the service charge is not included. Our waitress would lean against the wall and stare at us blankly while we played charades trying to get her attention. Pizza Hut - typical American fare, good service, good outdoor playground, and a staff that must be simply addicted to Shania Twain. Her music plays in a continuous loop. So we just ordered another beer and got over it. $25 with tip for soft drinks, inedible salads, garlic bread and a medium pizza. Gasparito's - great food and good service - best garlic fish I have ever had in Aruba and very good lobster bisque, Randy had Creole fish which was good. Must make reservation. It was very busy and the staff was thorough but rushed. Good food and we would go back. Kid's menu but not very kid friendly. Kind of like, Omigod a kid, but she was very quiet and sat still. Excellent chicken nuggets which Randy and I ended up eating. We had a quick dinner and left. Lots of local art. $60 with service charge. We were still hungry though after we left here. The Buccaneer - good place to take kids, no reservations, good price, food was good especially the bisque. Keep it simple here when ordering and I think you will be okay. Our little girl really enjoyed the aquarium. We walked in and got a good table with no wait. Service was very good. $60 for cocktails, starters, entrees, a kid's meal with dessert, coffee and cappuchino. Included service charge. The Flying Fishbone - good appetizers, soups and dessert. Both of our entrees were weak. Sauces are very runny. Service was extremely disappointing. We had a 6:30 reservation where they took a credit card to reserve our spot and then when we arrived could not find our reservation. Luckily there were only 2 other couples there for sunset so we got a great table on the beach. It is a very lovely setting and quite romantic and a wonderful spot to watch the sun set. But I think 7 people work there and 7 different people waited on us. It was very confusing. We each ordered the prix fixe menu and were delivered someone else's soup and starter. Our waiter did not appear to even know what we ordered so we flagged down the manager/chef who whisked our plate and bowl away a good 10 minutes later and plopped it down on someone else's table. Well my husband had already tasted his lobster cream soup, so we kind of had to tell the people to ask for a new bowl. Kind of unthinkable for a place that is billing itself as upscale. Our starters were wonderful. I had the salmon cheese toast which comes with a wonderful nutty salad and my husband had a duck appetizer which came with a fruity salad. Both were great. We both had lobster soup which was not very creamy as billed but very good and served in a big metal bowl. Randy had the rack of lamb and I had the lobster thermidor which was very runny and tough. We ordered coffee and drank it and waited and waited. We had to flag someone down through the meal if we wanted a new drink or even water. We gave up on dessert. As we were prepared to walk out and find a check, dessert arrived a good 30 minutes after the coffee. It was good but not what we ordered. I mean totally different from what the menu stated. We ate it anyway. Could not get a check. Finally got a check and no one would take our money. Walked out to the front and found someone to take our money. In a very nice way explained to the manager that the service was terribly disappointing but the setting sure was lovely. She thanked us for the fine compliment and shook our hands. We don't think she quite understood. We should be ashamed of ourselves since we left them a good tip anyway. Would I go back? Maybe to have a drink and watch the sun set. But not to make a special trip to Savaneta. It has promise though. Maybe they will get it together and they must simply do something about the howling dogs. It is hilarious. From start to finish we were there 3.5 hours and watched many people come and go including two large groups. Maybe we made the mistake of ordering the 4 course dinners or even arriving so early. Maybe they get it together later in the evening. It was our 11th anniversary and my husband's 45th birthday and we did enjoy it simply for the setting, but it could have been a whole lot better. $125 with tip. El Gaucho - best place on the island. 15 minute wait with a reservation. Wonderful HOT garlic bread, good fresh salads and huge good steaks (more like very tender roasts). Outstanding service and seem to really appreciate our repeat business. Another place we have been hitting since 1990. $65 with extra tip and bar bill. Subway - McDonald's - Wendy's - Taco Bell - same if not a little better than at home. Wendy's taco salad is much better than the Houston version since they heat their chips and their chili is spicy. Same prices as home. Typically ran under $10 for the three of us. Grocery Store: Kong Hing: good French bread, deli meats and a great caraway seed smoked gouda and soft drinks. It was a nice change from takeout and we could picnic on our lanai. Casinos... Walked into the Hyatt casino Sunday night and won on the first pull. Throughout our stay I won on slots at the Hyatt and the La Cabana. Randy made up for it though. Neither one of us won a dime at the Allegro, the Marriott or the Crystal. For total ambiance, winnings, pleasant staff, drink availability, we both vote that the Hyatt is the best casino on the island and really still the best hotel on the island. Activities/Attractions... Snorkeling, snorkeling and more snorkeling! Melmak is still our favorite place to snorkel. In particular, we like to park near the house with the yellow playhouse and work our way south and then back way north. Absolutely great fish variety and you can go quite far out and cover a lot of reef with very little surf. Lots of snorkel cruise boats that came and went. They have definitely been feeding the fish. Fish have gotten aggressive. Very plentiful sea life. Saw some black eels, lots of starfish and sea biscuits and I swear an urchin as big as a basketball. Water was kind of cold on Sunday but not the following days. No facilities. Took a collapsible ice chest with water and drinks. Some shade available. Too choppy outside the cove at Baby Beach on Monday. Dangerous actually. Baby Beach area seems kind of run down these days. It did not hold its previous charm for us. Used to be rather quiet and secluded and now lots of people and a rather makeshift refreshment stand. Probably will not go back down there. DePalm Island was still jamming. Went early and stayed still about 1:30pm. Ferries running pretty continuously. Met a Dutch couple who wanted to swim across and wanted to know why everyone wasn't? I was like "Lady, you will drown!" so they drove away. Some kayakers had thrown in the towel and were taking the ferry back to the island. Too many whitecaps. Snorkeling was very good. Roundtrip tickets were $8 and included a drink. Staff very friendly and appeared helpful to the beginners. Huge blue parrotfish at the dock. Didn't even need a mask to see those babies. Still good snorkeling there the farther out the better. Showers, facilities, food, etc. Lots of shade. Lots of lizards. They are pesty little buggers. Some kids were trying to catch them. The male member of the above mentioned Dutch couple (who eventually gave in and took the ferry over I assume) jumped to his feet and shouted "Why must we always harm the animals! Why must you torture these harmless animals!" It was very amusing to us. Those kids had no chance of catching those fast little lizards and besides they are very rodent in nature when there are 10,000 of them sucking on your feet begging for French fries. DePalm is definitely a return trip. Did not take Scarlett. Too hot and not enough for her to do in our opinion since she doesn't snorkel. We like to go there at least once a trip to snorkel. Found a lovely silver bracelet while snorkeling which satisfied my trip jewelry quota. I am wearing it now as I type this report. Beautiful once I soaked the crud off of it. Last trip I found a ring snorkeling at Melmak. So I am pretty pleased about my finds. Great swimming and calm, clear as a bell water at Arashi Beach near the California Lighthouse on Saturday morning. That is what Aruba is all about. Lots of locals picnicking. It was heaven. Floated, swam, wondered why I live in Houston, Texas. Wrapped up with snorkeling at Melmak. Went every day to Melmak actually (except DePalm Island day). We bought good quality snorkeling gear 10 years ago and it has held up so well. Definitely worth the investment since we are free to go and snorkel anywhere. It doesn't take up that much room. Randy played golf at Tierra Del Sol on Friday. Club, shoe, and green fees with cart ran $140. Randy said it is a tough beautiful course, definitely worth the money, but the wind is absolute hell. Said he would play again. Put him with a nice Canadian guy and they joined up with two local Dutch guys. No problem getting a tee time. Beautiful development up there. It is amazing how uptown Aruba has become. People have talked on the Aruba BB about how you can stay up there. I would still want to be on the beach though. I took Scarlett out on the glass bottom boat Discovery that leaves from Pelican Pier in front of the Playa Linda. Nice crew and captain. Boat holds about 30 passengers but there were only about 10 people on board. Tickets cost $15, half price for kids 4-12, under 4 free. Good value. Visited all the wrecks. Went all the way down to the lighthouse and back. Neat to ride through all the windsurfers. I would recommend this outfit. Very child friendly group. Drinks are cheap. $1 for soft drinks, $2 for beer and cocktails. Didn't make it to Natural Bridge. We have been half a dozen times and didn't think Scarlett would get a whole lot out of it yet. Shopping... Scuba Aruba near the Crystal Casino/Sonesta Hotel still has good quality t-shirts and caps. We loaded up. We liked the clownfish and moray eel t-shirts this year. Went a little crazy at Little Holland where they were having a good sale (plus another good discount for cash) on cutwork appliqued tablecloths. I have always been pleased with the goods here and the ladies are very nice. The same lady, Astrid Lopez, has been waiting on me since I first started coming to Aruba. The linens here are of a fine quality and nice for your home and make good gifts and are very cheap in my opinion. They are a nice daily reminder of our trip. Found Sonia Lemminga Martis situated in front of the Royal Plaza Shopping Mall at the fruitmarket in Orangestad selling both her and her son's original art and prints. I bought a lovely countryside scene that she painted from the tops of the Casabari Rocks and a painting of the California Lighthouse by her son. She is a very charming lady and was absolutely tickled that I had heard about her on the internet. It was a pleasure for Randy and I to meet her. She is very talented. Her business card reads 5th Gear Art Productions - Tel/Fax: 297 871241 Bought a bunch of Gouda and Edam at the airport. Everyone likes getting this and we enjoy it too. Also, I really like the Aruba Aloe products. Actually their Lip Balm SPF 30 resulted in the worst case of sun poisoning I have ever had a few years back. I don't think it had any sunscreen in it and I had to see a doctor. But their moisturizing aloe vera gel and also their hair deep conditioner are wonderful products and I stocked up. I wish I could buy these products at home. It says they are marketed out of Tampa, but I have not seen them in Houston stores. Laundry... Talked to bartender at the Allegro and got the scoop. There is a laundry in the back parking lot of Twinklebones in Noord called Taribana Plaza Laundry. It is $2.50 US to wash and $2.50 to dry in commercial size machines. For an additional $1.75 US per load they will do it for you. Drop off and pick up in 3 hours. This is the ticket since if you do it yourself the dryers are not the greatest so you will have to run it twice. No charge for the extra dry if they do it. Not very friendly people running the place or frequenting it, but it saves considerable bucks over having the hotel do it. Probably $10 compared to $50 at the hotel which charges by the piece. They are open 7 days a week. Regular laundry M-Sat 8-9, Sun 8-5. Drop off M-F 8-4, Sat 9-4. We do this halfway through our trip and then we don't have to pack so much. 5 minute drive from the high rise hotels. Checking out the new places... Aruba has changed a lot in the past few years. I almost passed out when I saw how San Nicolas has been spruced up. Very fancy street lights there and a real downtown. When they put in the huge mini golf place across from LaCabana I had no idea it would stick. Seems to be very popular still. There is a new hospital too which was very impressive. Lots of new fast food joints and other restaurants and lots of new housing. It looks like there is a good planning commission in place. A lot of the new construction "fit" in with the old architecture. That was good to see. Went to the Marriott. Very huge place and honestly it could have been in Dallas in our opinion. Just seemed kind of sterile and was like a Marriott anywhere. Would definitely pick the Hyatt over the Marriott just judging from the lobby and pool. Marriott was not as lush. Plus we like the advantage of walking from hotel to hotel. General observations... Awhile back going topless was discussed on the Aruba bulletin board and one lady asked how people explained it to their kids. Well, we saw a few topless women on Palm Beach and a lot of topless women on Baby Beach. Our little girl didn't even notice. It doesn't bother us. The Ugly American AKA the Most Appalling Tourist Award goes to a lady who was berating the security guard at the Allegro on Aruban Flag Day on why there were so many foreigners on the beach and what was he going to do about it. To his credit, he was very kind and did not shoot back, "Hey lady, YOU are the foreigner" which is what I wanted to tell her, but explained that it was a national holiday and many families visited the beach and that all of Aruba's beaches were public. She did not appear to be very satisfied with that answer but walked off. People are something else. Back to reality... Scarlett cried. She did not want to leave Aruba. Well, neither did we. Flight back to Houston departs at 8am so that means getting up at 5am to be at the airport 2 hours prior to departure. It really does take two hours to make it to the counter, go through Aruba exit, US pre- customs inspection. We didn't have any sit around and wait time and this surprised us since it was so early on a Sunday morning. Flight back home was not completely full, was very smooth, had good seats and good in flight service. Zoomed through US entry since we did the pre- entry in Aruba. No wait for luggage with free carts available. No line through US customs in Houston and walked right through. We were home for lunch by noon ready for a nap since we had been up since 3am Houston time. So it is a pain to not have any beach time on the return date, but also nice to have time to unpack and rest from your trip before heading back to the office. Had wonderful sandwiches for dinner from our El Gaucho leftovers. All in all, this was the best vacation of our lives and our first real family vacation. It was also a very good value on top of that. It could have went either way travelling with a young child, but she didn't meet a stranger and really enjoyed her trip too. We were very pleased that she behaved and we were still able to relax and have a good time. Aruba remains our favorite island destination. It is safe, clean, beautiful and the local people are warm and friendly. I can see why we and so many other people go back time after time. It is indeed One Happy Island, and I still wish I lived there. I keep playing the lottery. Maybe one day I will hit it. Until then, there is always next year.
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