We. Are. Going. To. Aruba.
If you could measure how excited I am right now under my armpit, it would probably say ‘ERROR’. Oh yes, gurl, it’s D-day. Lil and I have been jumping around here for weeks. As we speak, we are at Schiphol and in about an hour or two we’ll be boarding the plane. Reason? Chilling for work in the Antilles.
Yes, I can’t quite believe it either. Lil can’t either, because she’s standing here super excited next to me, chattering ‘Aroeboe Aroeboe’ in my ear. (Lil and I have been twisting every word lately by adding an ‘oe’ at the end, a little inside joke). Anyway. So we’re going to Aruba, an island neither of us has ever been to. We don’t say it too often out loud, but it’s even Lil’s first time outside the beaten paths of Europe. For the first time flying ten hours. Knowing us, we’ll be exhausted by the time we get there, because if we’ve learned anything from our past trips together… Tip 9 (know when to stop) does NOT work for us.
Aruba, I would say: get your tropical chest ready, because these two editors are coming to stir things up, you don’t want to know. Just kidding, we’ll behave. And, Lil, if you feel like going over some facts on the plane to get in the mood: this is everything you need to know about ‘Aroeboe Aroeboe’.
- The capital of Aruba is Oranjestad. Oranjestad is located in the west of Aruba and has only 35,000 inhabitants. For a capital, that’s a low number, but for Aruba, it means that a third of the total population lives in Oranjestad.
- Aruba has clean drinking water. Yes, seriously. The island has its own water purification system, so you can drink water straight from the tap. Chill.
- The official currency is the Aruban florin, but you can also pay in American dollars in Aruba. Why? Americans love Aruba. What does that mean for us? Lots of American chain food restaurants, a typical American ‘boardwalk’ with tourist shops, and American power outlets.
- And those American influences aren’t so bad. What do you think of the divine ice creams from Baskin-Robbins? That’s what I mean. They have them right in Aruba, no problem.
- We need to take a photo with a divi-divi tree. Just so you know. It seems to be a thing. By the way, at Eagle Beach stands the tree you see in all the famous pictures.
- Additionally: I know you’re afraid of birds, but we are definitely going to Flamingo Beach.
- In Aruba, there’s a pretty strong eastern wind, called the trade wind. It blows one way, and it basically means our ponies are fucked. I have hairspray with me, no worries.
- And finally: the beaches. They are incomparable to the beaches in Europe. The sand is so white, with water so clear light blue. It’s almost like you’re standing in a swimming pool. You want this.
Ready for take off? I am! See you in Aroeboe, joejoe!
