Manchebo Beach Resort

November 17-27, 2005 by Sasha

Aruba Forum Profile: Sasha

This was our second trip to Aruba. Our first trip was last year over Christmas. This year because of work commitments we could not go over Christmas so we decided to go over Thanksgiving instead. We stayed at the Manchebo once again since we liked it so much last year. I am going to follow others and do my report day by day. It's going to be looong but I hope it is both enjoyable and helpful to others. I know I always enjoy reading everyone's reports and the longer the better!

Thursday, November 17th

Our flight left Indianapolis on schedule at 7:30am. We flew to Atlanta and our connection was also on time. We arrived in Aruba a little before 3:00pm. Perfect, just enough time to check in, hit Happy Hour and watch the sunset! When we arrived there were two or three other planes that arrived at the very same time so when we headed down the escalator to customs it was chaos. I was going to make my way over to the line for residents but I couldn't get there so I just jumped in a line. People were not very happy about the lines so they were grumpy. After waiting for several minutes another group of people came and it got a bit worse. This one guy was moving through the lines trying to move over to a shorter line. When he got to our line he realized none of them were shorter and was just kind of standing there. I knew he was going to try and cut us so I made my husband move and I stood right in front of him and told him he was BEHIND me. The guy behind me said something to the guy trying to cut and this guy was so rude to the other guy (and bigger too) so the poor guy had to let him cut. I knew he wouldn't pick a fight with me though, that's why I handled it and made my husband move. He was by himself but then 5 more people who were with him cut in too! HOW RUDE! Why do people think they can do things like this? Well the one good thing about having to wait so long though was that by the time we got through that line our luggage was there so we at least didn't have to wait for that!
Time to get this vacation started!

After we got out of the airport it was across the street to Jansen to pick up our rental car. This was our second year using Jansen. Last year we got a 4x4 but this year we decided to just get a car. It was a Kia Rio. We were in and out of there fast with no problems (no so on the drop off as you will read later…).

We then made our way to the Manchebo and of course knew the way so we got there quickly. The Manchebo has a bulletin board in the lobby and if you are a return guest they post your name. There our name was welcoming us back!

Check in was quick and easy. Since I had a Visit Aruba Card (same one as last year since it was still good until December 1st), we get two free breakfasts each day of our stay so I had them print up our coupons now so we wouldn't have to do that later. When we made our reservation, I requested the same room as last year and we got it! That was very nice. When we got to the room, there was also a fruit basket to welcome us back! Nice touch. We quickly changed into our swimsuits and headed to the beach and bar for Happy Hour. I couldn't wait to have a Brown Lady!
We watched the sunset and then decided to change and get some dinner. Last year one of our favorite places was Salt and Pepper so we decided to go there. I LOVE their sangria and couldn't wait to get a free glass with my Visit Aruba card. We got a nice table outside and started with the sangria. We were going to get just tapas but were more hungry so I got the Chicken Burritos and my husband got the Salt and Pepper Burger. We ended up a ctually splitting these so we each got some of each. As usual the food was good and the sangria was GREAT!

After that we headed back to the room and sat out on our patio for a while then headed to bed. We wanted to get up early the next day and go snorkeling!

Friday, November 18

We were up at around 6:30am and out the door soon after. We went to breakfast and then decided to hit the grocery for snacks and stuff before going snorkeling. The grocery is so much fun to look around in but my husband wanted to hurry so we could get snorkeling. We spent about $75.00 there but got some wine, rum punch, snacks, and drinks that should last us the 10 days so we won't have to come back. After we got all that loaded up we packed up for snorkeling. We have our own snorkel gear, wetsuits and even these little sand chairs that come apart and pack well so we can go anywhere and be comfortable. On this day we snorkeled at Malmok and another beach area close by. Both places were great. Saw lots of fish, squid and even an octopus. After a few hours of that we headed back to Manchebo to hang at their beach for a while and hit Happy Hour and watch the sunset before dinner.

We had reservations that night at El Gaucho. I had made them via the internet about a month prior. They were at 7:30. We went there last year and had trouble finding it and this year was no different! I don't know what it is about this place but my husband drove around literally in circles for over an hour! We had some directions that someone had posted on line once on one of the bulletin boards, but they were not correct. He finally pulled into a gas station and asked directions. We were about 20 minutes late for our reservation but fortunately they saved our table. We were pretty stressed as you might imagine and couldn't get that pitcher of sangria fast enough! We decided after that adventure that he and I would never make it together on the Amazing Race! We can laugh about it now but we weren't laughing then. After we relaxed with a glass or two of sangria we were ready to order. I started with the pumpkin soup. It was sooo good! I had never had it before but will get it again. It was filling though. We both ordered the El Gaucho Steak which is HUGE! We each ate about 1/2 of it and decided to take the rest home. Our room has a fridge but we didn't have any utensils so before the waitress boxed it up we sliced it up and though we could by some rolls at the grocery and have sandwiches with the rest of the steak another day for lunch.

We got back to the hotel full and tired so we headed to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day!

Saturday, November 19th

Today was the day of our Jeep Tour! We went with ABC Tours based on recommendations on this and other bulletin boards. We were not disappointed!
They picked us up in a bus at our hotel (a little late but we expected that…Island Time!) and we went around to other hotels and picked others up as well. We decided to go on the tour on this day because there were no cruise ships so we knew it wouldn't be as crowded. We only needed two jeeps as there were only 12 of us altogether.
Our tour guide was Leroy and he was the BOMB! Very funny and informative. When he was registering us, my husband asked about driving and he go so excited because since there were two jeeps he needed another driver. My husband was really looking forward to driving and had a blast doing it. Unfortunately he didn't get to drive the entire trip because another guy kept bugging him to drive too so my husband being Mr. Nice Guy let him. I think the other guy actually drove more than he did but he said he didn't mind. Like I said, Mr. Nice Guy.

This trip was a full day, from 9:00am-5:00pm, but we actually were out until 6:00pm! It includes lunch and all the stops I am about to tell you about. It costs $65.00 and in my opinion is well worth it! As you will read we literally drove from one side of the island to the other and back again!

Our first stop was the Ostrich Farm (which by itself would cost $10.00 to get in). Right when we got there is started to rain so Leroy took us under cover to where the restaurant is and did a little talk until the rain stopped. After that we had a guided tour of the farm. I had heard about and seen pictures of people feeding the ostriches so I definitely wanted to do that and have my picture taken too. I did and it was so neat. One of the ostriches even tried to steal my hat!

At the end of the tour we got a special treat. There was an ostrich born just 5 days ago so we got to see it. It was just the cutest thing I have ever seen! So sweet. Too bad they don't stay that cute!

After the Ostrich Farm we drove to the Gold Mine Ruins and then on to Shark's Mouth and the Natural Bridge. It was so sad to see the collapsed bridge. I am so glad we got to see it last year. We headed off road after that and made many stops along the way. Leroy takes you places that other jeep tours do not. For the most part, we were the only ones around at most stops. The off roading was a blast!

Last year my husband and I tried and tried to find the Natural Pool and never could so I was real excited that the jeep tour was going there. When we got to the place where cars can no longer go, we spotted a couple who was going to attempt to walk from that point. The weather on this day was overcast, which was nice because we weren't in the blazing sun, but it was still HOT! Leroy offered the couple a ride because he said it would take them about 2 hours from that point. I thought that was so nice of him! He offered another couple we ran into along the way as well. At long last we made it to the point where we couldn't drive anymore and had to get out and walk. He said he hoped it wasn't too rough so we could get in but we wouldn't know until we got there. I prayed that it wasn't too rough and when we got there it wasn't! I was so excited to have finally made it. I couldn't get in fast enough, but it was a challenge. Most of those in our group opted not to get in which I thought was crazy. As soon as I slid in though before I had my mask on, Leroy started throwing bread my way and all these fish started surrounding me and jumping up in my face! I freaked out and everyone was laughing at me. I told Leroy to wait until I got my mask on so I could see what was attacking me! After I did and started swimming around it was so cool! This was definitely the highlight of the jeep tour for me!
After we left the Natural Pool we headed to some little local restaurant for lunch. It was chicken, rice, cole slaw and french fries. We were all pretty hungry and it tasted good.

After lunch those who were on the 1/2 day trip said goodbye and we headed on to the Arikok National Park, the Caves, Boca Prins Dunes and then to Baby Beach where we stayed and snorkeled for about 1/2 hour. It was great there as always and we knew we would return there later in the week.

So now we are on one side of the island and we still haven't gone to the lighthouse so we make our way all the way back there but the slow way around. We get there around 5:00 or so stopping at a few places along the way. Finally after the lighthouse is was back to the hotels to drop people off. We got back to our hotel at about 6:00pm not too dirty but tired!

We took showers and cleaned up then decided we didn't feel like going to a restaurant for dinner. Instead we checked out Pizza Bob's. GREAT place and also within walking distance of the Manchebo. We ordered a plain cheese pizza to go and brought it back to our room and topped the pizza off with our leftover steak from El Gaucho! Talk about gourmet pizza! It was so good. We ate about 1/2 of the pizza and saved the rest for lunch the next day.

We hung out on our patio drinking rum punch for a while and then went to bed. It was a long day and we were wiped out!

Sunday, November 20th

Woke up early and headed to the beach to get a front row palpaya. After we secured our spot we went and had a quick breakfast and then it was back to the beach. We decided to just hang out here for the day. At about 9:00am the clouds rolled in and it started to rain. We hid under our palpaya thinking it would pass but it didn't. It rained for about 2 hours but then it did clear and we had a beautiful day for the rest of the day. Also this was about the extent of rain we got the entire 10 days so I think we were pretty lucky. After the rain stopped we headed back out and spent the day at the beach at Manchebo. We brought with us a raft thing that folds up easy for travel and the waves at Manchebo were great this year (actually they got bigger as the days went on) so we had fun using that all week.

After Happy Hour and sunset we headed in and got ready for dinner, which tonight was as Madame Janette's. Again I had made reservations prior via the internet.

We went here last year too and found it easily. The one scary thing was that the side road down to the restaurant was pretty flooded due to the rain earlier so it was iffy driving through it but we made it.

We started dinner with a couple of Brown Ladies. I had the surf and turf, which I had last year too. It is excellent! You not only get a filet and shrimp but a lobster tail as well. My husband had the Tournedos a la Ramon, which was two beef tournedos wrapped in bacon. He said it was excellent as well. We had a couple more Brown Ladies with dinner and so then we were too stuffed for dessert yet again!

After dinner we rolled on back to the hotel and enjoyed the patio again before heading off to bed.

Monday, November 21st

Today was diving day for my husband. We got up early and had breakfast and then he went on a 2 tank AM dive with Red Sail. Last year he went with Pelican and was going to use them again, but they insisted he had to go on a 1 tank before doing a 2 tank because it had been a while since he dove. Well they did the same thing last year and when he dove the dive master told him he would have been fine doing a 2 tank. To me that was just a way for them to make more money, and I told them so too! So instead he went with Red Sail. He said it was great and there were only 6 of them on the boat. They dove over by Renaissance Island for one dive where there were some airplanes and also another South Side location. He was gone from about 8am until 1:30pm.

While he dove I stayed at the hotel and hung out at the beach. I wavered back and forth whether I wanted to go to the spa or not but never did. We got a front row palpaya again before breakfast so I had a great spot!
I read my book and people watched and also went in the water and just enjoyed myself until my husband returned.

He was pretty tired when he got back so we had some snacks on the beach for lunch and decided to just hang there for the rest of the day. We had early reservations for dinner anyway.

Tonight's dinner I was so looking forward to…Flying Fishbone! We made 5:30 reservations so we could be there for sunset. I made these reservations in advance and last year when we were there we had what I considered the best table in the place. I requested it again and we got it! I was excited. We started off with a bottle of wine but no appetizer (was saving room for dessert!). I got Catch One, which was the grouper with a garlic sauce. My husband had the Ribeye (do you see a pattern with him…he doesn't like seafood but LOVES steak!). Both were great! The sunset was beautiful and we got lots of great pictures. We also had fun watching the crabs on the rocks and the fish swimming up after is got dark. Here's where it gets weird though…after they took our plates away, we waited for them to offer us dessert and coffee. Our waiter did so for all the tables around us, but not us. We sat there and sat there and still the waiter never returned. My husband was getting pretty antsy. Finally over ONE HOUR went by and he finally came back to us. By this time my husband was mad and didn't want to sit there any longer so we didn't get dessert. I was disappointed but we still don't understand what the deal was. We thought maybe since we were at that table they thought we needed time to just watch the stars or something? Who knows, it was a weird situation. Needless to say, our 5:30 reservation lasted until 9:00 and all we got was our entrees! I love this place though and we will return. Next time we will make sure the waiter knows we don't want to just sit and sit there. I know they don't want to rush you but this was a little much.

As usual we drove back to the hotel and enjoyed the patio again before bed.

Tuesday, November 22nd

Today we decided to take a break from the beach and go shopping! Yeah! We got up and out to breakfast by 8:00am. After that since the shops didn't open until 10:00 or so, we decided to go to the Aloe Plant. I know people on the board said it was kind of a waste but I had to check it out for myself. We had the Visit Aruba card so we did get $1.00 off. After we paid for the tour a DePalm bus pulled up and a load from a cruise ship got off.
It was a big group and we had to join them. The good thing though was their tour was an abbreviated one. After that, my husband and I alone got to watch a video and then we had a private guide who took us through the museum and talked to us quite a bit more. I will say that it was expensive for what you got, but it was very interesting and I am glad we did it. We hit the store on the way out and stocked up on Aloe products as we did last year.
I love their sunscreen.

Next we headed downtown. There were 2 cruise ships in port so downtown was busy. That was okay though. We found a parking spot behind the bus station and then headed out. This year we went to the little shack stores that are along the waterfront first. Last year my husband paid $20 for a hat and then found the same one in these stores for $5! He was mad so he said this year he wanted to go here first and see what he could get cheap. He got a couple more hats and a shirt. We then continued on but it was pretty hot that day. I wanted to check out one of the jewelry stores that carries David Yurman to see if they had anything I couldn't live without! After making a purchase there we decided to have lunch at Iguana Joe's. They were busy but we got a table right away. I couldn't wait to have a Pink Iguana! My husband got a Lethal Lizard. He drank his pretty quick and then ordered another…big mistake! These drinks are STRONG. I ended up having to help him finish it and we were feeling no pain when we left. I should have taken him back to the jewelry store! LOL Besides drinking we also ate too…I had the Chicken and Chili Burrito and my husband had the Chicken Caesar Burrito. We actually shared them both and both were good. After lunch we shopped a bit more but it was so hot so we decided to head back to the hotel. Manchebo has a manager's cocktail party at 4:00 so we wanted to be sure and be back for that!

At the cocktail party we had some drinks and appetizers and talked to some of the Manchebo staff and other guests. It was a nice time. We also noticed on the beach that they were setting up for a wedding. The wedding started around 6:00 and we stood back and watched. It was so neat and romantic. We were able to watch it as well as the sun set then we had to head in to get ready for dinner.

We had dinner that evening at the French Steakhouse at our hotel. We each got the Ambassador's Special which gives you an appetizer, soup or salad, entrée and dessert and coffee. My husband had the beef stroganoff and I had the twin tournedos with shrimp. My husband couldn't finish his but I finished mine! He took his leftovers back to the room to have for lunch another day. Last year this special also came with a bottle of wine but not this year. I did comment on that when they asked us to fill out a comment card. It's still a great deal though at $29.95 per person. Oh, for the soup, it was Ox Tail Soup so I thought I would be brave and try it…big mistake…I didn't care for it at all! But at least there was plenty of other food coming so I can say I tried it.

After dinner we strolled the beach for a while and then it was off to bed.

Wednesday, November 23rd

Up early and off to breakfast. Today we were going on the Jolly Pirate snorkel trip. We did this trip last year (and the Tranquillo too) and enjoyed it so we decided to do it again. This year we went to the Antilla and also another shipwreck as well as a third stop. The only stop of the three that was the same as last year was the Antilla so that was good. The water there was clearer this year too. On this day there really wasn't any wind so unfortunately they never put up the sails. We still had fun. The lunch is very good and my husband had a blast on the rope swing. Once again I was too chicken to try it.
Maybe next time!

We had 5:30 dinner reservations at Marandi. I had only called the night before so we didn't get an up front table, but we got a pretty nice one. The restaurant is very small, which surprised me. We were actually the first ones there and the staff was very nice, offering to take several pictures of us, etc. The pumpkin bread they serve is so good. I ordered the Ménage a trois, which had grouper, scallops and shrimp and it came with veggies and mashed potatoes. It was excellent! The scallops were so fresh. I wish there were more on the plate or they had just a scallop entrée. The shrimp and fish were good too though. I practically licked the plate! I talked my husband out of steak again so he had a pasta dish with pesto and tomatoes. He ate his all up too. I had read about their petit grand dessert in other trip reports so I for sure wanted to try it. We ordered that and coffee. For $10.00, the petit is a sampling of all the desserts on their menu. What a great idea! They were all delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

After we left the restaurant we headed back to our hotel. It was about 7:30 or so. I had read on the boards that the Bucuti showed movies on the beach on Wednesdays and Saturdays so we went back to our room and changed and decided to walk next door to the Bucuti to see if they were showing one tonight. We checked on Saturday and they were not. Tonight though they were so we go a front row lounge chair and really enjoyed watching a movie on the beach. I was calling it the Beach-In instead of the Drive-In. That is such a cool idea! There wasn't a ton of people but a good enough crowd. They even will serve drinks and snacks. Just remember your bug spray if you go. I will include a picture of the Beach-In theatre in the report. A fun evening!

Thursday, November 24th

Today was Thanksgiving but I kept forgetting! A lot of the hotels and restaurants were going to serve a Thanksgiving meal but we had no interest in it. I can have turkey any old day! When I am on the island I want seafood!

We got up and went to breakfast as usual and then decided to head out and go snorkeling. I had printed off several places from the shore diving website that I wanted to see if we could find. We packed some snacks for lunch and then headed out towards the lighthouse. We snorkeled at the last beach area before you turn up towards the lighthouse. It's called Shallow Reef and it is shallow. We were the only ones there. Saw some neat fish. Then we headed down away from the lighthouse for a few more stops, had lunch on the beach, snorkeled some more and then decided to head back to the hotel.

On this day we had booked a sunset cruise with the Octopus. We had to meet Jethro by the Holiday Inn at 4:00 so we cleaned up and then it was time to head out. I had gotten recommendations here for the Octopus and we were not disappointed. There were 16 of us for the sunset sail. The winds had shifted as I mentioned when we went on the Jolly Pirate and they were still shifted so we sailed pretty far out and towards the lighthouse. I think they normally sail down towards the low rise hotels. The sail was from 4:30-6:30. I thought it just included drinks but to our surprise they also served us sandwiches and cheese and meat on toothpicks. Everyone on board was American so we were all joking that this was our Thanksgiving meal. The sail was so nice and peaceful and we enjoyed a nice sunset. On the way back though the winds really died down and we weren't moving at all. Never fear, Jethro jumped in his dinghy (appropriately named the Squid!) and pushed the boat with it! He said we would never get back otherwise.

We did have our fill of drinks on the sail and a few snacks but we were still hungry so we decided we should get something to eat. I didn't feel like getting all dressed up so we were trying to think of somewhere we could go as is (both of us wearing shorts and baseball hats). We decided to see if Bingo was open. We had driven by there a few days ago and thought we knew where it was but we did get a little lost but eventually found it. They didn't look busy so we went in and they had us sit wherever we wanted. Their menu was really good but since we weren't hungry we decided to get the brochette. I got beef and my husband got chicken. They came with curly fries and a side salad and each was just $10.00 so I figured it wouldn't be too much food. Big mistake. When the plates came out they were HUGE! More like platters. There was one skewer on each plate with the chicken and beef but they were long skewers. Then there was the salad on the plate and a ton of fries. Both of us ate all of our meat but neither of us could finish the fries. I also had a brown lady and it was only $5.00, which was cheap. Most of the restaurants/bars charged $7.00 or more for a frozen drink. So we ate there and were stuffed for just $25.00! A great deal! I wish I would have had room for dessert because like Marandi they have a sampler dessert platter too. I would have liked to try it…next time!

We headed our stuffed selves back to the hotel and then it was off to bed.

Friday, November 25th

Today we decided to drive out to Baby Beach for snorkeling. First we had breakfast of course and then headed out. Last year it was a bit of a challenge to find Baby Beach but since we had already been there on the jeep tour earlier in the week, we found it with no problem. It was pretty quiet when we got there, the raft rental guy wasn't even there yet, so we were able to get a palpaya. After a few minutes though a school bus drove up and a bunch of little kids got off the bus. Seems they were there for swim lessons or something. There were a group of young gals waiting for them and as soon as they got off the bus they headed for the water. It was so cute watching them. They stayed in close and didn't go out to where we snorkel so it wasn't a problem. I did notice that later in the morning this group of kids left and another arrived. That must be what they do at the schools there. The snorkeling here at Baby Beach was great as always. Later in the morning it got a bit crowded but we had a lot of time before that practically to ourselves. Saw tons of fish including 3 giant parrot fish that looked like they escaped from DePalm Island! I took a bunch of pictures with my underwater camera here.

I did notice that there were lots of tourists, but lots of natives there too. We actually ended up sharing the palpaya with some natives, two older ladies and an older gentleman. The man asked us how we were enjoying Aruba and then told us that today was his day off. He said he worked security at the Manchebo! He was surprised when we told him that is where we were staying. After he said it I did recognize him.

We ended up staying at Baby Beach for several hours. We brought some snacks with us and had them for lunch. We then decided to drive on and take a few pictures on this side of the island before heading back to Manchebo.

The other day on the jeep tour we drove by the pet cemetery so I wanted to go back there and take some pictures.
We also drove up to where the other lighthouse used to be and took picture there too. It was really hot out though so we didn't do this for long. On the way back to Manchebo we stopped at a store called Noah's Ark to pick up some bandannas for our three dogs. There was an article about this store in the paper and it sounded neat. I was a bit disappointed in it though as they didn't have the selection I expected and it was pricey. A bandanna with the store's logo on it was $8.00! We love our fur babies so I did buy them each one but that was an expensive souvenir! After that we headed back to Manchebo and hung out at the beach for the rest of the day and also watched the sunset there as well.

For dinner we had reservations at my husband's favorite restaurant from last year…Texas de Brazil. He didn't eat much the entire day so he could get his fill of meat tonight! This year he was more prepared than last year.

When we got back it was still raining so we didn't sit out on the patio. We hung out in the room and then headed to bed. Tomorrow was going to be our last full day. :(

Saturday, November 26th

All week we were observing the palpaya situation at Manchebo. There were several people who always got the front row ones. I even noticed one where someone tied a bag to the palpaya and just left it there all week! I also saw people go out at night while we were sitting on our patio with towels around 10:00 or so and save them that way. I think there were a lot of repeat people staying at Manchebo this time so they knew the system. It didn't really matter to us because for most of the week we weren't staying at Manchebo all day, well today we decided we were going to stay at Manchebo all day so we wanted to be sure to get a front row one. I told my husband we should get up around 5:00 or so and secure a spot and then we could go back to bed for an hour or so. That is what we did and when he went out at 5:00 there were only a couple front row ones left! He went back out at 6:00 and he said as he was sitting there, this lady (the old hag is what we called her) came up to him and told him that he couldn't save a palpaya overnight! My husband politely told her that he got out there at 5:00 and didn't save it over night but she would have none of it. She was Dutch I think and was hard to understand but she was so nasty to him. When I got out there about 1/2 hour later he told me about it. I asked if she had said anything to anyone else and he said no she just singled him out! She ended up being right next to us also in the front row so I don't know what her problem was. I thought maybe we had taken "her" palpaya and was going to ask her if she wanted to switch. Well at 7:00 the chair boy starts working and as soon as she see him she calls him over and I could see her complaining about us. As soon as she was done I called him over and told him what happened and that we did nothing wrong. He really couldn't say anything and just smiled at us. I think he knew this lady was a problem but he was trying to make nice with all the guests. A little while later, she leaves to go get breakfast I think and he did come back around and ask us if everything was ok. We said "Fine!". It was funny because we saw this old hag everyday and all she would do is lay topless (which was NOT a pretty site) in the sun and smoke. She was by herself and we can figure out why. She would also leave her stuff on the beach for hours at a time too. We did leave our stuff for about 1/2 hour at 8:00 to go get breakfast but that was it. She was gone for about 3 or 3 1/2 hours and along come these two ladies and they decided to set their chairs under her palpaya to get some shade. I laughed and thought "oh wait until she comes back!" Well sure enough about an hour later here she comes and she had a fit! They told her that she couldn't save her spot for more than 2 hours but she would have none of it. She calls the chair boy over and they all have a nice argument. The ladies asked if they could share because they wanted the shade and she wanted the sun but she refused. I felt so bad for the poor chair boy. He then told the ladies he would find them another spot. After that I knew that this lady had some real issues and I know that chair boy knew this too.

Such a bitter old lady. In a way I am glad this happened at the end of our trip and not the beginning. Everyone else we talked to, guests and workers were so great! Just the one bad apple. I hope if we go the same time again next year she's not there again!

So basically we spent the entire day hanging out at Manchebo beach. The waves had been getting bigger and bigger as the days went on so we had a blast playing in them with our raft. Later in the day a lot of local kids showed up again with their boards and we had fun watching them. We stayed out on the beach until after sunset and then went in to get ready for dinner.

We didn't have any reservations so we decided to try Tulip. It was close by and we sat outside. It was HOT and buggy. Good thing I brought some bug spray. The first thing I noticed was how cheap the prices were! A pitcher of sangria was only $14.95! At Texas de Brazil it was over $30.00. Quite a difference. We ordered a pitcher right away. Like I said it was HOT. Evidentially the waiter didn't hear right and brought out just a glass. I told him we ordered a pitcher and he exchanged it quickly for us. We decided to skip appetizers and just order our meals. I ordered the surf and turf, which was a filet and shrimp for just $16.00! My husband had the chicken sate, which was only $9.70. While we waited for our food they gave us some bread. We ate that right up and continued to drink our sangria. We drank and drank some more and the food was still not out. I wouldn't say they were overly busy but their service was sloooow. Do not go here if you are in any sort of a hurry! After we ate our meals, it took a long time for them to come and take our plates too and offer dessert. Our meals were both excellent though. For dessert I had tiramisu and my husband passed. It was just ok but again pretty cheap. Overall I would say this was a good place and very affordable…just slow. I did notice a lot of Dutch people eating there and the old hag from the beach even showed up!

We were going to check out movie night at the Bucuti again tonight but since dinner took so long, the movie would have been half over so we decided to skip it and just enjoy the patio at our room. Before that though we decided to get all packed so tomorrow we could maximize our time before checkout.

Sunday, November 27th

Today was our last day, boo hoo! Our flight didn't leave until 4:12pm but we had to checkout by noon. We were up early once again and secured a front row palpaya. Unfortunately we were right next to the hag again but that was okay, it was our last day and no one was going to spoil it! We had a quick breakfast and then got back to the beach as quickly as we could. I spent almost all my time in the water. We were able to stay out there until 11:00 then we had to go in and shower and get ready to leave. We checked out on time and then decided to have lunch somewhere before headed to the airport. We decided to finish where we started…Salt and Pepper. I used my Visit Aruba Card once again so we could get two free glasses of sangria (the best on the island in my opinion!). My husband didn't want his so I drank them both! We also ordered tapas and had a nice relaxing lunch. After that we headed to the airport. We needed some extra time to return the rental car. When we got there it was kind of busy. We drove up to the Jansen office to return the car. No one was there! This happened last year too but Leo soon showed up so I told my husband that maybe he went to grab lunch and would be back. We did find the office open so we waited in there in the air conditioning. Well we waited and waited, no Leo. Finally I told my husband that we should at least walk the luggage over to the terminal and then he could come back to take care of the car. We did that and I waited and waited for him. He finally came back and said Leo never showed! He asked one of the other rental places what he should do and they told him to park the car in the lot, lock the keys in it and leave a note. So that's what we did. I was pretty nervous about doing that though but I figured I would e:mail them when we got home.

We checked in at the airport just fine and did our last minute duty free shopping. Our plane ended up leaving 45 minutes late because they couldn't get air clearance from Curacao? I was nervous then the entire flight home that we would miss our connection in Atlanta. Fortunately that flight was delayed an hour so we didn't miss it. We were supposed to be home in Indy at around 10:30 but we ended up pulling in our driveway at midnight. It was a long day and back to work the next day but we made it!

Closing Comments

This was our second year in a row going to Aruba. We like to go to an island two years in a row and the previous two years we went to Grand Cayman. Now next year we need to decide if we want to go somewhere new or back to Aruba! We are thinking we may want to go to Turks and Caicos but I need to do some research first. We may just decide to go to Aruba again! If we do we will again stay at Manchebo, we love it there! All of the restaurants we went to this year were great so we would probably go to all of them again. Most all of the people we came in contact with were wonderful again (except for the old hag!) and made us feel so welcome. The only negative I had this year was I noticed a lot more stray dogs than I did last year. I am a dog lover so that made me sad. I kept reading in the papers that they are trying to control them and I sure hope they are. Every time I saw one my heart broke. Other than that, it was a great 10 days and I can't wait to do it again!