Bucuti Beach Resort

September 15-26, 2005 by Sue W

Aruba Forum Profile: Sue W

I will follow the same format as I've used since my very first report - that way anyone can skip over any categories as they please.

BACKGROUND

This vacation took a turn as far back as the fall of 2004. Soon after we returned from that trip, we found it necessary to move my husband's 89 year old mother in with us. From that moment on, our lives changed. She suffers from Alzheimers and can no longer be left alone. We've made drastic changes in our lives including traveling separately. It's not ideal but one that has to work for us at the moment. Going to Aruba without husband was an emotional decision especially since we both love Aruba - plus it was our 30th Anniversary trip. I could have asked any of my friends to join me but chose to invite our children instead. Two daughters (age 23 and 24) took me up on the offer and the planning began.

FLIGHT

We all flew US Air on 3 different days. Met up with long-time friend [Aruba] Amy and Mike in Charlotte and sat together. Our flight departed late and arrived about 30 minutes later than scheduled. Both flights the girls took went flawless.

TROPIC CAR RENTAL

As always, Hans was patiently waiting for me in the terminal. After signing papers and a pleasant conversation, I was off. No problems with the Yaris the entire stay. Great air conditioning! I put many miles on the car and filled it only once at the end for $30. Actually, the pump said $28.50 but attendent told me $30. Oh well...

BUCUTI

We were fortunate to be in one of the newly renovated deluxe rooms. They are indeed beautiful with all the upgrades including new furniture inside as well as on the balcony. Even for one person, I was a little short on drawer space but I later found out this is a temporary situation. The a/c is individually controlled and worked great. Webmaster Richard and his wife Karen were just a couple rooms away.

The staff and management - which includes the hotel, beach and Pirates Nest personnel - remain as wonderful and genuine as they've always been. Even the crew working on renovations were friendly, polite and courteous at all times. Several even apologized for their presence. Management was aware of my solo situation and later the mother-daughters thing before I/we arrived and it all went off without a hitch. Not only did they have a Welcome Back basket of goodies waiting for me upon my arrival, they also left a Happy Anniversary basket even if Gerry wasn't able to make it this year. Many, many thanks to all who made this trip so pleasant.

New at Bucuti since my 2004 trip:

• Bucuti building painted beige to match Tara building
• Tile floor being installed in 3rd floor hallway
• A third computer has been added to Business Center
• Accounts may be viewed via television screen
• Outdoor shower stations located at Bucuti, Tara and Pirate Nest
• Canvas canopies over the tables for their Dinner on the Beach
• Low legged Rubbermaid-type tables on beach...great for laying drinks and/or lunch trays
• Sunday Tea held in the Tara Building
• Wednesday night movies on the beach. You can see the screen from the Tara Beach Webcam.

WEATHER

Sunny, windy and mid-90s first half of trip. Second half (once the girls arrived) was minus the winds and overcast most days. It did get uncomfortable many times so you'd find us in the water during the day and in air-conditioned surroundings at night. Mosquitos? To be honest, yes, but too few to complain. They weren't everwhere - perhaps a couple locations at most - but we weren't there long enough to make an issue of it.

BEACH AND WATER

Water temperature was as warm as I can ever remember and all but one day was crystal clear. For most part, the sea was calm with exception of a day or 2 with minor swells.

Returning guests may notice the beach in front of Bucuti has lost approximately 30' of shoreline after a freak storm last January but there's plenty of room to spread out under or around your palapa or palm tree. For first-timers, you wouldn't know the difference.

ACTIVITIES

Days were spent on beach as much as possible. One afternoon (as well as on our last morning) I took the girls shopping downtown. Since it was their first trip each, I intended to show them the highrises in daylight but we didn't get very far before we melted. Although it was early enough in the day, the sun was out but windless. We only made it to Radisson and Hyatt before jumping in the car and heading to show them Tierra del Sol (for Gerry's benefit), the lighthouse and the Alto Vista Chapel. By the time we returned to Bucuti and the beach, it was overcast again. No problem, though. Afterall, we were in Aruba!

BB Party, Amsterdam Manor - Another great gathering of friends old and new. There were only a few in attendence but we had a wonderful time and a great sunset as well.

ATV Tour - Took a full day tour with all my friends. We covered the entire island (and the island covered us entirely!) from Palm Beach to the lighthouse all the way down to Baby Beach, back to Palm Beach and everything in-between. We made a couple stops along the way including Charlie's Bar in San Nicholas.

Tranquilo - Snorkeling with Anthony is always a must on each trip. As in past years, I was joined by friends Stacy and Karen (Richard's wife) as well as my daughters. Again, it was one of those windless days so we used the motor instead of the sails. There was no current whatsoever that day making drift snorkeling impossible. That didn't stop us from having fun. Because schools were closed due to the Election, Anthony brought his daughter, two of her friends plus his two nephews onboard. Personally, I enjoyed their presence and their carefree, fearless spirit. Great kids!

Unplanned Bonus - One morning I simply got in the car and explored the inland with no specific place to go. I just took lefts and rights randomly and found both residential and commercial areas I had never seen. Some neighborhoods are very much like the good old USA with large grocery chains here and there, convenient stores, car dealerships, schools, huge banks plus all the neatly kept homes. I even found the antique mall in Tanki Leendert and stopped there for a little while. It is a huge complex with 24 showrooms. I only went thru 4 or 5 rooms as I wasn't serious about antique shopping plus the beach was calling my name. I will definitely make one of these imprompto excursions again on future trips.

ARUBA BY NIGHT

Casinos - Oh dear, I gave up on my second night. By then I had used up my entire trip's [slot] allowance. I'm usually pretty lucky at the slots. Though never huge winnings, at least I can pay for our Tranquilo trip and tip for the maid with my winnings. Not this time. When my girls arrived, they wanted to try their luck at the nickel slots. No luck for them either but it was entertaining just to watch them.

Kukoo Kunuku Bus - Why haven't we done this before??? We made this an all-girl adventure...the 3 of us plus Stacy and Amy. We had a blast! I was expecting the worst from the meal but it wasn't as bad as anticipated. Not gourmet by any means, but ok. A ton of fun followed with stops at La Ronda, U Wanna Bear and of course, Carlos 'N Charlies. The sippy cups they sell are a great idea. Prevents spilling over yourselves, others, the bus and more importantly, prevents something from being slipped into your drink. Plus you can fill it for the beach later.

Sopranos - Great little piano bar with pretty good singer.

Bingo - Fun, late night visit here. We were hungry but the kitchen had already closed. The bar has a jazzy edge. It's amazing that when locals come in after work (or after a late night on the town), they actually stop at your table and say hello complete with either a handshake, hugs, kiss or all of the above. We'd never laid eyes on these people before. Ran out of time but will definitely have dinner here on our next visit.

Champions Sports Bar - Perhaps the nicest sports bar I've ever been in. The girls saw their dessert menu in one of the magazines and wanted to stop here for a Sundae. We happen to go on a karaoke night and we had a difficult time getting service from our waiter. Why? Because he was having way too much fun singing on stage himself...LOL!!! In the short time we were there, he grabbed the mike 4x plus sang Happy Birthday to a patron. Easy choice for the poster-child of One Happy Island.

ODDS & ENDS and other observations (I'm almost done)

A Taste of Belgium - OHMYGOODNESS...Belgium chocolate and lots of it. Plus the sight of the chocolate fountain running...heavenly! Pieces can be purchased individually or by the gram. We purchased a 100 gr box for $8 which gave us 6 pieces. Heck, we were on vacation and how often can we buy Belgium chocolate? We did pass on the chocolate strawberries, though. They were beauties but a whopping $5 each.

Elections - Arubans are passionate AND well-informed about their politics. It was truly an education to be on the island during this time. Huge flags fly from their homes, vehicles are decorated according to their candidate's color, parades and rallys everywhere on Saturday and Sunday with supporters wearing the colors of their favorite candidate. Independent bars and restaurants did not serve liquor from 6pm the night before the election until 6am the morning after. (Hotels were exempt) I'm happy I could experience this firsthand.

• The Cultural Center across from Carlos N Charlies and Bahia is still nowhere near completion.
• King Ribs is gone (at least for the moment).
• The Links at Divi Aruba are lush and very eye-appealing.
• Ditches are dug along LG Smith Blvd. We were told they're laying broadband fiberoptics.
• New Restaurant "Steaks and Crustaceans" is about to open around LaQuinta.
• The poor Divi tree! The severed limb is being held by a 2 x 6 and a sling!
• A new restaurant has once again openned in the Dutch Windmill.
• Parking lot at Hyatt is now paved and paid-parking.
• A new mall is well under construction opposite Playa Linda/Holiday Inn. Eddy's Tradewind Times has full description.
• Tierra del Sol neighborhood continues to grow especially in the estates.
• The Alto Vista Chapel is still as breathtaking on my 6th trip as it was on my very first, especially when cresting the hill on the paved road. It appears to have recently been painted.
• In view of the fact that Natural Bridge collapsed last month, why are people still walking/standing on the natural bridge adjacent to it??? Wasn't that a wake-up call???
• The new Yellow Submarine is a colorful new party boat of the Kukoo Kunuku genre.

Well, as you can see, I packed in alot in a week and a half. Definitely a busier trip than previous years but it kept the mind busy. Only regret is I never went to the Bucuticam at 9am. At first I decided to wait until my daughters arrived, then once they were there we were basically on a straight path to the beach. We walked by them everyday and one morning I even got my own zoom of them from my balcony. Little did I know Gerry was watching for me everyday.

Thank you to Stacy, Chris, Amy, and Mike for allowing me to be your 5th wheel. To Jennifer and Stephanie...what can I say? Thank you for all you did to make this trip possible. It was great, wasn't it? (I hear from your better halves that I've created a monster...LOL!!! Oh well.) To our other 2 children...hopefully another year you can join us as well. Most of all my love and thank you to Gerry for insisting I continue with the September plans. Hopefully we can travel together again one day.