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La Cabana - October 8 - 15, 2005
By Teri
Warning!!
Very long, boring and detailed!!
I will post separate restaurant reviews.
Come Saturday Morning
And it came quite early! Our flight was leaving at 6:00 am and John wanted
to get to the airport really early to get good seats. We arrived about 3:30
and the front gate wasn't even open yet. Had to go to the departure area to
get in but I guess it was worth it as the front desk was open and not busy at
all. We got an exit row, window and aisle seats, with nobody in between on USA
3000. The flight left on time but didn't arrive until past 10:30. Even
though the Aruba airport wasn't busy at that time, we still went through the
resident/employee line and had no problem. We have never used Tropic car rental
before but the price was reasonable so we thought we'd give it a try. I don't
think I will ever rent from anyone else again! As soon as you leave the
airport a rep is waiting for you with a sign with your name and Tropic on it. He
took us right to the car and we were on our way! Sure beats waiting in line for
1/2 hour at the other agencies.
Because we were so early we stopped at the flea market (didn't buy anything)
and the grocery store (Kong Hing) for supplies. It seems to me that their
prices have gone up some, we spent $35.00 for a little bit of cheese, crackers
and soda.
When we arrived at LaCabana we were able to check in immediately but our
room wasn't ready so we went to lunch at Salt and Peppers. Have never been
before and greatly enjoyed it. Got back to the hotel, unpacked, made reservations
for the Promenade and straight to the pool! We were meeting Diane (Jersey
Girl) and her husband for happy hour. She had very nicely offered to get us
cigarettes at her airport since our duty free shop wasn't opened that early. We
had a great time with Diane and Scott and made plans to see them the next
evening.
We showered and changed for dinner and left for the Promenade. We haven't
been to San Nicolas in several years and we drove and we drove and we drove.
And we never got there! I thought we missed it so we turned around and went
back to town to go somewhere else to eat. Well we were apparently way out of
practice because we drove and we drove and we drove and kept getting stuck in
the same one way streets and going away from where we wanted to. We finally
gave up and decided to head out to the high rise district and eat somewhere
there. Rio Steakhouse was on my short list for restaurants to try so we went
there. It was fantastic, one of the best meals we had all week! Since we had now
been up for about 20 hours we decided to call it a night.
Easy Like Sunday Morning
What could be better than waking up in Aruba? Well waking up to sunshine
would have been nice but it was very cloudy and had apparently rained. Since it
seemed useless to go to the pool we decided to try Lindas for pancakes. This
has gotten many great reviews but I don't think this will be one of the ones
we go back to.
When we got back I wasn't feeling good and decided to lay down for a bit.
Especially since it had now started raining. (Rain and clouds in ARUBA?!?! did
they drop us off at the wrong island?!?) John went to Tomato Charlies for a
pizza. He's not a big fan of thin crusts but it was still a great pizza. We
went to the pool for a little bit and had a few cocktails at happy hour and
then went to MooMbas for a small BB get together. Very small, as it turned out,
only Donna (Dvorska) and her husband Bob, and Scott and Diane showed up. But
we did get to see Mark. After happy hour (not real great, only a few drinks
are half price) John and I went to Sole Mare for dinner. Another one on our
list but not sure if I want to go back there either. Another early night for
us.
Monday Monday
Can't trust that day!! Clouds and rain again. It better shape up soon, I
can't get back on the plane Sunday after bragging to all the first timers how
the weather is always fantastic here! We had breakfast at the Captains Table.
Every year we punish ourselves once by doing this and vow to never do it
again. This is why I won't try dinner there, if they can't get breakfast right,
how are they going to make a good dinner? Actually, my omelet was good but
everything else was terrible.
We went to relax at the pool but it was very overcast. John won a t-shirt at
bingo, the only time all week that either of us won. We then got ready for
the BB party at Amsterdam Manor. Of course we were the first ones there! But
it was well attended, about 20 people. We got to catch up with Jim and
Jeanette (jimbosis), Wanda and Bob (arubagirl2000), Scott and Diane, Scott and
Sandy(1retired teacher) and her daughter and friend, and Dee and Susan (Arkansas
Silverfox). We also met some new friends, Carol and her friend, Tom and Karen
and several others who's names escape me at the moment. Mark and Marlene also
showed up, it's always great to see them. We had a nice time and the AM
served a few snacks, hot wings, chicken tenders and some weird little fried balls
with squishy meat in them. Wanda loved them but I don't think I will try
them again. I think I would prefer to do the kinds of parties we have done the
past few years on the Jolly Pirates with a dinner afterwards. You get to spend
a lot more time with each other that way.
After dinner we went to dinner at Tulip with Jim and Jeanette. We were kind
of in a hurry as we wanted to get to Champions to watch the Steeler game on
Monday Night Football. The dinner was great but the service not so much.
Went to Champions and met up with friends from Pittsburgh who were staying
at the Holiday Inn. Thank goodness they saved us seats because we didn't get
there until almost 9:00 and it was very crowded. There were loads of Steeler
fans there and we had a great time. But the drinks are ridiculously expensive,
next time I will watch the game at our own bar. I felt sorry for the baseball
fans there because there was a playoff game but the football fans were so
loud I am sure they didn't get to enjoy watching it much. The game wasn't over
until close to 12:30, this was our latest night all week!!
Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning
Well the sun came up a little bit but kept hiding behind those darn clouds
all day. We still relaxed by the pool, the beach was too rough. The waves were
unbelievable the entire week, and very dirty. People were getting knocked
over all the time, I have never seen the sea like that.
Jeannette and I went next door to the Paradise Villas to see Wanda and Bob.
She had bragged about her penthouse suite and we were dying to see it. Oh my
gosh!! You would have to drag me kicking and screaming to leave that place!!
It was beautiful, 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, huge kitchen and living room, large
wrap-around deck with a fabulous view. Wanda and Bob were really enjoying it
and I don't blame them.
John and I had lunch at the Islander Grill, at least there is one halfway
decent place to eat there. We had a few cocktails at happy hour with Jim and
Jeanette and then got ready for dinner at El Gauchos. This is an annual
tradition, it is Johns favorite restaurant on the island. It was really, really
crowded there but we got seated immediately. This was the first time we ever sat
in the smoking section, it is upstairs and only seats about 50 people. The
service was excellent but the prices have gone up steadily in the last few
years. But John loved every bite of his Churassco steak!!
After dinner we went to the Garufa across the street. We have never been
there, probably because we usually have kids with us and others had raved about
it. I can see why, it is a great cocktail lounge. You don't see many places
like this anymore, it reminded me of the kinds of places John and I used to go
when we were dating. There was a piano player and we enjoyed several
cocktails while listening to him and then calling it a night.
Our Weekend Starts On Wednesday
Always kind of a sad day because you know the vacation is half over. We went
to the lighthouse and then went into town for some shopping and lunch at
Iguana Joes. Right after we ordered we spotted Jim and Jeannette at the bar,
they were already celebrating Jims birthday!! After lunch we went back to the
pool and Jim and John spent the rest of the day at the pool bar. I can't
believe I am actually getting a little bit of color because the sun has still been
hiding on us. John and I went to Que Pasa for dinner, another one on my list
of new restaurants to try. Another one to cross off, <<>>. We then went
to meet Jim and Jeanette and Scott and Diane at Sopranos. Mark was tending
bar and Marlene was there with a group of friends celebrating a birthday. And
Jeanette was helping the piano player by perching on the piano and singing
along!! We had a great time with everyone before calling it a night.
Perfect By Thursday - (the day we get poached at the pool)
John got up early to get "our" table at the pool and we sat there reading
and enjoying the, uh, little bits of sunshine being tossed our way. I hadn't
taken any pictures of the sea or beach yet so John and I walked over there for
a few shots. When we came back, not even 15 minutes later, we found someone
elses stuff all over our table. John thought it might be Jim and Jeannettes
but they weren't meeting us for another couple of hours. Well I was hot so I
got into the pool. A few minutes later John came in and said that the stuff at
our table belonged to some older couple. Well I immediately got out of the
pool and went back to the table and asked the gentleman to remove his things.
He started arguing with me and said he had every right to have his stuff
there! I said that he didn't, it was OUR table and we had been there since 7:30
that morning. He said that we couldn't take up a whole table for just two
people ( ) and he wanted the two lounge chairs next to it too. I told him he was
welcome to the lounge chairs (we weren't using those ones) but we weren't
sharing our table and also, there were four of us, not two. The entire time we
were talking I was moving his stuff off of our table and putting it on the
lounge chair. I went back to the pool and decided that if he continued poaching
I was going to get security. Wanda and Bob stopped while we were still in the
pool and we went back to the table. (Weird coincidence that they happened to
show up then and prove my statement about four people although the other two
people were actually Jim and Jeannette).
After Wanda and Bob left John and I went to Tony Romas for lunch. Not my
choice, it was Johns but it was very good. When we got back to the pool, our
poachers had moved to another spot. I should add at this point that there were
still empty tables available when those people intruded on us, I have no idea
why they had to come to that particular table.
Dinner was at Bingo's that night. It was not high on my list, I wanted to
either try to find Promenade or try Hostario da Vittoria but John wanted to try
Bingos. It was okay, the prices were reasonable.
Hard to believe that it was already Thursday and we still hadn't been to a
casino! We decided to go walk around the high rises and go to the Hyatt
casino. It used to be one of my favorites but a lot of the machines were broken and
it just wasn't much fun. We walked along the beach a little and the waves
were equally high and dirty. And while I never did notice a gassy smell at
LaCabana the smell of dead fish near the Hyatt was unbearable.
Another early night!
A Few Minutes On Friday
Our last full day on the island!! How bittersweet, and we still haven't
woken up to the sun. We were up really early and went to the Playa Linda for
breakfast on Wanda's recommendation and it was very good. $20.00 including
service charge/tip for an all-you-can-eat buffet. Went back to the pool until it
was time to meet Carla for lunch at Salt and Peppers. John dropped me off and
went to Hooters for lunch, he had been craving wings all week. I had a great
visit with Carla, it's always great to see her. Although she had just come
from the dentist and wasn't feeling too good. Went back to the pool and the sun
actually came out! Got to see my first sunset of the week and took a few
pictures.
We went to Madame Janettes for dinner, my absolute favorite. And what a
treat, we finally got to meet Kasi, the chef we all love! We had met his lovely
wife Sabina last year but had missed out on seeing him. We also got to meet
their son Max, what a great kid! We had another terrific meal, this place
never, ever disappoints and then had drinks with Kasi at the bar afterwards. After
dinner, we stopped at the Alhambra Casino and actually walked out with a
little more money than we went in with! Although I never figured out how I won,
it was a very strange machine. Went back to the hotel to pack as our flight
was leaving at 11:00 am.
When Saturday Comes
For the first time all week we woke up to the bright sunshine we are
accustomed to seeing in Aruba. And the sea had calmed down beautifully with soft
little waves lapping at the shore. We noticed all of this as we were driving to
the airport to go home. Hans from Tropic met us in front, as promised. This
was the easiest and best car rental we have ever done, I don't think I will
ever go anywhere else. Because of the early hour, we were probably the only
flight leaving, we zipped through everything. But I think all of the employees
were bored because they went through all of our luggage, stopped us at the
security, etc. That's okay, anything to stay in Aruba a little longer!
Our flight was a little late leaving, I didn't notice as I was sound asleep.
We were in Pittsburgh by late afternoon, picked up the dogs, changed clothes
and went out to meet our friends that evening. The tan I was worried about
getting seemed pretty dark at home and we had lots of great stories for our
friends. But I can't believe we have to wait an entire year to get back to one
happy island!!
Additional comments:
One week is not enough!! Every year I say this but this time I am going to
do something about it. We are going to go a week earlier next year and try a
different resort. I think you get a whole different vacation depending on the
resort you are at.
Our kids didn't come with us this year, their choice. They said they deeply
regretted it and will never miss out again. They tortured themselves every
day by imagining what we were doing at that moment. We did miss them but this
was the first time we got to go alone since March, 1998. And we were so busy
with other people it didn't seem like we were alone!!
Never noticed any bugs until Friday evening, and then I gotten bitten like
crazy.
This was the strangest weather I have ever seen there. Cloudy, rainy and the
sea was angry my friends. But a bad day in Aruba still beats a good day
anywhere else!!
One of the weird little quirks I have noticed is that people drive like
maniacs all over the place but stop in the middle of the road to let people cross
the street.
I like how places say "take away" instead of take out.
Stick it, Dr. Phil, your boycott is far from working. I have never seen so
many people on the island as I did this trip. The one day in the pool you
couldn't even stretch out your arms without touching someone. I thought it was
because you couldn't get in the sea but the beach was just as crowded as the
pool. All of the restaurants were full and it was hard to find a machine at the
casinos. I am so glad that nothing stopped people from returning to One
Happy Island.
Also, the residents were just as friendly and helpful as they have always
been.
They have to quit opening new restaurants, my list keeps growing, I will
never get to try them all! But still searching for the Great Italian Restaurant.
It was very depressing to see the beautiful Royal Cabana all boarded up, I
hope the problems are resolved by the next time we are there.
Every year, leaving to come home gets harder and harder. I would love to be
able to go and stay until I wanted to go home. But even as the tans fade, our
vacation memories will remain strong until we can once again return to our
home away from home.
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