Aruba 2012 - Complete Trip Log

*This is a Re-Post combining the two blog posts detailing the trip to Aruba in 2012. If you'd like to read the posts separately, please click on the links below.*

Aruba - Day One

Aruba - Day Two

Day One

Aruba is a gorgeous island, with more than what appears on the surface. It's very touristy, and there are some beaches that only the locals truly know about. I had the pleasure of visiting the island with my sister, Jacqueline.

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We went straight to our hotel, where we did not stay for very long before going out and relaxing on the beach.

The beach is beautiful. There are boats everywhere, including historical shipwrecks. The sea salt is tasted in the air, the nice, cool, breeze wrapping itself around you and relieving you of the Caribbean heat.

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​I looked over and snapped these photos of the sunset.

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Day 2

Almost the entire guest list for the wedding I attended in Aruba got together and we all went to this beach called Dos Playa in Aruba's Arikok National Park.

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We get over to the beach, and there are fossils in the cliffs on either side of the beach. There were some pieces of dried up coral. I brought one home with me as a souvenir.

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For the first few hours of our time at this beach, I just let my feet wander, and I took photographs of all of the beautiful nature that surrounded us.

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It looks so tropical looking towards the ocean, but when you turn around, it just looks like a desert. It's slightly disorienting.

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Jaqi suggested I do the vacation photograph where you write the name of the place you are in the sand, so I did.

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As I was wandering around the area of the beach, everyone else was preparing to surf, cliff jump, or sunbathe. ​

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The scenery was sincerely breathtaking.

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The countdown to the wedding was getting shorter, so we all gathered up for a group photo before heading back to the main beach for the ceremony.

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Everything was so casual about the wedding, it was great. A lot of strangers stopped by during the ceremony since it was right on the beach, and the bride and groom illuminated by the sunset was just perfect.

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The party started immediately after the couple signed their marriage certificate. Music boomed over the sand, and as soon as the sun went down, funky light displays flashed around the reception area. There was a buffet that snaked itself around the reception area, and everything you could ever hope for in a beach wedding came to life.

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We partied ALL night. That is not an exaggeration. After the beach closed up, one of the guests had a home on the island, and we went over there, enjoyed their pool and the sunrise on the ocean.

This is the view from the front of their home. The large dark object to the right of the sun is one of the many ship wrecks that surround the island.

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We eventually all went to bed or fell asleep next to the pool for a while. The next day we all focused on recovering from the party and flying back to Venezuela.

I am so thankful that I was able to make the trip down to Venezuela to see my sister, and am even more thankful that I got to add Aruba to the list of places I have been as well. It was a wonderful experience, and I would go back in a heartbeat. One day, I will.