Day 2 really merged into Day 3, but that is perfectly okay, because it was so, SO much fun.

Almost the entire guest list for the wedding got together and we all went to this beach on the North end of the island. Not a lot of tourists know about this beach, and you have to off-road it a bit to get there through the National Park, but it is definitely worth the hassle.

The North end of the island has the climate of a desert, and definitely looks the part.

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. 

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.

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

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

The scenery was sincerely breathtaking.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

When I went to Venezuela back in 2012 to visit with my sister, Jaqi, her husband, Orazio, and Giovanna who was still a fetus at the time, we went to Aruba for a weekend for a wedding.

It 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.

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.

My brother-in-law, Orazio, ran over and planted a kiss on my sister. He refers to "Public Displays of Affection" as being "sticky".

He then resumed to go off to play more games, this time, football. The real football.

I looked over and snapped these photos of the sunset.

These men play a serious game!

An exhausted Orazio plops down and gets some "stickiness" from my sister.

And with that, the first day came to an end.