Monday, May 15, 1995 - Aruba

Slapped the computer a few times and got it to work, so I entered all the days that I'd written in pencil. Guess there's a loose connection somewhere. We paddled to town this morning to check out the marinas, exchange some money, do some sightseeing, and buy groceries, but before we even landed our Royaks, a motorboat pulled up with two men in it, one of them in a blue uniform. They told us we couldn't stay anchored where we were. They told us, rather vaguely, where we could anchor. We told them we'd come into town to inquire about the marinas. They gave us until tomorrow to move. What a revolting development this is, just when we thought we were settled down! We went to a bank and exchanged $100 U.S. for 174.50 Aruban florins. Talked on the phone with the manager of the Sonesta Marina. The monthly rate there is $12 a foot, which includes electricity, water, and all the hotel facilities, including their private island with the beaches, tennis courts, etc., so that really isn't too bad. The marina itself isn't much, however; mostly just pilings. We went to Wendy's for lunch. It was just like a Wendy's in the states. We had stuffed baked potatoes and frosties. Roy also had a chicken sandwich. He had wanted a chicken salad, but I misunderstood him and thought he said sandwich. He ate it anyway. While we ate, we discussed our future plans. Roy agreed it was time to give up cruising. We'll try to sell the boat, but if we can't, we'll take her back to Richmond. Of course, we can't leave here until the hurricane season ends. We walked over to the Port Authority office to find out exactly where it's ok for us to anchor. The Director was very nice and showed us the anchorage on a chart. We bought some groceries, and Roy found a place to get water, so he filled a five-gallon jug. Then we went back to the boat and moved to the designated anchorage. It was quite shallow, so we couldn't go as far in as we wanted to. Put out two anchors in less than six feet of water. This is a better place in a number of ways. We're farther from the mangroves, so we don't get as many flies; we have more protection from the wind; and we're farther from the landing strip, so the jumbo jets aren't quite so loud. We're also closer to town.