by Cathy
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| Bon Bini to Aruba! |
One of the best perks about my job is getting to travel. I'm not talking about seeing the inside of airports and conference rooms business trips here; I'm talking about experiencing these destinations as potential getaways. So when the opportunity arose for me to fly to Aruba, I cannonballed into it. Granted, we had to take notes, jot relevant stats, info and details down, meet the right people and ask the right questions, however it's all done in a casual, very non-business like setting. In other words, as many friends described it complete with airquotes: "work"
The start of my trip started off a bit frantic, thanks to an hour and a half delay with my connecting flight, which pushed into my scheduled itinerary once on Aruba. I literally had 10 minutes to check in, change into a fashionable-ish outfit and meet the rest of my media group in the hotel lobby. Once at our event, I eased into the DJ's drumbeats and slowly melted into my Vodka Mango concoction created especially for this press event, which took place on the pool deck of the swanky Renaissance Hotel across from the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. Aahhh...this "work" was more like it.
Part of my "work" included covering this:
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| 2nd annual Aruba InStyle Fashion Week |
This is when designers from Latin American, the Caribbean and even the U.S. showcase their new collections. As I eventually found out, there was press coverage from all of these places: Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela (which we were only about 18 miles off the coast of), Curacao, Columbia, Costa Rica, Barbados and even from Spain. Combined with the diverse cultures already present on Aruba (the national language spoken is Papiamento and are taught Spanish, Dutch and English in addition to this in school), I was in for a multi-cultural treat. And as I
also found out, Latin Americans are NEVER on time for ANYTHING. Let's just leave it at that, shall we?
Needless to say we attended some fantastic open-air fashion shows/club parties:
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| Ronchi de Cuba show at the famed Versace Mansion. This is someone's house, y'all. |
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| Swimwear show while dipping my toes in the water? Why, thank you. |
We had an amazing island tour on the Kuckoo Kunuku party buses:
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| Turn up the music and shake your maracas!! (Famed California lighthouse in the background). |
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| Walked through natural boulder formations a la 127 Hours. |
We visited Gold Mill ruins on the rocky northern coast of the island and came across these stacked rock piles. Island folklore says that you must stack five rocks (any size), make three wishes and in three months, given your stack is still intact against high winds, your wishes will come true.
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| Wishes, wishes everywhere, as far as the eye can see... |
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| Me with my wish stack. Fingers crossed! |
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| We were refreshed from the hot sun with fresh coconut juice, macheted open for our drinking pleasure. |
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| Tasted some amazing local cuisine like Keshi Yena |
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| Went on a tranquil catamaran/snorkeling excursion. Anyone want a gander at a real, live shipwreck? |
And of course, no trip would be complete without a shopping excursion. Just FYI, Aruba has 1.5% sales tax and boasts every luxury brand store you can think of, so ladies, this is the place to get that Gucci purse. Speaking of which, while in that store perusing the handbags - I have my eye on one or two I'm salivating over - another woman comes in and the sharp-dressed suit asks, "Hello, what can I show you today?"
Her reply was my favorite: "Oh, nothing. I'm just here visiting my purse."
Ladies, can we relate or what? Loved that.
Instead, I chose to shop in a little Gingerbread-looking outdoor "mall" that clearly evoked the Dutch architecture the island inherits from its owners.
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| Little pink houses - for shopping! |
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| Our media group. And, oh, that amazing, fake-looking sea. |
My visit there was quite the sensory and cultural experience to say the least. I will always cherish the sights, sounds, flavors and company. Until the next time...
(Oh, and nothing against Jamaica. Been there, done that. Just keeping with the flow of that breezy
Cocktail theme song.)
