Tuesday, Feb 14. Aruba. Nice little country. 95% of their revenue is tourism. Extremely windy. Almost distracted me from the heat. Did a 4 hour Viator tour around the island. Began at the island’s only Aloe factory. Excellent tour. Very expensive product. It’s the only business in town other than tourism. The Aloe revenue is a rounding error.

Drove north past Resort Row (nice places) to the island’s lighthouse. I didn’t climb it as all our stops were short and I’m slow. Beautiful view at ground level. Stopped at a tiny chapel, the oldest building on the island. (Sort of: It had been rebuilt several times. Why ruin the beauty of the thing with facts?)

An old gold mine right on the edge of the water. Never amounted to much. Some gorgeous cliffs that produced huge water sprays. A famous, though collapsed, natural bridge. A fun rock formation in the island’s interior. The guide stopped at several other oddities. It was an entertaining tour.

Returned to the main city (I’m not going to try to spell it). Found a nice open air second floor restaurant and had an excellent jambalaya with a margarita. Just as I was finishing, the inhabitants of the first floor began drilling holes in the wall. Cement dust covered the remains of my food. I got a free second margarita.

Aruba was a thoroughly delightful country. Back on board the ship I had trouble finding a restaurant. Finally settled on the buffet. Denny’s has nothing to worry about. Then, drink in hand, I got a prime seat for the Fab Four’s mini-concert in a small bar. Again, the music was fine. The performers need surgery.

Not a bad day.