Aruba!

Our lovely little boat has once again carried us safely and swiftly to Aruba, across a Caribbean sea that was rather boisterous at times (30+ knots).

Off Curaçao, at half past eleven at night, we were called up by the coastguard, who were circling around us in a small plane. We dutifully answered all their questions in English. At the end: “goede wacht, meneer” in Dutch – “have a good watch, sir”. The funny thing is that they apparently don’t have an AIS receiver themselves, so they hailed us by position. Later they called again to tell us we had to stay 12 miles off Aruba and request permission – apparently the night shift there didn’t know we had been granted permission ages ago. At 8 o’clock I gave them a quick call via satellite and, sure enough, no problem, come on in. We moored up at the container terminal as the only yacht, went to the doctor first to have our temperatures taken, then immigration and customs. No weapons, speargun or cigarettes, but booze, yes. After they’d had a look in the liquor cabinet on board, all was fine – everything for personal use.

The marina had already called us while we were under way: welcome to Aruba, and if there’s any trouble with the authorities, just give us a ring. As we approached the anchorage they came out to show us where to drop the hook. We ordered 2 SIM cards straight away. Later they came back again with a welcome gift. Excellent service here.

Right, now a nice cold beer for the thirst, and in a bit a lovely siesta….