Missed Opportunities

Being a resident of Florida for half the year is a wonderful opportunity to live in a summer climate year round. In my case it afforded me the special weather to complete my recovery. On the other hand we miss the every day interaction with the family. Phone calls and Skype are great but not being at the birthdays and family celebrations are events that will never occur again; hence missed opportunities.

We have less than a month before we return home and already we are in a preparation mode. It is not a full fledged effort but our minds are on that goal We have become the perfect planners and are always prepared well in advance of events that are going to take place.We find security in this as we do not have the luxury of second guessing when we leave one home for another.

On our recent holiday there were hundreds of things to do, all offered by the cruise line. We preferred to go on our own and hire a driver who was familiar with the island and take a tour shown by a local resident. In this way we with two friends were able to interact directly with the driver and have our many questions answered. The alternative is to be herded on a tour bus with 40 others and listen to a recorded message. Even a stop for pictures is a major operation but with the private tour you have excellent opportunities to do as you wish and dictate.

We have found that the small and personal tour gives the driver the opportunity to show you what they are proud of and wish to show off. We were not disappointed and after two hours we had a better understanding of the islands. I was very surprised to find out that Aruba is practically a desert. Little or no rain for years made growing any food crops impossible. There are no animals like cows or chickens and everything they eat comes from Florida. Half the island is absolutely barren and the only life is snakes and iguana. There are few birds as the snakes have ruined the nesting and they have the same problem as Florida with a growing number of huge snakes.

The city is beautiful and colorful because of a water plant which turns the salty water into  good water and the excess heat produces the electricity. Both water and electricity are extremely expensive. The lure for tourists is the perfect weather and white sandy beaches. We liked our time ashore and our shared time with our driver Eddie.