After freshening up in the hotel, we went back to the lighthouse for a very nice restaurant there – Faro Blanco (the white lighthouse) for a couple of cocktails… and watch the sunset. It was beautiful, although there were still some clouds right above the horizon.
This picture was taken with a DSLR and I focused straight onto the sun to purposely make everything else darker.
This was going to be our last spot for the day. Originally there was a huge natural bridge – basically water flowing underneath what looks like a humongous bridge – but was really a big natural rock. That used to be one of the greatest draw for tourists. Till 2005, when it crashed.
However, next to it, there is another small bridge – and when I say small, I mean about 50-70 yards (pretty big in an absolute scale). If you notice the water carefully, you will see one ugly side of civilization meeting nature – there are flotsams from beach goers who were careless about throwing their stuff in the water.
I got outvoted in terms of offroading again to go to our next spot – Bushiribana Ruins. So, I took the more paved roads and was there in about twenty minutes. I have to admit that this was somewhat of a let down. I guess whenever I think of “Ruins” in this part of the world, I think of centuries old relics, the Mayans etc…
This one is less than two hundred years old. In the mid 1800s, gold was extracted from rocks found in a nearby hill. Even that, I believe did not continue for too long. This building is really the remnants of the smelter that was built then.
We finally reached our destination after living thru all the rugged terrain. The first church or chapel ever built in Aruba. Unfortunately, this is the not the original building – it was destroyed. This is the newly built one in the 1950s.
One thing I never realized before I bought the tickets to Aruba is how close it is to Venezuela. Literally about a few miles (around 20)!! The original inhabitants in this island were the Arahawk Indians who came from Venezuela. Much much later, in the mid 1700s, a missionary came from Venezuela and built the original chapel. That chapel was also the place where all the local Indians were eventually converted to Christianity.
The reconstructed chapel (as you see here) is rather unremarkable. Very small and eerily quiet. You can see the ocean behind in the distance. But because it is at a high spot, you get a great view of the landscape and there is a constant wind here.
Also, there was somebody else selling green coconuts there!!
As we snaked thru the dirt roads closely hugging the waterline on the north eastern part of the island, we came up on this large area called “Rock Wish Garden”. As you can see from the picture, people pile on rocks in triangular formation. Apparently, you make a wish for every rock and its brings good luck to you.
Note that there is a concern raised these days around dislodging the rocks from their normal place.
I had stopped the car and ventured out to the very edge of the cliff looking at the sheer drop on my left and right and how the waves were crashing upon them. When one wave snuck up on me and crashed right under where I was standing. As luck would have it, I had my camera on and had enough time to take a snap and turn around quickly to prevent the water droplets hit the lens…. I got wet though…
