I wonder what she was thinking sitting among the ruins gazing into the ocean…

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.

If you get a chance, zoom in on the rocks. These are some samples of what the cliffs were made of…

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…

From the lighthouse, we started off roading. The dirt road was pretty dangerous at place. I had to plod along at about 10 miles per hour. I am not an excellent driver – especially on highways – but I am certainly more confident of myself on dirt roads and broken roads. And this one took all my attention and ability to maneuver. A couple of times, I had to back out and look for alternate path. The problem was that there were parts of the roads that were under water. There must have been some rains and the water just could not seep thru the hard rock. And I had no ability to decide how deep the water might be. Eventually, we made it though.

We stopped a couple of times on the way to look at the ground and the water. Here, I am standing on rock hard surface that has been washed and eroded by the water over eons and mostly ends in cliffs. The waves on the north side is decidedly bigger and were constantly lashing at the rocks. The water seemed deeper too.

As the constant heat of direct sunlight beat mercilessly down upon us – only to be relieved by the air conditioning of the car, the first thing Sharmila spotted upon reaching the lighthouse was not the lighthouse itself. But the guy who was selling “daab” (Bengali word for green coconut)! I am sure that triggered off a lot of memories from the early days in India!

She not only got the guy to open up the coconut after she was done with the water so that she could eat the whatever that inside white mushy thing is called – she even got a curious Nikita to try it out!!

There is something jarring about the cacti juxtaposed against a background of cerulean ocean…