We arrived in gorgeous Aruba just after 4 PM on May 12. After picking up our rental vehicle (a Hummer) we headed to the Costa Linda Beach Resort where we would be staying for seven nights. Six of those nights were on the fifth floor overlooking the resort and Eagle Beach while the last night was on the first floor overlooking the pool area. After checking in we went for drinks at one of their bars near the beach.
When we do rentals for any vacation, we usually get a unit with a kitchen. This saves on the cost of breakfast, lunches and snacks. Sometimes we enjoy a dinner or two in the rental unit as well. Our time share unit at the Costa Linda had a small but functional galley style kitchen. It was adequately equipped for simple cooking. It included a gas range, microwave oven, refrigerator, dishwasher, blender, toaster, can opener and coffee maker as well as serving ware. There was a three seat breakfast bar on the L of the counter then a full sized dinning room table with seating for six off the kitchen.
We went grocery shopping at Ling & Sons Super Center in Oranjestad, Aruba, just a short drive from the Costa Linda the day following our arrival. It looked very expensive because prices were posed in the Aruban Florin (AFL). One USD is about 1.75 AFL. Factoring in the exchange rate the cost of food was not much more expensive than we pay in Florida at our vacation home. There were four of us so bought according and although it looked like a lot of food, we had little left over at the end of the week.
One of our meals was a simple pan fried pork loin chop with corn on the cob and boiled Dutch potatoes. At first I thought Dutch potatoes were an actual dish as they are called that on many restaurant menus but it turns out they are a variety of potato in the grocery store. In the restaurants, they were very similar to what we would call home fries - fried chunks of peeled potato with onion. What I did note even at the restaurants the potatoes were always peeled. It reminded me of my late father-in-law who immigrated from the Netherlands to Canada when he was 19. He refused to eat potatoes with skins on them as that was considered pigs' food! I don't recall him ever eating the skins on potatoes, not even baked potatoes.
Our simple dinner was enjoyed on the balcony of our time share. Just look at the beautiful view! In the foreground is the resort. To the upper left of the yellow building there is a little resort bar with stools but you can take your drinks anywhere on the resort. To the right of the yellow building is a new bar that had it's grand opening a couple of days before we left. There are various barbecue areas set up where you can cook your own food if desired. To the bottom left corner out of camera range is one of the resort restaurants. The natural body of water is the Caribbean Sea.
We ate out a fair amount during our stay in Aruba. I will be sharing some of those dishes with you as one very special foodie highlight. Stay tuned for more of our Aruba foodie adventures!
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