On the Road: Aruba

Home to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, Aruba is one of the Dutch ABC Islands, along with Bonaire and Curacao. I was brought out to deliver a mind reading show to an international sales group, nearly half of whom spoke no English! As you can imagine, any form of entertainment becomes more difficult with a language barrier, especially something like mentalism that relies on audience communication! We pulled it off, and some of the custom routines I created have permanently found their way into the show.

Although only there for 2 nights, I was able to enjoy some great food and drinks. The Ritz-Carlton had the best fish tacos I’ve ever enjoyed, and that’s coming from San Diego, where we basically invented them! The fish had been caught that morning, and the mahi mahi portions were fantastic. Coupled with a habanero papaya hot sauce and guacamole, they were incredible.

This photo of The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Down the way about 1/4 mile on the beach is one of the world’s top rated beach bars, MooMba. One of my favorite joys in the Caribbean is enjoying an island cocktail with toes in the sand. Coupled with the great BBQ island cuisine and well made cocktails, this is a great place to start (or even end!) your evening in Aruba.

Even with the great food, great drinks, and great weather, the best thing about Aruba has to be the people. Aruba is home to residents from at least 40 different nationalities, and a huge portion of their GDP comes from the tourism industry. Necessity aside, I’ve never seen a hospitality industry that cares more about making sure their guests are happy. Everybody in Aruba smiles, and they seem genuinely happy to help.

Next time I visit, I plan on getting my SCUBA certification first. Aruba is also home to some of the best diving in the world, with sunken ships and even airplanes brimming with sea life and ready to be explored.