Alluring ARUBA

Aruba! Think beaches…and so much more. It’s true, Aruba has some of the most amazing beaches in the world (often featured on travel channel and “best beaches” lists). Wide, clean, and gorgeous, all with easy public access, like Eagle Beach pictured here. But wait til you hear what else there is to do when you want a break from the sand and surf.

Ancient ruins, eerie caves, a very cool church, a lighthouse…and that’s just the start! Here’s Part 1 of Aruba. I’ll cover some of the other attractions in a few days.

The Bushiribana Ruins are the remains of a gold smelter built of natural stone in 1825. The ruins are crumbling, and unfortunately, marred by graffiti, but still fascinating. If you go, don’t expect guides or brochures – you’re pretty much on your own to wander through them and ponder the past.

You might not expect caves on a Carribean island, but Aruba’s Quadiriki Caves are everything caves should be: damp, dark and full of winding passages and bat guano. On the walls you’ll find Arawak petroglyphs of people, fish and other objects. The caves are located high in the wall of a limestone cliff. At the front of the cave is a small concession that rents high-intensity flashlights. Don’t pass up the opportunity – you’ll need one.

Alto Vista Chapel is another great place to visit on this island country. The bright yellow chapel was built in 1952 on the site of the original Catholic church built in 1750 by a Spanish missionary. To reach it you’ll travel down a winding road lined with white crosses marking the stations of the cross.

California Lighthouse was named after a ship called the Californian, famous…or infamous, for being in proximity of, and receiving distress signals from, the Titanic as it was sinking. Unfortunately for the Titanic, The Californian's radio operator was off-duty and asleep. A few years later, the California sank off the Aruba coast. Now the ship is a popular dive site and the lighthouse is a popular attraction. It’s is surrounded acres of stoned-filled flat land. An area called California White Sand Dunes is very popular with kids who go dune surfing – basically sliding down anyway you can.

More on Aruba in a few days. And next week, stop by for an interview with author PATTI LACY and a chance to win a copy of her latest book: The Rhythm of Secrets. (Absolutely fantastic!)

Here’s a recipe from lovely Aruba:

Pudin di Coco
(Coconut pudding)

¼ cup rum
2 Tbs. gelatin
3 egg yolks, beaten until creamy
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup milk
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 cup heavy cream

Soak in one-fourth cup rum:
2 Tbs. gelatin

In a saucepan combine:
3 egg yolks, beaten until creamy
1/2 cup sugar

Stir in:
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup milk

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.
Blend in the gelatin until it dissolves.
Chill in the refrigerator until the mixture begins to thicken.
Beat until stiff but not dry:
3 egg whites, pinch of salt. Gradually add the sugar while beating.
In a separate bowl whip until stiff:
1 cup heavy cream

Beat the custard mixture with a wire whisk, then fold it gently into the egg whites.
Fold in the whipped cream.
Mound the pudding in a serving bowl and chill until firm. Serve with lime sauce.

Lime Sauce

1 Tbs.cornstarch
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 cup Key lime juice
1/4 cup, plus 3 Tbs. water

In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the 3 tablespoons of water. In a small non-aluminum saucepan stir together the sugar, the lime juice and 1/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil over moderate heat to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and boil, stirring, for about 30 seconds or until the lime sauce thickens.

Dreaming of Seychelles

Exotic Seychelles, located off the coast of East Africa, is the ninth smallest country in the world. A pilot friend of mine once referred to it as Europe’s Hawaii, and said its dramatic geography takes your breath away. From the photos I’ve seen, he’s right!

Seychelles (pronounced say shells) is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Just over 80,000 people call these islands home. Most of the islands are granitic (a new word for me). They have huge granite boulders like those seen in the photo. These boulders, combined with the lovely sand, colorful flowers and pristine waters combine to make Seychelles’ beaches among the most stunning in the world.

As you might imagine, Seychelles is a diver’s paradise. The island reefs are blessed with prolific marine life including Butterfly, Angel and Soldier fish, as well as octopus, spiny lobster and a plethora of nudibranchs, such as the Spanish Dancer (see photo). Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of a nudibranch. I’m a diver and wasn’t familiar with the term either. It’s a shell-less mollusk, like a snail without a shell. They can be flat or rounded like a worm and come in amazingly brilliant colors.

The land has many types of wildlife as well. In fact, the island of Aldabra has the largest population of giant tortoises in the world. Amidst the islands you’ll also find some of the rarest flora and fauna on Earth!

All this writing is making me hungry. Time to turn to FOOD! Here’s a great banana-type dessert for those of you with a sweet tooth. (The black things in the photo are vanilla pods.)

Daube de Banane

Ingredients:
* 1 vanilla pod, split
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 ½ cups coconut milk
3 cinnamon sticks
3 large ripe plantains
3 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt

Peel the plantains, cut in half and then half again lengthwise. Place the cinnamon leaves or sticks in the bottom of a pan. Place the cut plantains on top (with the cut side uppermost) then sprinkle the sugar, salt and nutmeg powder on top. Add the split vanilla pod (see note) then cover with the coconut milk. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for a further 35 minutes. Arrange on a plate and serve.

*Note: I don’t know how easy it is to find a vanilla pod in U.S. stores. I may be tempted to substitute a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Kangaroos, Koalas and Endless Beaches

Kangaroo Island, located about 70 miles southwest of Adelaide, Australia, is the featured destination this week. (Adelaide is the capital of South Australia and is located on the coast.) The island is a pristine wilderness where you’ll find sea lions basking on the beach and furry koalas peeking out from eucalyptus trees. And kangaroos, of course – plenty of those!

My last post provided some info on the animals and wildflowers you can see on this exotic island. If you go, you’ll probably find exploring and photography to be two of the key activities, but there’s so much more. Swimming, fishing, sailing, SCUBA diving, surfing, biking, camping and horseback riding are all at your fingertips. In short, this place has something for just about everyone, in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable! Make sure to stay no fewer than four days to really experience this amazing island and its wildlife.

How To Get There
If flying is your preference, there is air service from Adelaide airport. Once on the island, you’ll find shuttle service between Kingscote and Kingscote Airport. Book in advance. There is also a ferry called Kangaroo Island Sealink that runs between Jape Jervis (a peninsula town about 67 miles from Adelaide) and Penneshaw (town on Kangaroo Island). Passengers and vehicles are accepted. The following note appeared on one of the Kangaroo

Island websites: “Major roads between Penneshaw, American River, Kingscote and Prndana are sealed, most others are

unsealed.” No idea what that means. If anyone knows, toss me a comment.

Where to Stay
You can camp, stay at a luxury hotel, a B & B or something in between. Here are a few links to get you started:

www.OutbackEncounter.com/LuxLodge
http://www.hotelclub.com/Australia/Kangaroo-Island-hotels/
http://www.southaustralia.com/9005038.aspx

If you go, let me know! I’ll do the same. I’m hoping to cross this one off my bucket list in the next couple of years.

Mexico's Famous Ruins

There is so much to see in Mexico that it’s impossible to put it all into a blog. Incredible beaches and diving, tropical forests, historical sites, archeological sites, the National Museum of Art, the National Palace, Chapultepec Castle …the list goes on and on. Today I’m going to focus on ruins because…well, I like ruins. They’re old, they’re sometimes eerie, sometimes peaceful, always mysterious. You can’t be in the presence of a ruin without it stirring you in some way.

Two of Mexico’s most famous are Palenke (or Palenque) and Chichen Itza, both originally built by the Mayans.

The Palenke Ruins are close to the tropical forests of the foothills of the mountains in Chiapas. They are considered among the most important Mayan archaeological sites in all of Mexico and Central America. Most of the buildings were built before the tenth century AD. Hard to even imagine what life was like for the people working on those structures. One of the most fascinating ruins is the palace, with its walls and roof covered with mortar carved images of kings and gods. So far, only 34 buildings have been excavated, while there is believed to be around 500 hidden somewhere beneath the surface.

Chichen Itza is located in the Yucatan Peninsula and was once a major regional center for the Mayans. Interestingly, the land under the ruins was privately owned until March of this year! It is now owned by the state of Yucatan. If you go, you’ll see many stone buildings in various states of preservation. Some have even been restored. They are connected by a network of roads called sacbeob.

Next up….some interesting sites in Mexico City and one last Mexican recipe.