Last update: 6th January 2012
I love Aruba!
November & December 2012
We never really intended to stay long in Aruba. Just catch some good winds for kitesurfing and do some research on the possibilities of working in the field of sustainable energy. Before we knew it however, we had two job offers and the goal of working in Colombia had to be postponed if not cancelled. We share both jobs 50/50, so there's enough variation and dull moments are scarce. There’s plenty of fun people here, we’re learing to dance salsa and bachata, and when we get the chance, we kitesurf all we can. This place is great!
We both work 3 days a week as kitesurfing instructors at Aruba Active Vacations. Hop in the dinghy in the morning, race it to the beach just 500m away and show beginning kitesurfers what to do. They’re usually more than keen to learn, listen intently and most of them learn quite fast. The majority are Americans and Dutch, as the island is heavily influenced by tourism from both countries. It’s fun to do some instructing, and it’s fantastic to work on the beach. There’s two webcams pointed right at us, check http://www.aruba-active-vacations.com/webcam/ and scroll down to Fishermen’s Huts.
The other job is with Engysol, an Arubian company that promotes and installs sustainable energy. As it’s a small company, we help out with pretty much everything that goes on from installing solar panels on roofs to selling energy-saving products from the shop. There’s a lot of potential for solar and wind-energy all over the Caribbean, so who knows where it will lead in the future.
In November Judy came by to visit, and we finally made some time to check out the island. Our anchorage has a view over high-rise hotels, so it’s not exactly pretty. Luckily the islanders have left the north coast alone and about 15% of the total area of the island is a natural park. Nature is kind of strange here: cactae dominate the landscape and every other plant is thorny too, so it’s not very friendly. We used 4-wheel drives, bikes, legs and quads to explore, and sailed around the south end of the island.
The big question for us now is what the future will bring. Continue sailing, continue working, or return to Holland and normalize our lifestyle. We’ll keep you posted (but not too often ;). Happy New Year everyone!
We never really intended to stay long in Aruba. Just catch some good winds for kitesurfing and do some research on the possibilities of working in the field of sustainable energy. Before we knew it however, we had two job offers and the goal of working in Colombia had to be postponed if not cancelled. We share both jobs 50/50, so there's enough variation and dull moments are scarce. There’s plenty of fun people here, we’re learing to dance salsa and bachata, and when we get the chance, we kitesurf all we can. This place is great!
We both work 3 days a week as kitesurfing instructors at Aruba Active Vacations. Hop in the dinghy in the morning, race it to the beach just 500m away and show beginning kitesurfers what to do. They’re usually more than keen to learn, listen intently and most of them learn quite fast. The majority are Americans and Dutch, as the island is heavily influenced by tourism from both countries. It’s fun to do some instructing, and it’s fantastic to work on the beach. There’s two webcams pointed right at us, check http://www.aruba-active-vacations.com/webcam/ and scroll down to Fishermen’s Huts.
The other job is with Engysol, an Arubian company that promotes and installs sustainable energy. As it’s a small company, we help out with pretty much everything that goes on from installing solar panels on roofs to selling energy-saving products from the shop. There’s a lot of potential for solar and wind-energy all over the Caribbean, so who knows where it will lead in the future.
In November Judy came by to visit, and we finally made some time to check out the island. Our anchorage has a view over high-rise hotels, so it’s not exactly pretty. Luckily the islanders have left the north coast alone and about 15% of the total area of the island is a natural park. Nature is kind of strange here: cactae dominate the landscape and every other plant is thorny too, so it’s not very friendly. We used 4-wheel drives, bikes, legs and quads to explore, and sailed around the south end of the island.
The big question for us now is what the future will bring. Continue sailing, continue working, or return to Holland and normalize our lifestyle. We’ll keep you posted (but not too often ;). Happy New Year everyone!
More videos to be added shortly!