We honeymooned from 6/25 – 7/7 in Bonaire, South America.. it’s a small island that is part of the Dutch Antilles. (Part of the “ABC” islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao). It was really a beautiful trip.
We started out in Newark and flew direct to Aruba, where we had a 7 hour layover. In those 7 hours, we rented a car and drove around the little island of Aruba (it took us all of 20 minutes to make a round trip, I swear) and found a very nice (read: air conditioned) place to stop and lunch. (note: we didn’t find Natalie – though we did visit the infamous lighthouse).
It was so HOT down there – - I could physicall FEEL all the hydration in my entire body evaporating within the first hour of stepping foot outside. How does my body react to extreme heat? It goes into PANIC MODE and grabs every single little bit of water and hangs on for dear life. What does that mean for me? My feet swell like little balloons and they stay that way for at least the first 24 hours of being in such heat – - or until I drink enough water to comfort my poor body into believing that it’s safe to let go of the water it’s hanging onto, because there is more coming.
We returned the rental car and went back to the airport to wait for our midnight flight to Bonaire. While there, we were approached by a very nice and talkative airport security guard who could have been hired on the spot by Aruban Tourism. He wanted to talk us out of our trip to Bonaire and talk us INTO staying in Aruba for our honeymoon.
He was also very open and talkative about the Natalie Holloway case – including providing us with his personal opinions on what happened. His conclusions? Natalie ran off with her Jamacian boyfriend and was not killled at all – but rather, is living in Jamacia and is currently in hiding. (The guard told us that this isn’t the first time Natalie has gone missing . . . claiming she once went missing for 3 months in Jamacia with her boyfriend). I kid not. He also had some very choice words about Beth Twitty and Natalie’s family. He also had a theory that Beth Twitty is pushsing for the Aruban government to declare Natalie dead, rather than ‘missing’, because there is a HUGE life insurance settlement to be had from the policy that Natalie’s father took out on her right before her trip to Aruba. The guard also alluded to the idea that Natalie’s family had something to do with the case in order to collect on the insurance.
Oy! It seems that Natalie gossip is not hard to find in Aruba – - the folks down there seem to be quick to defend Aruba in a BIG way.. even with some farfetched schemes of their own making.
Though, I have to say, seeing Aruba and being there – - it’s so small and tiny, it’s hard to imagine covering up a murder there. If Natalie was killed in Aruba, my guess is that her body is nowhere to be found on the island. . . I would imagine that her body was taken out to sea, never to be found again.
More honeymoon tales and pictures coming soon. We had so much fun and spent almost all our time under the sea!
Another picture from the wedding, you ask? Ha! Surely:
As...
( the full moon has been out in hamilton NZ for a week...
3:01 pm on July 16th, 2006
Sounds like a good start to the trip. 7 hours to kill in Aruba, better than 7 people I suppose.
3:33 pm on July 16th, 2006
I love that picture of you and Chris.
Do you have any idea how many Natalie nutters are now going to find this post and turn it into another like the doll post? *bookmarking now*
3:39 pm on July 16th, 2006
Wow! Those pix are awesome! Bummer about your poor feet though
Glad you’re home safe 
10:23 am on July 17th, 2006
Aw… you spent so much on your wedding to had to WALK to the airport?!
12:12 pm on July 17th, 2006
Jeannette – HA! See? you’re so witty – I never would have come up with the 7 minutes (rather than people) to kill in Aruba. You should be writing my blog.
Chelle – no doubt on the natalie nutters, eh? I think that baby/doll post is up to 400 comments now… more or less. Oy!
Bug – Thanks! My feet recovered within 48 hours.. they dont’ hurt when they do that, it’s just that my shoes don’t fit! lol
Michael – let’s not even TALK about the money spent on the wedding. Oh. My. God.
1:51 pm on August 14th, 2006
You are or must be swollen in your brain if you believe that crap about Natalee having a Jamaican boyfriend and running away before.
1:58 pm on August 14th, 2006
hmm, I don’t really remember saying I believed it. Just sayin’ that’s the gossip we heard from the security guard.
Me? I think she was abducted by aliens.
3:53 pm on August 15th, 2006
I live here on Aruba, glad you enjoyed your visit.
These ‘rumors and theories’ people come up with are no more far fetched than the accusations against the police, the government, the suspects, and the community in general: until there is some sort of proof of anything happening, i find it quite easy to believe the silly rumors. Please tell me why nobody from the trip (Chaperones, horny drunk classmates included), and nobody related to (dad, step-dad) or friendly with Natalee has been polygraphed? So, did some dumb Southie kill Martha Moxlie? Hmmm… I guess sometimes there are cover-ups in America too. The Holloway-Twitts have enough resources under their belts that if there was a girl to be found, SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN FOUND! They are hiding something, and hiding it well.
By the way, I’m American, and i know this island and the people like the backl of my hand. I have lived here 8 years… there is and has been something VERY suspicious about this story since day 1.
See Comment 71 on the Aruba/current events page of this site to see just a small sample…
Thanks, once again, glad you enjoyed our beautiful island!
11:31 am on May 26th, 2007
Loved your wedding article love really is the strongest force on earth . Your dress was beautiful by the way it looks like you had a good time . May you keep your love for the rest of your life .
11:27 am on August 27th, 2007
looks like u had a great trip
i just wanted to say you have THE most beautiful feet
xxxx
5:44 pm on October 28th, 2007
[...] at his mothers house in Putnam Valley, New York. We then flew to Bonaire (only after spending 7 hours in Aruba) for our honeymoon where I took up scuba diving for the very first time, and got some great [...]