1/22/24: Amazing Aruba!

Our first day aboard Virgin's Valiant Lady en route to the Lesser Antilles was spent relaxing by the pool, drinking a tonic and gin, and walking laps on the upper deck before repeating more of the same. A tough life, I know!

We watched with admiration as some passengers gingerly walked or lay on the net with nothing but water underneath. We sure didn't have the guts to try it, though!

The next morning, this was our view from our cabin of Oranjestad, Aruba's capital, on the south side of the island. Aruba is the "A" of the famous ABC islands, with the "B" and " C" standing for Bonaire and Curacao but there are three other lesser-known Dutch islands. All three islands were originally inhabited by an Amerindian people related to the Arawak. After the Spaniards conquered Aruba in 1499, they left it mostly alone as it had little agricultural or mineral wealth. That changed in the 1800s when gold was discovered. Did you know that Aruba means gold in the local language? When gold was no longer profitable a century later, oil refining became a major operation until tourism took over. Now, Aruba has more repeat visitors than any other Caribbean island with people lured by the beautiful beaches, near-perfect weather with summer being the one season, a location outside the hurricane belt, excellent facilities, natural wonders, and friendly locals.

With just one day to see as much as we could, we'd arranged a tour to explore much of the island except for Arikok National Park as that would be too strenuous with my leg and Steven's back issues.

Steven and I have always enjoyed guided tours except for the dreaded stops at stores or gift shops where there is a strong pull to separate us from our money. That's happened on tuk tuk tours in India and Thailand, and the scene repeated at the Aloe Vera Museum and Factory, our first stop of the tour. We learned the plant was brought to Aruba by the Dutch via Africa in 1865. The focus of the plant in Aruba was now skin care and hair products and not the beverage.

Two-thirds of the island was once covered with aloe vera but now production was limited to this one area. Aruba used to produce almost half of the world's aloe but now much of it was for tourists or suckers like us! The worker said a baby aloe to full plant takes nine months, just like a real baby! 

After exiting through the gift shop (naturally!), the tour continued. Angelo, our driver cum guide, explained the sign said it was prohibited to throw out sushi which meant trash in the local language. Remember that the next time you feast on sushi! As you can imagine, sushi restaurants don't make it in Aruba.

Angelo pointed out a replica of a pastel-colored Cunucu House from the 1700s with aloe vera detailing on the roof. Cunucu means 'country' in the local Papiamento language. Early settlers developed homes to deal with the local climate and environment, using narrow windows to retain cool air and a slanted roof to help the heat rise.

Another home had agave plants in the garden, one of 500 varieties of aloe vera.

Papayas, watermelons, and other tropical fruits are grown on the island. Angelo described this pink dragon fruit as one of the most expensive cacti in the world.

According to this proud Aruban, the island has the best kitesurfing in the world with its waters having seven shades of blue. I didn't know that each shade represents a different water depth. Steven and I have spent many glorious summers on the Florida Panhandle being 'beach bums.' I could sure see hightailing it to any one of the spectacular beaches we viewed from the bus in Aruba instead sometime, as the endless length of blinding white sand and aqua surf looked intoxicating.

I wouldn't be averse to taking a catamaran cruise if 'stranded' on Aruba either!

Snorkelers love to swim out to one of the seven shipwrecks located close to shore.

With so much sun, solar panels were a common sight on homes, schools, and government buildings on the island.

From the sunkissed beaches on the southwest shore, we headed north to California Lighthouse on Califonia Point. Having seen so many American placenames in our short time already, it was easy to understand that Aruba was the most Americanized of the ABC islands. 

Named after the merchant ship California that had sunk nearby in 1912, the lighthouse became a national monument in 2015. After climbing 117 steps, a couple relishing something extraordinarily special could feast on a three-course dinner at the top, one of only two lighthouse dinner experiences in the world!

We could have rented dune buggies or ATVs to explore the island but the bus tour seemed much safer at this phase of our lives.

The terrain noticeably changed as we began driving along the island's northwest side. Gone were the pristine beaches and lush landscape. And in were large volcanic rocks and a harsher, desert-like environment so there were no hotels.

Angelo described the Papiamento language as a combination of seven languages in one, one for each colonizer, he joked. Even without the pictures on these signs, it would have been pretty easy to understand these phrases, especially if you remembered sushi meant trash!

Angelo explained that ninety-nine percent of the grocery stores on the island were Chinese-owned and that the Chinese were also buying up properties all over the Caribbean.

We stopped to look at two homeowners' cactus fences that took advantage of the environment and were much cheaper to build than a concrete one. The cacti have to be trimmed every six months so they don't topple over when wet.

Angelo told us that most Arubans decorate their homes for all the holidays - this 'model' sported her Carnival look! 

We hadn't noticed until now but Angelo stated that Moringa trees were planted in 'everyone's yard' as the miracle mint trees were thought to cure 190 diseases.

Built in 1750, the simple yellow and orange Alta Vista Chapel was the oldest Roman Catholic chapel in the Caribbean. Restored in 1953, the faithful attend Masses inside and outside the 'high view' chapel located on an elevated spot with a wonderful panoramic view of the coast. 

Small signposts on the windy road marked the Stations of the Cross for the annual walk at Easter.

This fence was a combination of wire, cacti, and local stones.

Fences weren't constructed for ornamental reasons on the island but to keep wild goats from entering properties! Curried goat was a favorite food for the islanders. 

This bushy caducia tree was a variety of cactus. I wonder if I have the spelling wrong, and if it should be spelled 'caduceus' instead?

We spent some time exploring the Caribari Rock Formation which reinforced Steven's thoughts that Aruba's north side reminded him of Arizona. The rocks held religious significance for the locals and a garden was considered hallowed ground.

The view from, and of, the Casibari rocks was almost identical to the one we see every day here just outside of Tempe, Arizona where we are for March. Now, if only we also had Aruba's golden beaches a few tantalizing miles away ...!

When we asked the guide why there were no stop signs or red lights, he commented that there had been 125 fatal accidents on the island when there had been stop signs but only five since.

I remember thinking thank goodness we'd bought medical evacuation insurance as Angelo sailed down the roller coaster hill with his hands above his head!

If we ever revisit Aruba, I'd like to stop at the Ostrich Farm. Apart from zoos, Steven and I had only seen ostriches before in one section of South Africa's Kruger National Park, one of our favorite places. I'll take Angelo at his word when he described ostrich meat as tasting like steak.

At Natural Bridge on the island's north-central side, we finally reached what Angelo considered to be the 'real' Aruba and not the 'concrete jungle' of hotel resorts on the south side.

Newcomers to the island ask if they can swim here - only if they want to commit suicide being slammed against the volcanic rocks, according to Angelo.

Only one natural bridge remained after the other collapsed in 2005. 

The mural on the gift shop was a reminder that so many animals were dying out.

Obviously, some people had yet to see or had chosen to ignore the many 'do not stack' signs.

Key phrases in the Papiamento language:

There is no natural water source on the island. All potable water comes from the ocean and is de-salinized at one of the island's many water plants.

Carnival is HUGE in Aruba - it lasts two months and then it takes the next ten months to recover!

If we ever return to Aruba, I'd love to wander through the town of San Nicolas on the island's southeastern coast.  Known locally as Sunrise City for its breathtaking sunrises, the former ex-refinery town is becoming well-known for preserving and promoting Aruba's history, culture, and art. Its pastel-colored buildings and murals merited far more time than a few glimpses as we drove past. 

The mural depicted Sarah Quita-Offringa, Aruba's kitesurfing champion for 22 years!

It was almost late afternoon before we stopped for lunch and R&R at Baby Beach on the island's eastern tip. Decision time - eat at packed beachside Flintstones-themed Big Mama or plop ourselves down on the beach?

Steven's Balashi beer was the only brewery headed by a woman on Aruba.

The semicircular beach bordered the very shallow turquoise waters. When we learned we were just 15 miles from South America, it reminded me of former Vice-Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, and her idiotic comment about being able to see Russia from her house in Alaska.

Baby Beach was well-named as families have been teaching their children to swim here since the 1920s.

The eight-hour tour of Aruba ticked all the boxes for us - thanks to Angelo being such a great guide, we saw (some might say 'whizzed by') all corners of the island except the national park, and we got a good sense of the island's history, culture, and natural wonders. For us, it was the perfect shore excursion and introduction to Aruba that left me wanting to return to explore Aruba in more depth another time. 

Next post: Colorful Curacao!

Posted on March 25th, 2024, in Tempe, Arizona after hiking many miles on trails eerily akin to the Casibari Rock Formation in Aruba. Wishing you and your loved ones good health and peace.