Aruba – One Happy Island

 

“It’s always beach o’clock in Aruba”.

Aruba is a small but beautiful and diverse island paradise that has been said to be the best-rated in the Caribbean for all-inclusive resorts. This beautiful and unique island is only 19.6 miles long and six miles across and is located just outside the hurricane belt making hurricanes a rare event. They get a hurricane about once every 28.8 years. If a balmy temperature of 82 degrees year round with cool breezes, gorgeous white sandy beaches, and with more sunny days than any other island is what you are looking for, this is the place for you.

When we went to the island in February, we waited too late to get a rental car, but that is the best way to see the island. This island is beautiful with many unique things to see, Over 20 percent of the island is Arikok National Park which features caves, rugged deserts with tall cacti that reach towards the heavens, and interesting limestone cliffs. If you rent a car, you can easily see all the highlights of the island.

In Arikok National Park, we stopped at Aruba Natural Bridge on the coast. This coral limestone wonder of nature collapsed in September 2, 2005 due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. This rock bridge stood 25 feet high and was 100 feet long but now rests in the ocean. Now there is only a small bridge that stands. It is a beautiful area to see the crashing waves pounding on the rocks and the views of the interesting rocks.

There are amazing rock formations to see across the island. We stopped at the Casibari Rock Formations on the north side of the island north of Hooiberg,. Hooiberg is a volcanic mountain that you can walk up to get great views of Aruba. On a clear day, you can see Venezuela which is only 9 miles off the coast of Aruba. The massive Casibari Rock formations are interesting to see. The Casibari Boulders are made from tonalite and are in clusters making it a unique site and fun one to explore.

There are gorgeous white sand beaches all around the island. We only managed to get to Eagle Beach the day we were on the island. The water was a beautiful blue, clear, and the beach pristine. This beach has been rated one of the best beaches in the world. If you are coming to Aruba by a cruise ship, this beach is only a 10 minute drive from the port. The Beach Bar is conveniently located nearby and offers Happy Hour specials from 12 – 7 pm.  We have been told Baby Beach is one of the best beaches on the island. 

We also went to see the California Dunes which is a protected nature reserve located in Hudishibana on the northwestern tip of the island. The shoreline is crusted with cratered limestone where some very unique formations have formed. This area was named after a famous British steamship that wrecked off the coast at the end of the 19th century.

Also at the California Dunes is the gorgeous California lighthouse which is also named after the ship that wrecked off its coast. It is located Arashi Beach and the Sasariwichi dunes on the northwest tip of Aruba. This stone lighthouse stands at 98 feet tall and was opened in 1916. It can be seen for 50 nautical miles or 58 miles. You can climb the 120 plus steps up the lighthouse to get a great view.

Aruba is also known for great diving with the clear waters. What makes it super appealing is there are two sunken WWII ship wreaks to explore. One is the SS Antilla which was a German Ship and also the SS Pedenales which was an oil tanker.

After going on our excursion and seeing some great sights, we came back and walked around the lovely and colorful port town, Oranjestad. This is Aruba’s capital and is located on the southern side of the island. It known for being a fishing port. Many of the beautiful Dutch architecture buildings have been restored and painted in vibrant colors. We walked down L. G. Smith Boulevard and Main Street to see the town. We walked into the Renaissance Mall only to see the inland canal that serves the hotel with a water taxi that takes guests to the beach. What a gorgeous water feature to see. Inside the mall itself are high end stores if you are looking to shop for Rolex watches and other fancy finery.

As we walked around town, we noticed the blue horse statues on display.  We wondered why and found out that they represent an important historical time where the horses jumped from the ship deck into the Caribbean Ocean and swam to the Aruba Bay, Paardenbaai.   There are eight sculptures which represent, "Strength, Nobility, Grace, Beauty, and Freedom.  

The walkway that goes around the Renaissance Wind Creek Aruba Resort is a beautiful place to see. The grounds of Queen Wilhelmina Park are impeccably taken care of with gorgeous tropical plants and statues including the statue of Queen Wilhelmina, who was the queen of the Netherlands from 1890 1948.

While walking along the waters edge, we stopped on a small bridge to look into the water to see if we could see any fish. We watched a few swim by and were getting ready to continue our walk when we heard a man yell, “Stay there for a minute”. We did, and he came up with some bread and started breaking it apart and throwing it into the ocean. It was an instant fury of fish with first just bubbling water and then a swarm of beautiful fish showed up to eat. The fish were gorgeous tropical fish of all different colors and species. It was amazing. We saw more beautiful fish there than on some of our snorkeling trips. We all stood and watched the fish for a long time and we were thankful these fine folks came along.

Before heading back to the cruise ship, we stopped at, It’s Five O'clock Somewhere Restaurant for a relax and a drink. They also serve food but we were going to eat on the ship. It was a lovely place to sit as it was open air and the patrons were fun.

We slowly walked back to our cruise ship at that point reflecting on our fabulous day on Aruba. This amazing island is worth a visit. Most everyone speaks English on the island as well as Dutch, Spanish, and a Creole language called Papiamento.  If you are wanting to get a great meal of fresh seafood, drive or get a cab to Zeerover, a local fisherman's wharf in Savaneta.  They clean and cook it right.  You can't get seafood more fresh than that.  

Aruba is a lovely island to see and I would recommend it.   Go, enjoy, and soak up the sun. 

Till next time. Bye for now.