Aruba

In September of 2022 we visited the nation of Aruba for the very first time on a very quick trip (just a weekend). In that short amount of time we learned a lot about this very diverse Island Nation that is so close to South America you can see Venezuela from the Southern part of the island. It was a great trip and I’ll share what we found about this very interesting country.

About Aruba

Aruba is one of the four countries that make up the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its kind of like Scotland or England within the United Kingdom. They have their own currency (The Aruban Florin) and they speak a very unique language of Papiamento. Its a very small Island around 20 miles long and only a few miles wide at its widest point. For such a small Island it has a diverse landscape with volcanic rock, desert cacti, rock formations, natural bridges, the unique Divi Divi Tree (Watapana) and of course beautiful beaches with tropical fish and sea turtles. For a small island they have a pretty good population of around 100,000. Their largest city and capital is Oranjestad. We flew into the only airport on the island near by Oranjestad. The airport mostly has flights to the United States but does have a flight to The Netherlands and to some of the other islands part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands such as Curacao. We stayed on the Northern part of the island but went through the very nice capital city. We felt completely safe in Aruba including walking in local areas after sunset. There is little crime on the island. The island has some of the best quality tap water in the world as they use a desalination plant to take the water from the sea. They use that plant, solar and wind to power the island making it a green island for power. They do have a currently non operating oil refinery that was attacked by a German U-Boat during WWII. You can see oil rigs out in the distance from the beaches of Aruba.

The Culture and Food

The culture of Aruba is very different from other islands on the Caribbean. There is a mixture of European, Caribbean, American and Latin influences on the island. The language of Papiamento itself is a mixture of other languages such as Spanish, Dutch, German, and English to name a few. At the airport I could understand some of the Spanish and English words but couldn’t understand the Dutch and German. The people on the island know multiple languages including English so we had no trouble speaking with anyone. The capital city is Oranjestad and is named after the Royal family of The Netherlands. Some of the buildings in the capital make you think that maybe you have landed in The Netherlands instead of a Caribbean Island. The people of Aruba are a mix of people as well with some being Anglo/European, some being of Hispanic descent and others being of African descent. The country has a large American influence with areas being named after places in the US. We passed by “Washington” and visited the California light house just to name a few. On the island you will find McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, Subway, KFC, Taco Bell, Hooters, Olive Garden, and PF Chang’s. We passed by a couple movie theaters and they were all US Hollywood movies being played. The food is a mixed like everything else is. We had Conch Stew and Conch Croquets (a Caribbean twist on a Dutch Dish) for one meal and then for another we had seafood such as fish balls, calamari and cheese Pastechis that remind me a lot of an empanada with a spicy creole sauce for an appetizer and for the main course Ox Tail Stew with plantains. The “dinner rolls” were slices of pancakes with butter. They also had a very spicy Papaya hot sauce that was really good. This island was one of the most unique cultures we have seen in the Caribbean Region

What we did In Aruba

We got into Aruba in the late afternoon on Friday so on our first day we just walked to a local restaurant and enjoyed our hotel (Hilton Resort Aruba). On Saturday we took a full island tour of Aruba and truly visited each side of the island. We started out visiting in Oranjestad an over 100 year old Aloe Vera farm. I had never been to an Aloe Vera Farm and there they showed us how the jelly of the aloe vera is harvested and used for your skin. They told us the original use of the plant was for the yellow sap that is a laxative. We toured the factory where they make many different products for people’s skin. After our nice tour we headed off to the far North side of the island to the California Light house. There we climbed the hundred or so winding steps up to the top to get a great view of the island. Due to the trade winds its always super windy there and while we are there it was no exception. Its why the native Divi Divi (Watapana) always point to the west with their branches and leaves. Our guide said if you ever get lost they point towards the resort area. We could see the beautiful water but also the desert landscape of the island from the top. After enjoying the view at California Lighthouse we headed over to the center of the island and went up one of the decently tall hills on the island (all are a few hundred feet tall and the highest is Hooiberg that is an extinct volcano). On top of the hill full of cacti we visited the Alto Vista chapel that is a small catholic church where you can get great views of the Central/Northern part of the island. We went inside for a bit and then headed off to our next stop. More towards the central part of the island is some large rock formations that are large enough when you get to the top you can see much of this island. These are thec formations. We climbed up the steep stairs (less than one hundred steps) to get the great views. After that quick stop to walk amongst the large boulders we headed over to the much more deserted Eastern part of the island. On the Eastern part of the island the good and modern roads become dirt roads with very few developments. There are a few fishing homes that have no power outside of generators. There are more small cliffs where the rough waters slammed into the rocky shore. We saw a couple brave people going to swim in the very rough and rock filled waters in the area. We passed by signs of the volcanic past with large black volcanic rocks along the beautiful water and cliffs. We passed by small coves in the rock and ended at the Natural Bridge. The large natural bridge collapsed a few years back but a smaller natural bridge over the water exists but they warn you not to walk over it since it too could collapse. We then went and passed by the historic Bushiribana Ruins. Oddly enough it was a gold mine that was used in the 1800s but is now deserted. The walls are unstable so we just passed by it so we did not risk being hit by a falling rock. Our final stop was at the very Southernmost tip of the island. On the way we passed by the large desalination plant where the take salt out of sea water and generate power for the island, and we also passed by the large but now shut down oil refinery. We stopped by a local favorite beach called Baby Beach. We took some time to swim in the crystal clear water of the small cove. The water out in the Caribbean was extremely rough but it was fairly calm at the beach. It was windy enough that someone had stored large dragon innertubes that got swept off the beach, into the water and pushed across the cove before anyone could get them. Our wonderful guide then drove us back to our hotel after passing by the Dutch Navy base and more Divi Divi trees. We spent the rest of our say snorkeling at our hotels beautiful beach and getting local food at a historic home from the 1800s called a Cunucu House.

We had the morning on our last day to do a few things and we decided to go to the Butterfly Farm on the island. They have a beautiful garden that is covered by netting to keep the butterfly’s from escaping. We had a tour where we saw all the stages of a buttlerfly, a rare African day moth and lush greenery. It was very relaxing. Our last place we visited before heading to the airport was walking past an original and last remaining Dutch windmill on the island before we got to the Bird Sanctuary of Aruba. Being on the migratory routes of birds many stop over at the island This small park with marsh land has a tower you can walk up and watch the birds and get a nice view of the area. Soon after we got back to the hotel and visited the hotel bird area fill of parrots we headed off to the airport.

Leaving Aruba

We gave ourselves three hours at the airport as recommended before our flight left and we needed that extra time. There is a US Departures and a building for all other flights. We checked in normally and went through Aruban security (just like US Security) and then found that Aruba has US Pre-Clearance. US Pre-Clearance is where you go through passport control for the US before you leave the country you are in. That is where a long line started. We needed to pick up our bags that we checked at the counter and go through US passport control. After that we had to go through US security. It took a long time but its good and bad. Already having gone through passport control it was like a domestic flight so when we arrived in Orlando to change planes it was no different than a any other US flight. Some other countries like Ireland have US Pre-Clearance.

Conclusion

Aruba is a wonderful and safe place to visit. We really enjoyed all the diversity and mixed culture in this very interesting small island country. While we only spent part of a weekend there we would love to go back and also visit some of the other countries in the area like Curacao. If you get the chance head over to Aruba and you will be surprised at how interesting an island it is!