The western-most Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, in the Leeward Antilles off the coast of Venezuela, are collectively known as the ABC islands. They share a Dutch colonial history, a West Indian heritage, and are fortuitously situated outside the tropical hurricane belt, making them an attractive playground for laid-back globetrotting sun seekers and snowbirds.
While each island has it’s own personality, Aruba is probably the most developed with shopping, casinos, and destination hotels and resorts. Although Aruba belongs to the North American continent, the tiny island is closer to the South American continent, situated just 17 miles from the northernmost point of Venezuela. Aruba is one of the four countries that forms the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but has a strong heritage of the Arawak indigenous people of the Caribbean, along with Spanish, Italian, Dutch, French, British, Portuguese, African, and Venezuelan. The landscape is mostly flat with a few distinctive humps, notably Mount Hooigerg, or Haystack, located almost in the center of the island, and Mount Jamanota, both volcanic formations around 600 feet in height.
I wandered about the port town of Oranjestad, down the main waterfront street past the sherbet colored colonial architecture, modern hotels, and lazy outdoor restaurants. Iguanas and lizards of all species are abundant in Aruba and about as common as squirrels in the USA. They surprised me darting across the sidewalk and sunning on the manicured resort grounds, and while they generally keep to themselves, they do offer plenty of photo opportunities.
It’s laid back here, and the English-speaking people take pride in their country’s nickname “One Happy Island”. Their economy exists on tourism, and if you’re not headed to one of the beach resorts or taking in some underwater adventure, most likely you’ll be shopping, where the US dollar is widely accepted and you will find an abundance of designer jewelry and high end duty free stores, for which the Caribbean is famous.
With white sand beaches, friendly people, and warm trade winds, on this “One Happy Island”, it seems there really isn’t too much to be unhappy about.
Enjoy!!
I have been to Aruba,and the other two islands a few times. I saw an eclipse in Aruba several years. It was guided by guys from Texas. One was an austronaut who was on the trip to replace the optics that were bad a few years ago. It was a good trip as they warmed hard to make it such..
YOur pal, T0m