(Drivebycuriosity) - My wife and I are just back from Aruba, where we stayed 7 nights. Aruba is a small island in the Caribbean Sea close to the coast of Venezuela. Like the sister island Curacao (which we visited last year, here my report ), the island is a former Dutch colony. Today both islands are independent countries but still connected with the Netherlands, which supports them financially. Therefore Aruba & Curacao are more European & wealthier than other Caribbean islands.
There is not much to do. Staying there means enjoying sand, water &
coconut palms. The island has a big advantage: The superb weather. Like
Curacao - and the Colombian beach town Cartagena (we stayed there in 2017) the
island has almost a desert climate, resembling Southern California.
Temperatures hovered close to 80 F (26 C) and there was no rain and few
clouds. The humidity is low which separates these places from the
typically humid Caribbean islands. As a result there is no tropical lush
vegetation, but the hotels planted myriads of coconut palms and other
plants along the beach.
We stayed at Palm Beach, a long stripe of very white & smooth sand, where you could walk miles south or north. There is no surf and the water is very shallow. Even after walking about 30 feet into the water I could still stand on a muddy ground covered with grass. Because of the shallowness the waves are stirring up the ground and the water looks milky and is almost opaque. Even though I swam and dove with goggles I didn`t spot any fish there - disappointing - and not many frigatebirds, sea gulls and other birds who live from fishing. But the beach had some stray dogs.
There was a rope along the beach which separates the swimming region from the outer area which was used by speed boats and such. It looked a bit like a highway.
Palm Beach is flanked by dozens of hotels stretching from budget place to upmarket locations including Marriott & Ritz Carlton. These tourist factories accommodate masses of guests.
The dry climate and a mostly cloudless sky allows spotting gorgeous sunsets.
Unfortunately the beach was very crowded and the shady huts - which we could rent for about $60 a day - stood side by side. But I got somewhat compensated by nice views.
There were a lot beach bars of course.
The lack of seabirds got somewhat compensated by the funny & colorful troupias - also the national birds of Venezuela - who where preying on the fast food rests or where attracted by the bar. Alcoholism everywhere.
Legal Immigrants
The beach area has also myriads of restaurants catering the masses. We found 2 fine places: Elements Restaurant at Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort and Atardi, which belongs to Marriott. Both are on the beach and Atardi puts the tables onto the sand. A very romantic place with excellent food, but prices like in Manhattan.
Our Aruba vacation was fun and a nice escape from New York`s winter weather.
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