Friday, February 15, 2013

Aruba: from Useless Island to Goat Island to ‘One Happy Island’

It is fascinating to see how history of nations can be changed by scientific discoveries and engineering inventions that happen far on the other side of the world.
Internal combustion engine is invented and all of a sudden barren lands of Arabian deserts become a goldmine: gardens grow in fruitless desert, palaces rise and yesterday nomads turn into the richest people in the world. Or opposite. Chemists discover how to make red dye and the entire economy of Canary Islands that used to depend on cochineal insect export is about to collapse.
Destiny of Aruba is one example of how scientific discoveries changed the island fate several times to better or to worse.
When Spaniards came to the New World the gold was what interested them most. Disappointed not to find gold they named island 'oro hubo' – 'gold was here' (well, there are other versions including combination of Indian words 'ora' – seashell –  and 'oubao' – island or 'uru' – canoe – and 'oubao' – but we like the first version) – and left. Before they left they also doomed the entire group of islands 'Islas Inutiles' – useless islands – which probably later transformed into the name Antilles.
The item that was next in value after gold in XVI-XVII century was sugarcane. Sugar production determined the destiny of the entire Caribbean region for centuries so no wonder this was the plan B for the island. Unfortunately for Spaniards arid desert-like climate of Aruba (just like its neighbor Curaçao) deemed unfit for sugarcane cultivation so they abandoned the island until the Dutch came across it and organized a sort of ranch. Only horses and goats felt at ease here so soon Aruba was called 'geiteneiland' – Goat Island. The Dutch also produced so called 'Brazielhout' – brazilwood – that was exported to The Netherlands as one of the main components for red dye. Then – same like in The Canaries – the chemists invented other ways so the island was again useless.
Next discovery that propelled island economy was again connected to the invention of automobiles. Aloe that was growing here was used to make special kind of rubber that was then exported to New York, Hamburg & London. Even though at the time it was called 'Curaçao rubber' 90% of it was produced on Aruba. It was considered the highest-quality and the most expensive one in the world and became the main source of income for the island until its golden days that came in the beginning of the XX century.



Finally the good days came to the island in 1924 when an oil processing refinery – then biggest in the world – was built here. Seemed like the island could finally bloom and prosper and the Arubans started strive for independence. The first proposal for 'status aparte' – autonomy – was presented in 1947. Then national flag and anthem were introduced, then constitution was drafted and approved and the first parliamentary election took place.
But the very first Aruba Prime Minister faced new problems: in 1985 the refinery was closed, unemployment level reached 20% and the economy was again taking a dive. And finally dry, desert-like climate of Aruba became its advantage: the tourists were guaranteed to have sunny weather any time of the year and so its cactus-strewn landscape became appealing to Northerners. New hotels were built, the roulette wheels of 11 casinos started spinning, 10,000 work places were created.
By the way Aruba never obtained full independence: it was 'postponed indefinitely' at the request of its Prime Minister (at that time the majority in the parliament was already against the full independence) thus being a rare example of a country that was offered independence but declined to take it.



Today tourists flock here to sunbathe and snorkel in crystal clear water, take advantage of duty free shopping and burn some money in the local casinos. Nowadays half a million tourists ensure 80,000 Arubans live up to its new nickname – 'One Happy Island'.



I must admit: we did not have opportunity to explore the island. After all, we are not on vacation so the following notes will be helpful to those who want to stay in the city yet explore a little more than boutiques.
First we headed towards Renaissance hotel hoping to use its beach and while approaching were greeted by iguanas. Around them cabbage leaves were laying in abundance so we figured the hotel employees must have organized this feeding spot: this way you keep iguanas away from the main hotel grounds and those who want to see the local 'celebrities' know exactly where to go.



One of the iguanas impressed us with its bifurcated tail. And even though we have seen (and fed) many iguanas, in Saint Thomas, for example, we have not seen such tales before.




Closer to the sea from the hotel grounds you can see the ship docked in Oranjestad harbor.


The beach looked good from a distance: all nine yards you would expect – palm trees, yellow sand, blue sunbeds…


But a closer look revealed that it was organized on the shores of a man-made lagoon so the water seemed kind of stagnant and we wanted to swim in the sea, not salt-water pond so we moved on.



From Plaza 18 Maart we saw another beach at a distance and decided to head there. The beautiful promenade is taking you to the beach. We first saw a wooden hut at the end of the pier and a nearby marina it turned to be Pinchos Bar & Grill but it was closed so we continued the walk and soon ended up on a big empty parking lot. The renovation seemed to be ongoing there as well but the huge building of Barefoot night club together with Nikky’s Beach Club seemed to make a good draw for the projected dozens of cars. But for us the main advantage was that it is located on a walking distance – just like Carlisle Bay in Barbados.


Nikky’s also had beach with sunbeds and umbrellas, nice pool with a shallow part for the kids and float-in bar for the adults, tables around the pool, decent – even though not exactly cheap – menu, free wi-fi was promised but that day there were some technical difficulties (or so we were told). Overall, if you are not a shopper or gambler and want to spend a nice relaxing day without leaving the city Nikky’s seemed like a good option.



Soon it was time to go back, we stopped to snap a few pictures of marina & port…





…promenading tourists…



…and local fauna.



Right next to the port – an open market selling pretty much the same merchandise we have seen on Saint Thomas, Antigua, Barbados – t-shirts, beach dresses, pareos, fridge magnets… Seems to be everyone's favorite, even though most things are made in China.



Last picture from 'One Happy island' was that of 'one happy bus'.


And again, just like in Curaçao we could not explore the entire island so there is something left for the next time. And again some of the ideas from these cruisers (in Russian). Most taxi drivers offered the standard island tour for $20-$25 either by bus with other tourists or an individual tour but without beach time, but they were able to find a taxi driver who agreed to take only 4 of them on a 2 hour tour around the island plus 2 hours on the beach and charged $20 per person.
Their first stop was Casibari Rock Formation with conglomeration of giant boulders from where you can see 75% of the island as well as Hooiberg Hill from where you can view already 95% of Aruba. If you want to enjoy these 95% keep in mind that there are 562 concrete steps that lead to the top of the Hooiberg so you might consider Casibari instead. Next stop – Alta Vista chapel famous as the place where conversion of Aruban Indians to Christianity started and the religious history of Aruba began but also for its views with boulders, cacti and the sea. Next stop – picturesque California Lighthouse with breathtaking view of the island and then there was beach time. Palm Beach was doomed as over-crowded. Eagle Beach that was highly praised by many received a ‘plus’ – wide and not many people, but their taxi driver promised to take them to the most beautiful beach on the island – and apparently did not lie. He took them to the beach of Manchebo Beach Resort & SPA: not many people and very photogenic with palm trees and iguanas. Sounds like thei got a good value for their money. Among other places to visit were mentioned Arikok National Park with famous caves (one of them with Arawak paintings – even though some believe them to be fake) – good place for hiking but not when you only have a few hours to explore an entire island. The visit to Arikok could be combined with Natural Pool – lagoons in the rock formations by the sea side. One of the former attractions – Natural Bridge – collapsed in 2005. They also recommended Aruba as one island where it is a good idea to rent a car: it is relatively small, roads are in perfect condition. It is also relatively flat so unlike in Saint Thomas, Tortola or Dominica there are no winding mountain roads with blind bents. The only downside they mentioned is the lack of road signs so make sure to have a map or GPS navigator. Even though it will most likely be more expensive than the tour they took it will definitely give you more flexibility.
We hope someone will find these suggestions useful and then let us know what the rest of the island is like.

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