Aruba Diving
Aruba is widely regarded as the Honeymoon Capital of the Caribbean and the country aggressively markets itself as such. Posh resorts bordering silky white-sand strands along its west coast provide respite for stressed newlyweds and hopping nightlife, casinos and nightclubs go Euro-style into the wee hours. Capital Oranjsted is at once cosmopolitan and quaint. Its array international dining options is as good as any in the Caribbean and duty-free shopping abounds. But perhaps the most precious of the island's treasures is its people, a mixture of more than 40 nationalities, including Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, African, English and French. This polyglot has yielded Papiamento, the colorful local language that's more widely spoken than English or Dutch.
Aruba's beaches are inspiring - long, wide, flat and powdery soft. Among it's best known are Eagle Beach, where aquamarine waters lap the pancake-smooth shore, and Palm Beach, a seemingly endless sweep curving around lagooon-like waters. Palm is action-packed and sometimes crowded. On the island's eastern tip, Baby Beach is a placid, semicircular strand that borders a flat bay. It's a great place for young children - hence the name.
Dutch-gabled and pastel-pretty, Aruba's capital, Oranjestad (called "Playa" by the locals), glistens like the yellow bricks on the way to Oz - and is just as fanciful. The streets are lined with shops peddling liquor, jewelry, electronics, crystal, china, perfumes and designer fashions. Although there is duty here, it's very low and there is no sales sales tax, so prices are competitve with duty-free destinations. As one would expect, the best deals on this Dutch island are on products from the Netherlands, such as Delft pottery and that country's tasty cheeses.
The island's real soul can be found in the kunucu, or countryside, a stark and arid landscape punctuated by giant cacti, spewing blowholes, upended boulders, massive dunes and, along the coasts, crashing waves. Most of this area is part of the Arikok national Park. Aruba's signature attraction is the Natural Bridge, an archway sculpted out of coral rock by centuries of wind and sea pounding on the windward coast. On the northern coast, there are two caves, Guadirikiri and Fontein, both decorated with petroglyphs by Amerindians centuries ago and bearing inscriptions. Also in the north, the California Lighthouse, although closed now, makes and interesting visit for the huge boulders and stark landscape that surround it. You can climb to the top of the massive boulders at Ayo and Casibari for sweeping views of the countryside. Or climb the 562 steps to the top of 541-foot-tall Hooiberg for an impressive view of Oranjestad. On the south coast, San Nicolas, the remains of Aruba's oldest village and a bustling port during the oil boom, is now a tourist attraction with interesting kiosks and the famous Charlie's Bar.
With trade winds blowing at a reliable 15 knots and flat, shallow waters, Aruba is a windsurfing mecca, hosting top international events such as the annual Aruba Hi-Winds Pro-Am Windsurfing Competition. A windsurfer's haven, Fisherman's Hut is gathering place, alive with board-sailors catching big air. The surrounding seas also draw snorkelers and scuba divers with visibility near 100 feet and shipwrecks littering the coasts.
Those who resist the call of the wild can tour one of the three museums on the island, including the Historical Museum in the restored 18th-century Fort Zoutman, one of the oldest buildings on the island. They can sample the Indonesian multi-dish meal called rijsttafel, or try their luck at one of the dozen or so glitzy casinos with their cabaret shows.
