Mallorca of the Americans
Aruba is also called the Mallorca of the Americans. But it's actually a bit unfair - especially towards Mallorca, who with its beautiful and lush mountains immediately beat flat and dry Aruba off the stick.
So why was it really that I had chosen to end a cool Caribbean trip off here? Because the name Aruba screamed out the dream of the Caribbean so clearly that it had to be seen and experienced.
Aruba was the raisin in the sausage end after a tour of a strip of eastern and southern Caribbean islands. Favorite favorite was at Grenada with Bonaire and St. Croix right on the heels, because now hold up, how is there a big difference in the small Caribbean islands.
They all have some sort of colonial history, but are surprisingly different in culture and nature. When you hear that the capital of Aruba is called Oranjestad, you can guess that it is the Dutch who have passed by. Aruba is today an autonomous country within the orange-happy Dutch Commonwealth.
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A tourist friendly place
There are still a number of colorful colonial buildings, which are now just filled with restaurants, casinos and more or less random shops with tourist junk and electronics. Ready to receive crowds of Americans and other tourists pouring in from planes, cruise ships and sailboats.
Because they do - roll in. Aruba has an offer that is so strong that the fewest solar destinations in the world can participate: Sun and 27 ° C all year round, a stable government and European colonial history in tourist-friendly Disney colors.
When you then add eminent beaches, a widespread lack of crime and the fact that Aruba is outside the hurricane belt, well, then the flow of tourists is secured.
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Because even if you think that beautiful and bathing-friendly beaches were the standard in the Caribbean, the reality is sometimes different. I experienced rocky beaches, beaches with strong currents, beaches with local gusts and everything else strange in the Caribbean in January.
But on Eden Beach in Aruba, the sand was white, the water warm and the wind a loving Caribbean breeze. What's not to like?
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Cacti and Aloe Vera
Before the tourist flow, the island was crammed with Aloe Vera cacti, which with their well-known healing juice was an export success, and the cacti are probably also the most interesting beyond the beaches.
For Aruba is a bit like a country that has turned into a relatively bland resort, where locals are guaranteed employment in hotels (reportedly regardless of skills), and where the sun always shines.
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It is limited how interesting it is for a long time, but for a few days in the deck chair and a ride in the wave blue it holds to that degree. And I wonder if the head of tourism has The Beach Boys in his thank you speeches.
Without them, it was not certain that Aruba had quintupled its number of hotel rooms since the song "Kokomo" was released - nor was it certain that Aruba would today stand as an iconic sun destination in that part of the world.
Here are some good hotel deals in Oranjestad - click on "see offer" to get the final price
More options in the Caribbean
Aruba is located just north of Venezuela and west of Bonaire and Curacao (known as the "ABC Islands") and is the southwesternmost of the known Caribbean islands. If you want to visit more of the islands, check out www.caribjet.com for information about island hopping or take a cruise from Puerto Rico, for example.
Charter trips to Aruba from Denmark have also begun. If you are interested in a place with more culture and delicious Caribbean food, then Grenada and St. Croix is recommended.
If you are into nature, pristine Bonaire is a peaceful little paradise for snorkelers and divers, and you may be lucky enough to get a free stopover on Bonaire if you fly with KLM to northern South America.
St. Lucia and Dominica also have an interesting nature, and Dominica is the island closest to its Caribbean-Native American roots. At the other end of the list are Barbados and St. Kitts, which neither naturally nor culturally seemed particularly interesting.
But should one have landed in a sad place, then it is fortunate that it is never far to the next island in the Caribbean. Nice trip!
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