The travel blog for couples - Written by Melanie Waldman
Aruba's Arikok National Park
Aruba is unique in the Caribbean for its semi-arid climate. This isn’t so evident from the beaches, but one minute outside of downtown Oranjestad and the cacti start in full effect. The best place to see the unspoiled Aruban desert (and lizards, caves and petroglyphs) is Arikok National Park.
Main dining room at Marandi
We were gobsmacked to learn that the Caribbean island of Aruba, all 75 square miles of it (and a fifth of those uninhabited by humans), is home to over 150 fine restaurants.
On our recent trip there, we were able to visit only a handful…but there, now I’m hungry again.
The Sandbar deck at Bucuti Beach Resort
I was recently invited to visit the relaxed, couples-focused Bucuti Beach Resort on the Caribbean island of Aruba, and brought Adam along for the week. We were smitten with the soft sand of Eagle Beach, comfortable suites and most of all, the hotel’s owner and manager, Ewald Biemans.
Biemans’ vision for Bucuti, now celebrating its 25th year, has always been to stay small in scale and light on the environment, and embrace what makes Aruba unique.
This also describes, quite perfectly, how we like to travel.
Mural at Palm Beach's main dock
We’re just back from a week in Aruba, with a firm grasp of what makes this “happy island” unique in the Caribbean. While 75% of visitors to Aruba go year after year to merely wander out to a soothing, breeze-swept beach and lie down for weeks on end, it’s safe to say there’s more to the story.
The most arid island in the entire Caribbean, Aruba is largely covered with cacti and rocks. After a good rainy season (which 2009 didn’t have), swaths of the interior are fluffy and green, bursting with wildflowers and birds.
One of six islands in the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba has been an autonomous state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 1986. All Arubans share triple citizenship with Aruba, the Antilles and the Netherlands.
Within a population of about 120,000 people, there are about 82 different nationalities represented. We met folks who originally hailed from Holland, West Africa, Austria, Colombia and more.
Aruba is about 20 miles from the northwestern tip of Venezuela. Last week, Hugo Chavez attended the climate conference in Copenhagen, railing about a U.S. and Dutch military conspiracy to take over his country. Meanwhile, Aruban refineries process his country’s oil, and some Arubans fear he may be planning a coup of his own.
There’ll be more to come in the weeks ahead, but for now I’ll let these images help me tell more of Aruba’s tale.
While snow (and cold rain) blankets much of America, Adam and I are off to the powdery white Caribbean sands of Aruba, courtesy of the swank-tacular Bucuti Beach Resort. Looks like a potentially exciting, eco-friendly moment for this temperate island…and not just because we’re about to arrive.
