Aruba attracts some one million visitors and cruise passengers per year,
most from North America and nearby Venezuela, and it ranks as one of the
Caribbean's most popular vacation spots.There
are miles of beaches. Some are quiet and
smooth and others have stiff winds and a choppy surf, as well as
first-class resorts, gambling casinos, shopping, and dozen of
oppertunities for fine dining Aruba is among the most southern of
the Lesser Antilles islands (ABC islands = Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao) and
is the farthest west of that group. It's a mere 15 miles (24 km) from
the coast of Venezuela, on a clear day the Venezuelan mainland is
visible from the south-eastern coast, and about 42 miles (67 km) to Curacao.
The oblong island is fronted by heavy surf and a jagged coast
on the northern, windward side and by seven miles (11 km) of
honey-colored sand beaches on the southern leeward coast. It's some 75
squares miles (193 km2) in area and measures about five miles (8 km) at
it widest point and 19 miles (30 km) in lenght. Aruba is an easy island
to get around, the road systems are in good shape and well-marked.
Archaeologists have discovered that there
were two waves of Amerindian migration
to Aruba. The first came from present day Venezuela about 4,000 years
ago. They were semi-nomadic, living in family groups of 10-15 people and
lived on what they could gather from the sea: fish, conch, turtle eggs
and turtle meat. A second group, the Caquetios, arrived much later,
around 1000 AD, and were different physically, linguistically and
culturally.
Aruba is one of the very few Caribbean islands on which the Indian
population was not exterminated although there are no full-blooded
Indians now. The Aruban today is a descendant of the Caquetio Indians,
with a mixture of Spanish and Dutch blood from the early colonizers.
As the European conquerors continued to invade the Caribbean
following the voyages of Italian Christopher Columbus sailing under the
flag of Spain, so, too, was Aruba discovered by Europeans. In 1499,
Spanish conquistador Alonso de Ojeda arrived on these shores to find a
peaceful tribal society of Aruaca (Arawak) Indians, who had migrated
from the South American mainland to avoid confrontation with the
powerful Caribe Indians.
They were generally left alone and maintained regular contact with the
mainland Indians. In 1634, the Dutch,
via the Dutch West India Company, took over the neighboring island of
Curaçao for use as a naval base in the continuing 80-Years War against
Spain whose
ships
were marauding their way through the Caribbean. In 1636, they took over
Aruba and Bonaire but left the island later in the year. In 1639, the
Dutch again began what was to be an economic base to support Curaçao
with horse, cattle and goat-breeding.
The last Indians to speak an Indian language were
buried in urns about 1800; later Indians lost their language and
culture. When Lago Oil came to Aruba many workers from the British West
Indies came to work in the refinery in San Nicolas, leading to Caribbean
English becoming the colloquial tongue there instead of Papiamento. Of
the total population today of about 84,200, including some 40 different
nationalities, only about two-thirds were actually born on the island.
From 1805-1816, during the Napoleonic Wars, the British occupied the
island; the Dutch returned with Aruba again having colony sattus with
the Netherlands. In 1954, Queen Juliana created a 3-co-equal
partner-Kingdom with Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles which
consisted of Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, St. Maarten, Saba, and St.
Eustatius. In 1986, Aruba was granted "Status Aparte" and is separated
from the Netherlands Antilles with full partnership rights with the
Netherlands. The Dutch influence remains strong in all facets of daily
life: language, government, education, economics and development.
The official language here, as in the other Netherlands Antilles, is
Dutch, but Papiamento is the colloquial tongue. English and Spanish are
widely spoken and the people are extremely welcoming. The crime rate is
low and there are very few attacks on tourists.
Oranjestad is the capital of Aruba. In this town architecture reminds of the colonial
Dutch history, although the Dutch probably never used the colors in
which a lot of the buildings are painted now. During the past ten years
people are working very hard to renew and upgrade the town. A lot of
hotels and shopping malls were build. For shopping Oranjestad is the
place to be, with its covered malls and lots of small shops just behind
the boulevard. This boulevard (L.G. Smith boulevard) is the main road
from the east to the west of the island.Oranjestad has three museums. The first is the archeological museum. Its
a small one and hard to find (at the left hand side of the church at
Bernhardplein [Berhardsquare] is a small parking lot. Cross the parking
lot, enter the small gate and walk to the right side of the inner
square. If the first door of the museum is closed, try the second one).
Once you're inside you can see how the native Indians of Aruba lived and
how the were buried (in pots).The historical museum, about Aruba's history and culture, is situated in
Fort Zoutman, near the boulevard. Fort Zoutman, a fortification tower,
is the oldest remaining building on the island. The third museum is the
numismatic one.
