The long skinny island of Aruba is located within sight of the Venezuelan coast, about 15 miles off the coast.

The island is the smallest and most westerly of the ABC group of the Netherlands Antilles. It is 19 miles long and six miles wide - less that 150 square miles in total. The capital city is Oranjestad, and the highest point on the island is Mount Yamonota - a 617 foot cone shaped hill. The capital is Oranjestad, above.

In 1929 a subsidiary of Exxon built an oil refinery which created employment and contributed to the economy until it was closed in 1985. Tourism is the island’s most significant income producer. Since the 1970’s modern hotels and casinos have been constructed to meet the demand of increasing numbers of visitors. The anchor pictured at right is located on the extreme southern end of the island.

Aruba was originally claimed by Spain in 1499. Today the island’s population stands at 70,000 inhabitants. We visited Aruba twice in late April and early May in 2003 while teaching computer classes on the Celebrity Cruise Lines ship Infinity.

We rented a car for the day to tour the island, and it only took us a few hours because the island is so small. We traveled to the southeastern corner where the anchor (above) is located. Then on to the northeastern coast where the oft-photographed arch (left) is located. Jim is standing on the arch, just to the right of the splash. This side of the island is quite windy and rocky, making it a very picturesque place, but not so good for swimming. 

So we headed over to the western side of the island, just north of all the big hotels. There we found the California Lighthouse and nearby a beautiful swimming beach. We couldn’t resist that wonderful blue water (right), so we dove in and enjoyed it for a short bit. The sailing ship you see in the background is one of the many boats that take tourists out for snorkeling.

The evening we sailed from Aruba on the final leg of our cruise to Ft. Lauderdale, we were able to take the picture at left at sunset.

Spectacular!

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