Aruba… a Caribbean island that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It reminded me of Reunion Island, exactly the same, part of a European country, but an island. Aruba is beautiful with its own culture and traditions. The locals speak English, Dutch, Spanish and Papiamento and the island is often referred to as “One Happy Island”. What was unique about Aruba, was the fusion of several different cultures. I was fortunate enough to catch part of Carnival, which was a time to eat, drink and party before the start of Lent. It was a great experience and one of the few highlights of this trip.
Aruba had been highly recommended to me as a beautiful, safe island with sunshine all year round. The beaches were stunning, Eagle beach was voted the second best beach in the world and I thought Baby Beach was equally as beautiful. The clear blue waters and sandy white beaches were picture perfect and I could see why this was the destination of choice for families, couples and honeymooners. As much as I loved the beaches, the gorgeous sunsets, the interesting rock formations and the views, I would have preferred a little more to do. Maybe if I had stayed in the more touristy all inclusive hotels I would have had more to do, but an all inclusive was the last thing I wanted on this trip. Thankfully I was able to do a full island tour that allowed me to see the less developed areas, the areas where the locals lived. I again felt that strange feeling of deja vu, different island, part of a different European country but I had the exact same perceptions and thoughts.
Despite Aruba being a popular holiday destination with a majority of the local population working in the tourism industry, I quickly realized that not every part of the island was ready for tourists. One could argue that this is the same everywhere you go, but not every country/island has termed itself “One Happy Island” because the locals are so warm and welcoming. This warmth and welcoming nature seemed to occasionally and sometimes subtly, only be extended to certain tourists and that had me firmly convinced that this wasn’t a place I would want to visit again.
