The Thrill of Exploration
A fascinating land of unpredictable topography awaits you beyond the quiet comfort of your beach chair and the hustle and bustle of downtown Oranjestad. Aruba’s development has been influenced more by Mother Nature than by its tumultuous history. Now a resort area, the leeward side was more suitable for agriculture and was occupied by early Europeans, merchants and wealthier farmers. The interior and harsh, wind-beaten coast largely remained unsettled. Beyond reefs, wrecks and calm waters teeming with marine life, the northern tip of the island has both sugary white sand dunes and rugged terrain that replicates an uninhabited lunar landscape. The imposing 270-foot-high California Lighthouse affords a magnificent panorama of desert scrub, azure sea, verdant greens of the Tierra del Sol Golf Course, and high-rise hotels.
Heading south past Oranjestad and the airport, Savaneta and Pos Chiquito boast reef islets and inner bays covered with a twisted maze of mangrove trees. Frenchmen’s Pass, a narrow verdant canyon, and the Spanish lagoon, a pirate hideaway, are legendary stops. Balashi is home to the world’s second largest water desalination plant and an award-winning beer factory. The sleepy city of San Nicolas, once populated by immigrant workers at the Lago Oil Refinery that closed over two decades ago, has a very colorful history. 
Some special spots not to miss are the modest Alto Vista Chapel built by a Spanish missionary priest in the mid-18th century and accessible by a scenic winding road, and Bushiribana, the remains of an abandoned gold smelter that bears witness to the 19th century gold rush. Rock formations at Ayo and Casibari are mysterious piles of huge diorite boulders worth exploring.
The northeast is a desert bordered by water, punctuated by craggy rock formations, pebbled beaches, caves, sand dunes, coves and natural bridges. See the article in this magazine that describes the extraordinary natural phenomena found in Arikok National Park, an environmental sanctuary that covers about one-fifth of the island.
