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ARUBA |
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CanukuHouse.com |
Destination ArubaCaribbean location
The oblong island is fronted by heavy surf and jagged coast on our northern, windward side & by seven miles (11 km) of honey-colored sand beaches on the southern leeward coast. It's some 75 square miles (193 km2) in area and measures about five miles (8 km) at it widest point and 19 miles (30 km) in length. Aruba is an easy island to get around, the road systems are in good shape, well-marked, and, let's face it, it's hard to get lost for too long on an island where the coast is never more than 3 miles away. Why Aruba?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. So what's the attraction? Miles of beaches, to start with, some quiet and smooth and others with stiff winds and a choppy surf, as well as first-class amenities, gambling casinos, shopping, and dozens of opportunities for fine dining. The visitor looking for glamour, glitz, fine beaches, guided tours and plenty to do, choose Aruba. History & CultureBefore the arrival of Columbus and the European explorers who charted the Caribbean islands, Aruba was settled by subgroups of the Amerindian Arawaks. Today, archaeological digs in the north and northwest part of Aruba confirm the Amerindians were a strong culture. Today their legacy comprises cave drawings and petroglyphs, most common in the caves along the north shore, as well artifacts and place-names such as Bushiri, Turibana and Guadirikiri (probably names of chiefs importantto the tribes). In the late 15th century, the Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda explored Venezuela and the nearby islands of the Caribbean. He is credited with "discovering" Aruba in 1499, although no real evidence of his landing on the island exists. Nevertheless, the island was soon under heavy Spanish scrutiny. The Spaniards, as was their wont throughout the Caribbean, began the process of enslavement and religious conversion. They set up garrisons and ranches on Aruba, and used the larger island of Curacao as an administrative center for their interests in the immediate area. The Eighty Year War between the Dutch and Spain, and their allies, ended in 1636, and the Spanish relinquished the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao to the Dutch, who ruled them under charter of the Dutch west India Company (WIC). The next 100 years or so saw an increase in commerce in the area as well as an allegiance change. Aruba was aligned with Britain from 1805 until 1816, a result of the Napoleonic Wars, but reverted back to the Dutch in 1816. The island has been affiliated with Holland ever since. The 19th century was a time of great conflict in South America in general and in Venezuela in particular. Revolutions in that country drove thousands refugees elsewhere, many to Aruba, and Curacao. Gold mining on the island began in earnest after 1824 and continued to be a strong industry until the early 20th century, when the advent of the first world war rendered the raw materials needed to mine the rock unavailable. Gold, along with the primary export of aloe (at one time Aruba produced 70% of the world's crop), created a stable and thriving economy in Aruba. Not long afterwards, however, in 1924, another valuable commodity replaced it, black gold --oil. Aruba became home to one of the world's largest refineries. The strength of the economic boom that followed made San Nicholas into a major commercial center and the island's second largest city. To this day, Aruba's two main industries have been oil and tourism, and when the refineries were closed down in 1985 due to the worldwide glut in petroleum, the emphasis on tourism became especially important. Even after oil refining was resumed in 1991, the island continued to invest heavily in tourist development, and new projects are still going on all the time. |
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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), or 20 minutes by airplane, to our nearest Caribbean neighbour, Curacao. |
