Discovering History and Soaking Up the Sun in Aruba

No one really knows the origin of papiamento, one of Aruba’s official languages. The Creole tongue is a unique mix of Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese, with some influences from African and Native American languages. Papiamento serves as a great metaphor for the Caribbean island, whose people, climate, and culture are as diverse as its native dialect.

If you want a tropical island full of lush, humid jungles and endless sandy beaches, Aruba is not for you. But the climate offers a nice change of pace that has benefits for year-round travel. Northeast trade winds keep the 70-square-mile island warm and dry year-round, meaning your afternoon beach trip will likely not be interrupted by rain. Even more important, Aruba’s location (just 15 miles off the coast of Venezuela) is outside the most common hurricane routes that can sometimes make a trip to the Caribbean a gamble.

Travel Tips

Cultural Treasure

Communities Foundation of Texas’ Chief Marketing Officer Noelle LeVeaux makes sure that vacations with her daughters are also learning experiences, even in the Caribbean, where she enjoys soaking up the history as well as the sunshine. In Aruba, she was struck by the numerous colorful buildings, friendly people, and intriguing history of the island. Her visit to Alto Vista Chapel, which was originally built by Venezuelan missionaries in 1750, was an opportunity to see a building much older than most of what can be found in Texas and the United States. LeVeaux appreciates the diversity of cultures and activities she finds in Aruba. “It’s definitely a melting pot,” she says. “It doesn’t feel like just one thing.” [Editor’s note: Noelle LeVeaux will take over May 9 as publisher at D Magazine Partners, the parent company of D CEO magazine.]

The hot, arid island is not without beauty. The rugged eastern half of the island, which includes Arikok National Park, makes for excellent off-roading adventures. We explored the rocky coast and black sand beaches, caves, the monolithic rock boulders of the Ayo Rock Formations accompanied by 20-foot-tall organ cacti, and finished our dune buggy cruise at a turquoise beach, where the best way to enter the sea is a six-foot plunge into the crystal clear-water.

The northwest side of the island is where you find most of the resorts, positioned to take advantage of the sunset and wide, white sand beaches that ease into more picture-perfect blue water. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort Spa and Casino, which offers plenty of beachfront access, multiple pools and restaurants, and, of couse, a spa and casino. To improve our hosting skills, my wife and I took part in the resort’s cooking and cocktail classes, enjoyed the smoothie bar on the beach, and spent plenty of time reading under a beachside palapa.

We took in our room’s ocean view each morning before heading down to take advantage of the numerous activities offered by the hotel. We left our kids at home, but families were plentiful, enjoying the water slide, pool volleyball, and water bingo. If relaxation is more your style, a separate area allows guests to rent a cabana overlooking an infinity pool that disappears into the white sand, aquamarine beach, and ocean beyond.

We spent one afternoon on a catamaran cruising the west side of the isle and snorkeling along the plentiful coral reefs and rocky beaches. I followed a sea turtle until I was quite a ways from our boat, and we explored a sunken German cargo ship, a relic from World War II when Germany invaded the Netherlands.

One of my favorite ways to get to know a new place is to go for a run, and Aruba provided a warm breezy route along the boardwalk and beaches on the north side of the island. I ran by resorts, sandy grasslands, beach cliffs, a row of mid-century modern beach homes, and realized the island truly is as diverse as Papiamento—it has something for everyone.