Aruba 1999

Nick, surrounded by colourful fish, enjoys a private bay.

But a trip on the Atlantis sight-seeing submarine soon shows us that the coast line falls away very sharply indeed to the sea bottom 150 feet below.

Aruba might well have remained a small, poor, sparsely inhabited, arid piece of rock had it not been for protected deep water harbours which could accommodate large tankers.  An oil refinery and a desalination plant transformed the flora, fauna and economy.

Although still an important trans-shipment point, the cruise industry has taken Aruba to its heart and ships pass amazingly close to the shore-line.  Nick could easily have swum from the protected bay to a reef which breaks the surface just the other side of this cruise liner.

The Iguana abound everywhere, are fearless, very agile and good climbers and swimmers.   They come in all sizes;  small, brightly coloured ones just a few inches long, up to awesome 1 metre plus characters.

I speak from experience when I say that if one of these (even if it was less than a foot long) runs up the leg of your shorts whilst you are sun-bathing, it is comforting to recall that these creatures are are said to be friendly, harmless and vegetarian.

The sea on the northern side of the island is much more dramatic and highly favoured by water sports enthusiasts.  Constant pounding has eroded the rocky coastline to produce a 'natural bridge' and a small inland cove.

The northern part of Aruba is less heavily populated than the south, but even so, the traveller is not forgotten.

No problems of any kind at our complex.  Every facility is closely to hand, we even have our own private island.  With a strong American presence, everyone speaks English, US$ and 'plastic'.

There's plenty of night-life with colourful floor-shows Caribbean style everywhere.  Here Chris seems to be leading the warm-up group!

Liz sought out the nearest Casino, and ended the evening in profit.  The picture quality is poor:- it's hard to hold the camera steady whilst being helped to the door by a burly bouncer who is explaining that they don't like people photographing the interior of their establishments!

As a small island, Aruba has its own very civilised infrastructure of which tourism forms a part.  Amidst the colourful flora and fauna it is easy to feel one has found a corner of paradise.  However, the sign-writer reminds us that there is still further to go!