We have been dreaming of Aruba for some time already. As it lies on the Caribbean Sea not far from Colombia, just after moving to Bogota, we booked the flights. As it was the rainy season in Bogota, we felt it would be a good idea to have a break from it. We left Bogota wearing warm clothes, and Aruba greeted us with its heat and humidity.

Our hotel was at Palm Beach. After leaving our stuff in the hotel, we headed to get to know the area and look for a place for dinner. We like trying local food and eat in local restaurants, but we haven’t found any close to the hotel. The area was full of fast food restaurant.

The next day we were ready to enjoy the island. However, Aruba didn’t impress us as much as we had expected. I could say that the beaches are, but the landscape with massive hotels along the beach is not nice. Everything is costly.  We were happy we had never decided to take a 12 hours flight all the way from Europe to spend our holidays there.

What we enjoyed the most was the relaxed atmosphere, amazing sunsets and the paved, 1 km long walkway along the beach, perfect for a walk with the stroller. Apart from that, there are not many natural sites to visit, and we are not those, who love laying all the day on the beach or by the pool.

Aruba together with the neighbouring Bonaire and Curaҫao is part of the so-called ABC Islands. Unlike other Caribbean islands, it lies outside the hurricane lane. Due to low rainfall, Aruba is not beneficial for plantations.

Aruba was discovered by the Spaniards and was colonised by them. Aruba as well as Bonaire and Curaҫao is now under the Dutch administration and is part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, and its inhabitants have Dutch nationality. The Spaniard didn’t stay there long as they considered the Island as useless. There is even a memorial plaque in the capital describing the Spanish period.

Aruba is not only known as a holiday or honeymoon destination. It is also a destination for barefoot beach weddings. We have seen some happy couples saying ‘’YES’’ on the beach. Some of the hotels have their own “chapels” for weddings.

All in all, we had a great time. And I keep looking for my perfect tropical island with palm trees leaning on the beach 😉