CARIBBEAN ARUBA DESTINATIONS
RIGHT: Katie in
the saddle on Pinto
FAR RIGHT: Aloe vera plantation
bears the telltale signs of Aruba’s past gold mining industry.
SAMPLE PRODUCT
Thomson offers seven nights at the Divi Aruba All Inclusive from £1,131, including direct flights
from Gatwick and transfers, based on an October 17 departure.
thomson.co.uk
Funway Holidays offers a week at the Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Spa, from £1,950 including flights from London with Delta Airways, departing
January 12, 2018. funway4agents.
co.uk
w TIME TO SHINE When gold was first discovered in 1824, it might have seemed Aruba’s fortune was just around the corner, but nearly a century of digging uncovered barely 200kg of the shiny stuff, and mining wound down at the outbreak of the First World War, never to be resumed. After that, Aruba struck a different kind of gold, becoming a centre of the oil refining industry thanks to deep ports that could accommodate larger ships. But it was the opening of Aruba’s first hotel, now the Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort, in 1959 that was really the goldmine; since the oil refinery shut its doors in 2012, tourism has accounted for about 80% of the island’s economy. To put all that in perspective,
suggest a short visit to the Museum of Industry in San Nicolas ($5). This thoroughly engaging exhibition offers a potted history, with absorbing videos
Since the oil refinery shut its doors in 2012, tourism has accounted for about 80% of the island’s economy
w OCEAN BLUE The Aruba Ariba cocktails on board De Palm Tours’ afternoon catamaran cruise aren’t nearly as good for you, but they are a tasty take on a classic Caribbean rum punch. It’s worth tearing yourself away
of islanders telling their stories in their own words. If that whets the appetite for
Aruba’s heritage, it’s also worth a stop at Aruba Aloe, a 150-acre plantation with thousands of the spiky plants. Since they were imported from Africa in the 1840s, Aruba has been a key centre of cultivation. Guests can tour the plantation to see some of its 80 employees at work, hand-making and labelling everything from soap and shampoo to harvesting the gel inside each leaf for superfood smoothies.
from the open bar, however, for a spot of snorkelling in the gloriously warm waters of Boca Catalina. Expect bright blue parrotfish, charcoal-grey French angelfish and long, narrow trumpetfish darting in and out of giant tube sponges or past gnarled globes of brain coral. The water is so clear you can see huge shoals of minnows buffeted back and forth with the currents, moving as one like well-choreographed dancers, until bigger fish appear and throw it all into chaos. The next stop reveals a different
underwater attraction: the wreck of the German warship Antilla, scuttled just offshore in 1940. The Palm Pleasure Afternoon Delight costs $69 for adults and
14 September 2017
travelweekly.co.uk 53
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96
