World bbc news5/6/2023 The iconic, colorful Handelskade waterfront strip features an eclectic collection of museums, monuments, restaurants, and trendy shops. The island is in fact filled with a mix of African, Caribbean, Creole, Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese culture, plus colonial-era architecture in capital city Willemstad, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A monument to the leader is located amid quiet beaches and a flamingo reserve on Curaçao’s south coast. By that evening the group had freed thousands of slaves, who encamped on the present-day beachfront, where they defeated a Dutch attack. Tula, an enslaved African, launched what became known as the Curaçao Slave Revolt on August 17, 1795. The quiet beachfront belies Porto Mari’s important link to Caribbean history. The beach features scuba diving and snorkeling operators, plus a small bar. Playa Porto Marie is a lovely white coral sand beach near the village of Sint Willibrordus at Porto Marie Bay. Nearly 20 percent of Aruba is designated as National Park territory, highlighted by Arikok National Park, 8,400 acres with rocky cliffs, deep caverns, natural stone bridges, and other unusual land formations made from lava, quartz diorite, and limestone.Īt a glance, Curaçao is known for its 35 exemplary beaches-many set in achingly beautiful, isolated coves. Visitors can also snorkel Mangel Halto’s reefs and shallow waters or enjoy Baby Beach’s quiet solitude. Eagle Beach is ideal for stand-up paddleboarding and kitesurfing. The island’s beaches range from large and long white-sand stretches lined with luxury resorts and water sports operators, to secluded coves set amid limestone cliffs. Trendy shops, colorful beach bars, and dozens of dining options are available in and around Oranjestad, Aruba’s capital and largest city: from popular restaurant chains to family-run eateries featuring local cuisine and fine dining. Which Aruba a traveler prefers is strictly a matter of taste. It’s also a disarmingly unusual landscape of natural parks bordered by blue coastal waters, with endless moon-like stretches filled with cacti and wind-blown divi-divi trees. Let’s explore what each island has to offer.Īruba may feel familiar on arrival, be it the friendly beach community, high-end retail, global cuisine, or a charged nightlife scene. One last thing these islands share? They’re all outside the hurricane belt. All three countries share ties to the Netherlands Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self-governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Curaçao is a laid-back island blending of European and Latin American culture. Bonaire, with its Afro-Caribbean heritage, has become a destination for divers and adventure travelers. Aruba is now a blend of 90 nationalities across just 70 square miles. Like diamonds cast in the blue waters north of Venezuela’s coast, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao are brilliant reflections of their respective cultures. Yes, there’s plenty of sunshine and postcard beaches, and they have a shared language (Dutch) and ancestry (the Arawak people, mostly farmers and fisherfolk), but each island has its own flavor and vibe. The “ABC Islands”- Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea-have an easy, breezy nickname for a grouping of three distinctly different spots.
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