Aruba

[Dawn Worden]

What kind of activities are available in Aruba for tourists?

[sddsddean]

I was there in November last year, as a port of call on a cruise. The island is not very big, but there are several ways of looking round. You can do the usual coach tour, go on a 4x4 'safari' (mainly along the north coast) where there is the ruins of an old (17thC) Spanish gold smelting plant. The big natural attraction is 'The Natural Bridge', which is a rock formation on the NE of the island. The major thing is the watersports. Apparently it is one of the best Carribean islands for diving/snorkelling. We went to a place where you can snorkel (I'd never done it before) and the fish come right up to you and eat bread out of your hands. If you don't want to get wet, there is a submarine trip to a wrecked freighter. A couple of our fellow diners on the ship went on this trip and said it was brilliant. There is no danger from sharks, as the local abbatoir empties its 'leftovers' in a rocky bay on the north coast to keep all the sharks away from the snorkelling reefs on the south coast.