Aruba sets out a full plate of sights, scents and tastes

As I bounced around in the front seat of a Land Rover — bones jarring, joints rattling and brain scrambling — Bette Davis’s famous line in the movie “All About Eve” flashed through my mind: “Buckle your seat belts; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

Even trussed up like a prize turkey as I was, it was impossible to overstate the bumpiness of this ride. Six of us, plus our driver, Sherman, were traversing the rugged terrain in the Arikok National Park, an area of caves, sand dunes and limestone cliffs on Aruba’s eastern side.

Covering almost 20 percent of the island’s land surface, it’s an arid, harsh environment, more reminiscent of the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico than the lush tropics of the Caribbean.

Vegetation tends to be cactus plants rather than the signature divi-divi trees found on the rest of the island, and the desert makes it hospitable for rattlesnakes, iguanas and the beautiful cododo, an iridescent turquoise lizard.

The park attracts numerous visitors, who come not just to marvel at the lunar landscape, with its massive rock formations, but for attractions both natural (the serene Natural Pool, sandwiched between the cliffs and accessible by a staircase of 80 steps) and manmade (the remains of a once-flourishing gold mine, cave paintings by Arawak Indians, and the surprising Alta Vista Chapel, a sunburst of bright yellow against the dun-colored surroundings).

A journey to Arikok National Park is a highlight of any visit to Aruba, and the Land Rover adventure, offered by De Palm Tours, will delight adrenalin junkies. However, anyone with bad backs or other medical conditions, or pregnant women, would probably be wise to avoid it. Instead, they can opt for a hike led by one of the park’s knowledgeable rangers.

The Land Rover excursion had been arranged by my accommodation, the Aruba Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino, on the dazzling white sands of Palm Beach.

In contrast to the national park, this is the Aruba of travel posters and vacationers’ dreams. Lush landscaping links the resort’s various buildings to a series of cascading waterfalls and pools (one for families, one reserved for adults only), shopping arcades, a Mandara spa (in the Ocean Club next to the hotel), and six restaurants, ensuring that no one goes hungry.

On my first night, I took part in a signature Marriott experience: dinner at Atardi, a pop-up beach restaurant. Once sunset approaches, the chaise lounges are replaced by tables and chairs scattered along the beach. Diners can dig their toes into the sand, listen to island music and hope for a glimpse of the green flash as the sun slowly sinks into the horizon. At Atardi, it’s difficult to know which gets top billing: the sunset, the serenade or seafood platters.

My vote goes to the platters. Having never been to Aruba before (except to board a cruise ship), I was delighted by the excellence of the food at every place I tried.

Stop in for breakfast at Linda’s Dutch Pancake House, and you might never think of pancakes the same way again. At Linda’s, the Aruban versions are pizza-sized and are filled with some of the most delectable tidbits imaginable, both savory and sweet.

The bacon and apple pancake is the most popular, but I opted for the brie, walnut and honey concoction. The walnuts were cooked in the pancake, with the brie melted on top and local honey on the side. Had it not been for a case of self-inflicted pancake shaming, I honestly think I could have finished the entire thing.

Lunch was a scant few hours later at Charlie’s, a place so oozing with local color that Sloppy Joe’s in Key West or Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop in New Orleans seemed sedate by comparison. Try the mouth-watering ribs with one of the local beers, and you’ll be in heaven.

There must be something in the Aruban air, because I was hungry again by dinnertime. Luckily, the West Deck was a more than satisfactory spot to satisfy the hunger pangs. With a casual outdoor terrace overlooking the cruise ship terminal, it specializes in — what else? — seafood.

On another day, I had a leisurely lunch at island favorite Zeerovers. Tables sprawl across a wooden deck overlooking the water, and fishermen pull up at the pier to unload their daily catches. This means you’ll get the freshest fish and shrimp possible, and the plantain puffs will melt in your mouth.

It was back to the Marriott for La Vista’s sumptuous buffet, featuring the island’s native dish, keshi yena. A sort of chicken stew, it contains raisins, cashews, onions, green olives and a variety of seasonings, and it’s topped with slices of Gouda cheese.

A real Dutch treat

Aruba is the “A” in the southern Caribbean’s chain of “ABC” islands (B is Bonaire and C is Curaçao) — each having a slightly different relationship with the Netherlands, which colonized them in the 17th century.

Technically an independent nation, Aruba remains a “constituent country of the kingdom of the Netherlands.” I was told that it was the equivalent of a doting parent who continues to dole out money to a child who accepts it while loudly proclaiming independence.

Whatever the ties, Aruba has many remnants of its Dutch past: Several windmills dot the countryside; the capital of Oranjestad boasts tidy white buildings with peach, mint green, lemon and orange trim — a sort of tropical Amsterdam — and the island has been influenced by the work ethic of the industrious Dutch.

The best place to get a sense of this is the Museum of Industry in San Nicolas. This place offers a plethora of fascinating information. For example, Aruba had a gold rush 25 years before California did. I(t was discovered in 1824 by a 12-year-old boy tending his family’s sheep, and gold soon became the basis for a thriving economy. Remnants of the mines can be found in several places on the island.

It might be a long way from gold to aloe, but the fragrant plant, transported from the Arabian peninsula to Aruba, proved the source of the island’s next economic boom. Museum photographs show that in the 19th century, two-thirds of the island was covered with aloe plantations.

The museum’s final two galleries show that the ever-resilient Arubans shifted economic gears yet again – in the mid-2oth century, prospering by refining oil from Venezuela, only 20 miles away (the long-abandoned refinery is being brought back to life), and today, as a tourism mecca, especially for cruise ships.

Pretty impressive for an island that was once dubbed “Isla Inutil” (useless island).

After a tour of the museum, stick around to wander through this newly emerging area, with its colorful murals and the shop/studio/gallery Cosecha, a creative showcase for the arts and crafts of Aruba.

Arubans have an expression in their native Papiamento, Bon Bini, which means “welcome.” You’ll hear it everywhere you go on this enchanting isle.

This story was originally published August 27, 2017 at 6:36 AM with the headline "Aruba sets out a full plate of sights, scents and tastes."