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Aruba is located only a few miles north of the South American continent, not far from Venezuela. As a result, the sun is HOT. You need sunscreen and a hat here.
The island is surprisingly rugged and arid, only achieving 5" of rainfall a year. The tradewinds are always active as well, so the island is fairly windy. Consequently, most of the population of the island is on the West side, which is the more protected side from the wind. We were told that if you parked a car on the Eastern shore of the island, it would be completely sandblasted within 6 months. In fact, some of the areas in the island are desert-like, with cactus that looked like it could have been Arizona.
With so much to do, and the relatively clean island, it is a shame that more cruise ships do not visit. Perhaps it is out of reach for most cruises out of Florida, but I don't think it is much further away than St. Marten or islands in that area.
Beach and water activities are plentiful in this area, and the water is said to be some of the cleanest on the planet. One thing for sure, the water had a beautiful Azure color.
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