Island of Adventure

Falling in Love with Venezuela’s Island Neighbor aboard PWC

Written by Godfried “Brian” Lampe

Photography by Sergio Maduro

Imagine launching your PWC on a white sandy beach. The sun is shining above you although it’s barely spring. The people are friendly. The temperature is around 95 degrees. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Aruba.

Discovered in 1499 by Spanish explorer Alonso De Ojeda while searching for islands near the coast of Venezuela, he referred to Aruba as a “useless island” with no gold to unearth and the locals were the Caquetios Indians, descendants of the Arawak Tribe. In 1636 the Dutch took control of the island only to lose it to the English Empire in 1805. In 1816 the Dutch reclaimed it and surprisingly struck gold. Aruba would bloom in 1924 with the opening of an oil refinery which operates even to this day.

Still under the Dutch flag but with their own government and currency, Aruba depends on the tens of thousands of tourists that visit the island each year. At only 19 square miles, it is unbelievable how many activities there are for such a small island. Some consider Aruba the Las Vegas of the Caribbean. Hotels such as the Hyatt, Marriott, and Radisson are only a few of the many that play host to swarms of vacationers.

Then, of course, there are the beaches.

Easily a PWC heaven for some, Aruba provides near-year-round riding with no launching fees! Upon arrival at Eagle Beach any watercraft enthusiast will notice the quality craft for rent, Sea-Doo GTIs and Yamaha VXs. While Eagle Beach may be more accessible and popular among visitors, if you’re going to town to visit the Governor Mansion, you’ll notice a small beach off to the side. Azure-blue seas littered with scattered hand-made wooden fishing boats paint a picture worthy of a postcard.

This Sunday is particularly busy due to it being Easter. By 2 pm, church services let out and it feels like the whole island ran to the water. While children frolic in the rolling surf, watercraft further out playfully race after one another, parents towing wakeboards or a tube topped with the kids. A group of typically dressed tourists congregate in front of the Holiday Inn waiting for the bus to Moomba Beach. It’s a 30 minute ride, but is brings you in front of the harbor where the multimillion dollar cruise ships are docked. As a word of caution to the watercraft riders, buzzing the cruise liners is strictly prohibited for security and is heavily enforced.

Past the harbor, the coastline’s silhouette lowers, marked by a strand of low-rise hotels. Facing the sea, the water is choppy and you can catch some pretty good air over here. In fact, so regular are the rough conditions that sometimes catching air is the only thing you can do. Circling back up the coast, we aboard our watercraft enter the Eagle Beach area. The waterways are busy here thanks to it being the rental area.

We followed northward up the scenic coastline. Passing through the crowds of vacationers and holiday tourists around Eagle Beach, we continued onward until the cityscape reached skyward thanks to rows of big-money, high-rise hotels. Busy with boats towing banana rafts, tubes, and parasailers, the holiday has taken the beach resort by storm. At the end of the hotel strip is the Aruba Marriott and Stellaris Casino, further on we pass a humble dock populated with local fishermen’s boats. Called Hadicurari, there’s a local restaurant where you can get some fresh fish for a decent price and the beer is always cold.

Hadiurari is also the entrance of Moomba Beach. Moomba Beach is a bar/restaurant located on the beach. After enjoying some refreshments, we mount our craft again and head north. After we leave from Moomba, we pass in front of the famous fisherman huts. This is the main spot for windsurfing where each year the Aruba High Winds surfing competition is held.

Surfers from all over the world converge on Aruba to compete for the World Championship. Here the water is shallow and as we pass by we notice the beached shipwreck locally known as “Babu.” This boat was intentionally sunk with the purpose of becoming an artificial coral reef and diving spot. But in December 1999, Aruba experience the tail of hurricane Lenny and the ocean brought the wreck back to shore. It’s been here ever since. The beauty of the place is that sometimes the waves tend to swell to eight feet high, perfect for freeride jumping.

Further on we reach Boca Catalina and the Arashi beach. These beaches are part of the area called Malmok. Lined with multimillion dollar mansions, these homes feature the beach at their backyards. In front of these houses the World War II German shipwreck Antilia still lies under the water’s crystal-clear surface. The Allies bombed the ship assigned with destroying the fueling docks at Eagle Beach used to refuel Allied ships before making the journey to Europe. The Antilia continues to be Aruba’s main attraction for divers.

Arriving at Arashi, the chop has started to change. From our vantage point, we can see the California Lighthouse. Beyond this point, the ocean becomes only for the experienced waterman. A person with no experience and know-how shouldn’t pass this spot since the water here is very unpredictable. We turned around and went back in front of the hotel area. The water was too rough to continue our ride around the island. In the past, there was a group of riders who went from Aruba to Puerta Escondida, Venezuela; a legend for those diehard endurance riders.

When we land back at the Governor’s Mansion, we refuel and head out the other way. We stop in front of the runway of the Reina Beatrix International Airport where the planes pass so low that it feels like you can touch their landing gear. We continue our trip and are now passing Renaissance Island. This is a private island owned by the Renaissance Hotel. The hotel also has a huge crystal casino located in the heart of Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba. Traveling between the capital city and the private island is provided as a free service to its guests.

Once again the water deepens and grows choppy. We continue towards the Bucuti Marina. After we pass the port, we reach the local water plant. It distills sea water into fresh, potable water. During the process they produce nearly all the electricity for the island. The tap water of Aruba is safe to drink and is crystal clear with no chlorine or fluoridation.

By now we reach Mango Halto. Here is notably one of the best places to scuba dive. There are diving classes almost every day. The water here is rich in exotic fish and coral. This also means that the PWC users are required to navigate around certain marked areas to better help preserve the natural coral reef. It’s a small detour to help maintain the island’s natural beauty.

Again on the road we enter more chop and we stop to jump the waves. We pass the Valero Oil Refinery. After we pass the refinery we reach Rodgers beach, better known as Coco Beach. Its turquoise water is like a Caribbean commercial you’d see on TV. The beach is loaded with people who are camping for the Easter holiday. Bands are playing on the beach and the ambience is charming. The smell of barbeque fills the air and we make a stop at the Coco Beach restaurant.

After our break, we saddle up to corner to Baby Beach. Baby Beach earned its name because the water doesn’t go deeper then your knee. Surrounded by a reef, the cove is perfect for snorkeling and scuba diving. We stay outside the reef again to not disrupt the coral and avoid hitting people in the water. Past this point, the water turns rough again indicating that we’re nearing the California lighthouse.

Were we to go beyond that point, we would pass the natural pool known as “Conchi” (which translates to “bowl”). To reach the tide pool, we’d need a good 4x4 or off road motorcycle. A little further out, the remains of what used to be a natural bridge rest. But in 2005 the continuous erosion of the sea which created the bridge eons before finally collapsed the rock formation and is now just a memory to those who knew it.

Circling back, we reached the Governor’s Mansion with all of us thoroughly exhausted. We load our craft up and head home to enjoy a cold beer and some nachos just to come back tomorrow and do it all over again. Maybe if we’re lucky the currents will cooperate to let us complete our lap around the island…

For more information about Aruba visit www.aruba.com