At about 10 a.m. one morning this past summer, I found myself riding shotgun in a Jeep Wrangler heading toward the northernmost tip on the island of Aruba. There, at the bottom of a lighthouse, I began a daylong journey that would reveal to me the true beauty and wonders of that tiny little island.
The adventure began on a dirt trail that ran south along the Aruban shoreline between a violent coast and hilly desert terrain. The trail was easy to follow, thanks to the embedded tire marks.
The first stop was at Wish Rock Garden, a beach where thousands upon thousands of flat, palm-sized rocks have been placed into stacks of three or four. When we pulled up, I felt like a giant about to invade a small town because the hundreds of stacks all over the shore looked like buildings that made up a rather large community.
Although this tradition was created, and is mostly continued, by tourists, it is believed that each rock represents a wish and each of those wishes will come true if your stack doesn’t fall down. So we collected a few rocks and then searched for the perfect place to build a stack. Once we made our wishes we jumped back in our Jeep and headed toward The Natural Bridge.
As we continued down the path, we occasionally ran into tour buses and ATV tour groups. We couldn’t help but ask ourselves if we had made the right decision to explore on our own. After all, we would see them huddled around for a group picture, but we never could make out what they were posing in front of.
All doubts we had about why we would explore on our own were relieved when on our way to the bridge we stumbled upon one of the most memorable stops of the day.
The drive to this point had given me a good understanding of the island’s coast. It was clear to see how brash the waves were as they beat against the land every time we stopped to take a picture on a cliff. But what was also intriguing was how the cliffs, and other natural barriers, could sometimes create a serene beach nestled between large rocks.
Usually at these beaches, we’d see empty huts that we assumed were tiny shops, which were all closed because it was the offseason for cruise ships. One hut, in particular, sat atop a small hill overlooking one of the most unique beaches I have ever seen.
Tucked away between two giant cliffs, several hundred feet from the trail, on a downward slope, was this tiny little beach that honestly probably doesn’t even have a name. But I couldn’t resist. Something about it seemed so rare. We pulled over, changed into our swimsuits, and headed down for a dip. As I sat on the sand and listened to the ocean splash with my toes in the water, I couldn’t help but realize that I never would have had this moment if I had been on a tour. Because even if the group had stopped here, it wouldn’t feel like the private, untouched
beach I was sitting on.
After a satisfying amount of time had passed, and other groups became interested in our secret spot, we decided to continue down to the bridge.
That was when we were certain we had made the right choice by not being on a tour. Although amazing for the simple fact that it was created by erosion and has been standing for an obscene amount of time, The Natural Bridge is pretty underwhelming. If it’s something you feel like you’ve just got to see for yourself, a quick five-minute stop is more than enough time to take in its “greatness.” An allotted time of 20 minutes, sometimes even more, by tour guides is truly a waste of time.
Personally, I wish we had skipped this stop and continued on to Arikok Park even sooner. That’s because once we actually got to the park, the park attendant broke the news that we wouldn’t be able to get to Conchi, the park’s most spectacular landmark, in a Jeep—and that we wouldn’t want to walk to it either. He recommended we rent a 4-wheeler from George’s back in Oranjestad. So, we turned around and headed back toward town.
At this point it was almost noon and we had just spent quite a significant amount of time getting to the bridge, when we actually should have been renting a new vehicle.
We eventually decided on a three-seater side-by-side, because unlike an ATV it had a roof and a place to store our things. It was $170 for a half-day rental, it came to us clean, and not once did we have an issue with it, so I’d say it was a great rental experience.
We raced back to Arikok, eager to see what was so special about Conchi. It took us quite a bit of time to get there, even once we were back in the park. The trail to the landmark was almost all uphill on a dry, rocky and seemingly lifeless mountain.
We knew we had made it only when we found a tall, wooden sign that read, “Welcome to natural pool” in yellow uppercase letters. It wasn’t until we walked past the sign that my breath was taken away. Down the staircase embedded into the mountain, hundreds of feet below, with just one single hand rail, sat a pool of water in a valley of rocks and boulders. The sight was surreal, especially when the waves crashed against the rocks, refilling the pool with
more water from the sea.
The pool was up to 12 feet deep, although you could find places along the wall that were shallow enough that a baby could wade in it—in fact, I saw one do just that.
When we arrived, there was a small crowd of people swimming and diving, but that soon dwindled down to just us and one other couple. However, it wasn’t long before a large group invaded and disrupted the serenity. After hiking back up the mountain to our side-by-side, we took a
long ride over to Fontein Cave.
Inside the cave there are native drawings that give historians clues about the indigenous people. Outside of the cave is a narrow stream under a short wooden bridge that the locals refer to as a “foot bath.” In that stream live tiny fish that nibble off the dead skin on your toes.
If we’d had more time in our rental we would have then headed over to Baby Beach, a beach that is waist-deep for hundreds of yards off the shore. Unfortunately, we had unexpectedly wasted time, which forced us to have to save Baby Beach for the following day.
Although we weren’t able to complete the trail, I felt as though I had seen much more of the island than I even knew existed. Before my trip I didn’t think of this Caribbean island as anything more than just a pit stop on a cruise trip, or a typical and sometimes dangerous host for spring-breakers. But the truth is, the island has a lot more to offer than a just a couple of scenic beaches and a vibrant nightlife. For more information, visit http://www.georgecycles.com or http://www.arubanationalpark.org/main/.
