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Aruba – 19 Fascinating Facts, Climate and Natural Hazards, and Economy

Aruba is one of the four countries that make up the Kingdom of the Netherlands, including the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. All of the people who live in these countries are Dutch, and they all live in the same country. Aruba isn’t like the rest of the Caribbean. It has a dry climate and cactus-strewn landscape. A clear, sunny sky can be expected all year long on the island because of the weather, which helps tourism. There were two Europeans who visited Aruba for the first time in 1499. They claimed the island for Spain.

Royal Dutch Shell constructed the first oil refinery in Aruba in 1928, and it was the first one on the island. The building was built to the west of the capital city, Oranjestad. People called it the Eagle. A second refinery was built by the Lago Oil and Transportation Company right after that. It was built in an area is known as San Nicolas on the eastern end of Aruba. The refineries used crude oil from Venezuela’s huge oil fields to make more money for the island.

Climate and Natural Hazards

Köppen classifies Aruba as having a Köppen climate. It’s hot and dry, but not too hot and not too dry. The Köppen climate study divided the world’s climates into five main groups based on precipitation and temperature changes over the year. There are three hundred millimeters (12 inches) of rainfall each year, which isn’t much. The rainy season, in particular, is drier than it is in tropical climes. It rarely rains during the dry season. Because Aruba doesn’t get a lot of rain, the landscape is dry.

Most of the time, the average temperature in Oranjestad is between 27.0 °C (80.6 °F) and 29.6 °C (85.3 °F), which is kept down by the constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean that come from the north-east. Oranjestad rarely gets more than 350 millimeters or 14 inches of rain a year, but it can be very different and can be as few as 150 millimeters or 6 inches in strong El Nio years.

Basic Economy

As of 2017, more than 2 million tourists came to Aruba each year, and most of them (80 to 85 percent) came from the United States. The tourism industry has grown very quickly, which has led to a lot more people doing other things. Construction is still going strong, particularly in the hospitality industry. Aruba is very dependent on imports, and it is trying to make more exports in an attempt to optimize its trade balance. Many things are bought for personal and business use from other countries, like the US, the Netherlands, and Panama.

When Citgo Petroleum Corporate entity, an informal business unit of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, and the administration of Aruba agreed to restart Valero Energy Corp.’s old 235,000-b/d refinery in 2016, it was a big deal for both sides. There has been a lot of growth in tourism and related industries, and the Aruban Government is trying to get more businesses from different places. Aruba’s banking sector is still strong, and unemployment has gone down a lot.

Fascinating Facts

1	They speak English, Spanish, Dutch, and Papiamento. Every native Aruban can speak at least four languages. People in Aruba speak Dutch and Papiamento.
2	As of now, there isn't much we know about the history of Papiamento. That's not what Arubans say. Instead, they say it came from Portuguese-African pidgin, which talked among enslaved people and slave traders. There are also some Dutch and Spanish impacts in this game.
3	The rate of crime in Aruba isn't bad, but it could be better. A safe place to live: It is one of the Caribbean's safest places. Do not do anything stupid like hanging out in dark streets alone at night. It's just that there isn't much to be afraid of in general.
4	They make their water supply thanks to a desalination plant that makes it from saltwater. You can drink water right from the faucets. There is also a lot of power generation on the island from the desalination plant. Very interesting.
5	Aloe Vera products made at "Aruba Aloe" are the only big thing they sell outside of the United States. They make beauty products and health care gel to help people who have been burned. You can go to an aloe vera manufacturing company on one of the full island tours.
6	In Aruba, you can find a rare type of burrowing owl. This owl lives there. It lives in holes in the ground that are hidden by cacti. It is one of Aruba's most important symbols, and it is also on stamps.
7	It turns out that Aruba is not a lush tropical Caribbean beautiful place. It is dry and rocky. Many people are surprised by this because they thought it would be a "tropical island paradise." I think it looks more like a desert and cacti than a forest. But it's still beautiful.
8	Telling stories is what the Aruban people do best. Charles, the chef at the BBQ, told me about Mingo, the flamingo is the one who died due to alcohol poisoning as he shared too many cocktails along with the most of tourists who attended the party. My friend Nino told me about the significance of such a black butterfly in Aruba while shopping at the market.
9	People in Aruba celebrate St. John's Day by burying the rooster, an event to celebrate the end of the harvest. They bury a rooster in the ground with his head about level with the ground. Then, they dance in yellow and red clothes. It happens during the dance. People try to cut the rooster in half. This practice has been changed and is now more kind. They use a fake rooster or a flag to scare people.
10	The "wishing garden" is where people assemble rocks on the north shore. It isn't good for the environment and stops water flow in that area. These people are trying to stop it, but they're having trouble.
11	Most of the men in Aruba over 40 are in a local softball league, and most of them play. People in Aruban tourism say it's a tradition.
12	In the Aruban postcards, you see a picture of a tree called Divi Divi, called Watapana. Trade winds across the island make them all point in the same direction.
13	For about $30 a weekend, tourists can rent a small stone beach house from locals. There is no running water or electricity, but they are usually very beautiful and peaceful. Because these beaches were already owned, people who bought them could keep them. You can no longer buy these beaches.
14	If you live in Aruba, you can see some wild donkeys there. People tried to catch them and tame them in their younger years, but they didn't work. There is also a donkey sanctuary for donkeys that have been hurt or mistreated.
15	The boa constrictor is another species that has come to Aruba. The big problem is that the owls they are eating are only found in Aruba, which is a big problem for them.
16	In Aruba, this won't be a problem. The sand on the island is made up of coral and shells, which keep the sand cool (sort of) all day long.
17	Aruban people love fried food. Who can blame them? At breakfast, Aruban people eat pastiches (kind of like Cornish pasties), a type of breakfast food. I like the cheese ones best. Fungi is another great food served as a side dish or appetizer in Aruba. Fry cornbread with cheese on top.
18	It's a big thing for Aruban people to play dominoes.
19	In most years, more than a million tourists have come to Aruba. That's about ten times the number of people in the area.