SURPRISES ANDA VENTURE ABOUND Aruba — the island of the unexpected By HELEN KLEIN Every place in the world has its “other side”. New York’s cosmopolitan at- mosphere and bustling mid- town streets have their counterpoint in quiet residential districts scattered through the city’s five _boroughs. _ Romantic Paris has a : very prosaic side of super- marches, parking lots and modernistic housing complexes. Athens, home of the Parthenon, is not only a cluster of glistening white marble antiquities, but a big city, with business districts that are less than awe- inspiring, respectable suburbs which can hardly be Photo submitted WINDMILLS are only one of the many “other sides” of the Caribbean on the Dutch island of Aruba. predicted, based on the virtues of Aruba's main road. The single road sign we saw was an image out of No Man’s Land. Weatherbeaten in the extreme, it defied reading, until I emerged from the car and walked right up to it. then, and only then, did | discern the faint lettering: Fontein. Yes, we “were going the right way. despite all appearances to the contrary. When we finally pulled up in front of the entrance to the caves, we were the only people there. No other tourists, no ticket-takers, no guards. Just the shadow of considered quaint. Even so small a place as the island of Aruba has an “other side”. Its typical Caribbean atmosphere — a strip of sophisticated hotels bordering on a white sand beach, which in turn is lapped by a turquoise blue sea and shaded by gently swaying palm trees (that is, everybody's image of Paradise) — is belied by the obverse side of the tslands, where rough waters pound a rocky coasthne, habitations are few and far between, and roads are — to put Ht mildly —— rugged. Yet, to me. much of Afruba’s fascination is derived from its “other side”, from a_ kaleidoscopic topography studded with cacti, which changes from cave-eaten “moon rock” to rolling expanses of white sand dunes in a matter of kilometers; where goats wander free along the road, hugging the shade of the wind-swept divi-divi trees: where surreal rock for- mations jut out against the sky, pieces of enormous boulders which resemble nothing so much as a giant's playthings. My exploration of Aruba's “other side” was en- capsulated into a single day. My husband and I set out from our hotel on Aruba’s Palm Beach at around 11 in the morning. and were bck at home base by six the same evening, having traversed virtually the entire island in our Gauntless rentalcar. — At first, as we proceeded along the island's main road — which ts beautifully paved and banked — the landscape was flat, the habitations frequent. We first began to realize we were adventuring when we missed the turn-off for Frenchman's Pass, perhaps six kilometers outside of Oranjestad, Aruba’s capital. The reason? No road sign. We continued on, looking for the next turn-off as sketched on our map, missed that as well, pulled into a service station for gas and directions, went astray once again, and finally made the turn on to one of Aruba's side roads, hoping it would lead us across the interior of the island to the caves at Fontein, on the opposite coast, which boasted examples of pre-Columbian | painting for pleasure. Were we headed in the nght direction? The road itself promised but hittle. It was cracked and spht — certainly a far cry from the excellent road system I'd our viewing TRAVEL VALUES EXPERT & UNBIASED ADVICE There are many Travel Agents and many Special Deals. We have been in business since 1965. WE ARE EXPERTS and we can help you without additional cost - often saving $$$. °©04 May VANCOUVER-LONDON RETURN CA $619 Low rates other dates throughout the year e Special fares from London to European points LONDON-LISBON LONDON-TELAVIV LONDON-ATHENS LONDON-ROME CA $248 CA $381 CA $380 CA $412 Rates are subject to change and availability Pre booking and other regulations apply Call your REEDS CONSULTANT for advice London apartments personally inspected trom CA $385 per week for two Accommodation with kitchenettes throughout Britain and Europe WE KNOW BRITAIN AND EUROPE LET US HELP YOU reeds travel South Park Royal 922-9301 Harbour Centre 669-0313 i= acu 5 s “aac fps bats -so my husband insisted the cave’s interior. Yes, we did climb into the opening: no, courage failed and we exited almost as soon as we had peered tn, without having seen the wall pain- tings for which we had come. From the caves, we drove along the coast road to the nearby dunes at Boca Prins, oceans of sand stretching away in every direction: to the easily misled eye, a vast Arctic region of snow. We plodded a bit on foot among the dunes, letting the wind whip our hair, gazing out over the exquisitely blue, roughly dancing waters in. the distance, enjoying the immensities of silence and aloneness until our sense of time got the better of us, and we returned to the car to continue on. From Boca Pnns, our route lay inland for a while, February 28/83 _ pre te Tate reed pees we skapere tote All Wortd Travel 110 bast Isl Atlynn Travel ? VLIW LV Road BBO BSH! WwEAO Aas Baine Travel Capilano Mat sor cr at Capllano Travel 182 9 Captlana Ra vit. oaa Delbrook Travel 97 4 Dealtoroom Ave vet to 4 Diecover Your Wortd Travel 120% Marine (» cere ate Fourways Trove! 1900 Marine (> eh, tN NORTH VANCOUVER Cil - Wednesday, February 9, 1983 - North Shore News on roads which wound up and down a hilly terrain studded with oil drums, presumably left there to hold recently-planted saplings upright in the never-ceasing wind. Our next stop was Ayo, home of the huge diorite boulders haphazardly flung into cuFIOUS arrangements and formations. A climb was warranted, along a _ path thoughtfully laid out among the boulders. Again, we were the only people there, free to roam and sit and take photographs, and watch the goats shade. Only a short distance from Ayo, on the shore, is the Natural Bridge, a formation worried out of the coastline by the crashing waters. There was a snack bar (the first we'd encountered) as well as several other sight- seers, another first. 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