Just last week I wrote about it being a quiet hurricane season thus far and there is a storm named Bertha which has developed into a significant one. The preliminary predictions of the experts were that it probably wouldn’t make landfall, as it appeared to curl its way back to the Atlantic. However, according to the latest computer models the storm is moving into a westerly direction. It still seems to be on a path that it might miss the higher Antilles islands.

Furthermore, the storm is expected to gain strength into a Category 1 hurricane in the Saffir-Simpson scale by Tuesday. These winds carry a maximum force of 95 miles per hour. Despite the fact this hurricane is on a westerly path, it isn’t expected to come near the ABC islands. It seems that the storm is too far to have a significant impact on the water surrounding Aruba.

Speaking of water, current Aruba water is bringing some scattered rain. Especially at night. The local weather service speaks of a - pesky - tropical wave that has brought some rain lately. Last month it rained record numbers just for a few days. It isn’t raining as much now; sporadically it still rains a little, generally in the early hours of the morning.

Happy 4th of July to visitors from the US

There isn’t a country that has had a bigger impact on Aruba’s contemporary history than the US. On 4th of July it is a perfect time to look a bit deeper into this day and what it means for our friends from the US. It certainly made me look up a bit more information about this day. It’s too bad that activities related to 4th of July aren’t well documented the time this island was inhabited by many American oil workers.

On the 4th of July US celebrates its Independence Day from the Kingdom of Great Britain, obtained on July 4th of 1776. This day is a typical day of celebration with a lot of show of US patriotic symbols. Seemingly, in the present these symbols are more present in outfits, caps, sports and movies, rather than the old traditional symbols.

The American population in Aruba isn’t as big as it used to be in the height of the oil-boom of Lago Oil Refinery. This American owned refinery opened in 1929 and shut down in 1985. Almost all of the Presidents of Lago where all American nationals, with the most notable one being Sir Lloyd Gaston Smith. Currently there are still a few influential Americans in Aruba such as the current CEO of Aruba’s hotel and tourism organization, major resorts are managed by American managers and the president of Valero Aruba Refinery amongst others.

Morgan’s waterpark progresses with parking

Morgan’s Island waterpark has been under construction for three years now. Currently construction is still ongoing, with a lot of pain however. Construction isn’t going on a satisfying pace, or so it seems. There have been several issues throughout the life of this project. I’ve been told recently that budgetary reasons are to blame for the failure to conclude the construction.

The plans for Morgan’s Island waterpark include the biggest waterslide in the Caribbean. In fact, the developers set an ambitious goal for themselves by stating that this project is going to be the biggest overall waterpark in the Caribbean. The longer the project takes to finish the harder bigger my fear gets for a satisfactory conclusion of the development.

On some forums I’ve read some critical notes about this development coming to Aruba. I truly believe it is a genuine attraction to what this island already offers, especially Aruba’s youngest visitors will enjoy the park. Furthermore, the local market will gladly welcome it as it offers youngsters something healthy to do. The local youth already complain on the lack of activities for locals on the island. What about the beach, you ask? Their probable answer: “We’ve seen the beach forever”.

Morgan’s slow progress

Little change since last update

Morgan’s with in the back Oceania and Oasis condo constructions

Recently installed Aruban Resort titles

The Aruban Resort & Casino’s renovation efforts are going according to plan. In several phases the building is being turned inside out. Rooms are getting a complete overhaul with fresh paint and new hardware. Last year I got to see the inside of a newly refurbished room and must say I was pleasantly impressed with the efforts. It received a modern look by the sleek new interior.

Recently Aruban Resort installed the titles on the wall, on the south side of the property. The logo is very big and perfectly visible from the main road nearby, especially the sun in the logo catches the eye. The one thing I miss with the renovation is the change in color of the exterior. Seemingly they are going to leave the peach color it had when they purchased the building. On a related note, the casino is also being completely renovated.

The Aruban Resort is a 362 room timeshare property that was originally built in the 90s. Up until last year it carried the name of La Cabana Villas and featured a very popular waterslide. KL Holding Company based in Las Vegas, Nevada (US) purchased the resort, casino and adjacent restaurant. KL plans to make The Aruban Resort the most luxurious timeshare resort at Eagle Beach.

Oceania Residences Construction

Condos are the next trend in tourism properties in Aruba. As there is currently a prohibition in construction of new resort properties, condos seem to have gotten the free hand. Officials insist however, that there is indeed a structured control of available land. For now there are several condo projects in the pipeline, with Oceania Residences being the most finished condo project to date.

The developers of this 5-phase condo project have divided the construction efforts into two parts. Phases 1 and 2 are already delivered and are already being used by its owners/renters. The photographs in this post show mostly phases 3, 4 and 5, where construction is ongoing. Since my last post about Oceania I noticed fewer areas that are “see-through”, meaning that the walls have been built.

From what I understand sales of Oceania Residences is going very well. Not many units are available anymore. At least not through the developer. I’m sure there are savvy owners eager to sell their units for a profit, naturally if you are willing to meet the asking price. If I we’re an owner however, I’ll sit on the property at least until 2010. I’ll wait for things to calm down a bit and the real estate buying sentiment to recover. Especially in North America. On the other hand, I would sell to a European right away. The condo prices in Euro make it very attractive for Europeans to purchase. At the end, I think the best use for the unit right now is using it yourself. Enjoy the place and don’t forget that Eagle Beach across the street is spectacular.


Oceania Residences Construction front view

Oceania Residences Construction with main road


Detailed view construction at Oceania

Eagle Beach Sunset

Last Tuesday and Wednesday Aruba was surprised by a lot of rainfall. According to the local weather service, in less than 24 hours it rained more than double what it’s supposed to rain for the month of June (0.6 inches). Naturally the predictable comments start, such as “I taught it never rains in Aruba”. In several previous posts about the weather, I’ve written about the fact that I don’t believe in such strong statements. This island receives an average of 16 inches of rain a year, which generally occurs at the end of the year.

This time around there was some sort of a tropical wave in the southern Caribbean, disrupting the regular hot and dry Aruba weather. Naturally the rain was well received by locals as it tends to cool down the island a bit. Plus, nature receives a break as well. Cacti fill up with moist, this way to ensure survival for the remainder of the year. Visitors are less happy, which is obvious.

Currently there are still some local showers at night, however the weather seems to be stabilizing. Speaking of stabilizing, current hurricane season has been pretty stable so far. As of today I haven’t read any reports about a significant storm forming anywhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Let’s hope it stays like that. For now, I would like to remember everyone visiting Aruba on a cliché: after rain comes sunshine, just as above picture.

Freshly planted palapas at Eagle Beach

Growing up in Aruba I remember when I was a little boy the time when we visited the beaches, the first resort in the row at Palm Beach was Concorde (Westin now) and the last one was Holiday Inn. By the low rise area there were only the Divi Resorts properties. This meant long stretched clean sugar white sandy beaches. The one thing that caught the attention back then was how undisturbed the beaches were. Especially with palapas or better yet, the lack of palapas.

The growth of resort properties in Aruba brought more movements at the beaches. More and more people spend hours at the beaches, consequently demand for some shade against the ferocious became imminent. These palapas actually brought some character to the beaches and gave it a special Caribbean feel to the whole picture. They were welcome and officials allowed resorts to plant some palapas on the beaches for their visitors.

In the present however, it seems to have gotten out of hand. As more resorts, timeshares, apartments and condos are coming more and more palapas are being planted. Now (a little late) officials are trying to put a stop to all the planting of so many palapas. Some criticism goes especially out to resorts that plant these palapas and use cement at the base to make them sturdy. How about giving out beach umbrellas? I know, it’s more work, but it does the job just as well.

Sleepy fisherman’s pier in Aruba

Some time ago BBC Caribbean featured an article about fishing in the Caribbean. It was actually about over-fishing in the Caribbean Sea. According to the article, a major problem for the future of the Caribbean is the fact that many island nations allows their territorial waters to be susceptible to over-fishing. In all fairness, the fishing industry forms an important part of many tourism-economy dependent islands in the Caribbean.

Aruba, however, is an exception to this rule. For starters, Aruba’s tourism dominated economy is very one sided. Other industries are very small, even insignificant, therefore leaving this island depending for 70%+ of its GDP from receipts from tourism and tourism related activities. Fishing on the other hand is kept to a minimum by the prohibition of commercial fishing. This in turn creates a tight fish market where demand is high, consequently fish products are expensive.

Above picture shows an old pier with several old-school wooden fisherman boats. Old fishermen have many tales of the sea and the struggles as well. There are a lot of romantic and adventurous tales about being on the open waters of the southern Caribbean Sea. The sea is rough at times. It isn’t a job without dangers, therefore fishermen are well respected in Aruba. Fact is, when you go to a local fish restaurant and order  “catch of the day” you will receive a freshly caught fish. Bon appetite.

Picturesque Savaneta, real estate gold

According to some international reports, Aruba’s has one of the most reasonable real estate price square meters in the Caribbean, second only to the Dominican Republic. Despite recent price hikes, there are still a lot of hot real estate deals to be found. The hottest areas are always beach front properties and surrounding areas. In Aruba these areas are Malmok, Bakval and Westpunt.

Aruba is a small island, consequently the amount of beachfront real estate is scarce and limited. For the smallest properties on the beaches some people are willing to fork over thousands, sometimes, millions of dollars. But you can be much smarter than that. There are still some areas near the beaches where there are a lot of real estate opportunities. Those areas in particular are Savaneta, Pos Chikito and San Nicolas.

There are several reasons why above mentioned areas are going to remain attractive for real estate investors for the foreseeable future. Aruba’s focus on tourism economy isn’t going to change any time soon, which means that the touristy western part of the island is going to maintain its focus, thus higher property prices. If you are really serious on finding a property in Aruba against sharp prices, look into above mentioned places.

Riu Palace Aruba needs to keep entertainment

In June of last year Riu Palace Aruba opened its doors to the public. Ever since the purchase of former Aruba Grand Resort & Casino, there we’re some polemics with the construction, construction personnel, transparency and hotel staff. By the time the resort did inaugurate and started operating pretty much all problems have been resolved. Aesthetically not everybody was happy with the outcome, but the reception was positive overall.

The first comments by visitors on Riu Palace were predominately positive. People seem to like the hotel in general. Obviously the most appealing part of this resort is the fact that it is an all-inclusive one. Almost everything is included. However, there were some observations as well. The first criticism was the lack of decent landscaping, retail and entertainment. Landscaping wouldn’t be nice as everything was freshly planted literally last minute before its inauguration.

Apparently Riu Palace paid attention to its customers as some burning issues were dealt with. As the weeks passed by the landscaping recovered and now it looks good. On the retail department it still remains poor and for the short term I don’t see a solution just yet for this issue. Local entertainment was hired and the resort started to come alive.

But now, according to sources, a head office executive arrived on the island and ordered an immediate stop to entertainment, citing “budget reasons”. I’m not sure about this move. Is it something with the area? Apparently neighboring Westin is also a bit dull. I think these places receive plenty of funds in order to afford it and guests wouldn’t mind some distraction from….. uhm, well, distraction.