INSIDE ARUBA, PARADISE TAKES A TURN TO THE RUGGED

By Tania Fuentez for MySanAntonio.com

Should you get lost in Aruba, follow the divi-divi trees.

That was the tip from Leroy King, a tour guide, as my mother, aunts and a busload of people ventured into the rocky, parched interior that defines much of this unique island.

The divi-divi trees — gnarled and outstretched to the Caribbean Sea — have been contorted by the steady trade winds into huge, bonsai-like figures, and their limbs point west, to the bustling hotel district.

But we quickly realized that many of Aruba’s points of interest are far from the hotels and the island’s Main Street, with its colorful casinos and storefronts. Away from these developments, we encountered white sand dunes amid rugged desert landscapes. The coastline is strewn with coral-encrusted shipwrecks. Volcanic rock formations, lagoons and gold mine ruins wait to be explored, and towering cacti and aloe dot the arid countryside.

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