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The ABC Islands, part of the West Dutch
Indies, used to be part of Holland's worldwide empire - Bonaire and Curacao are
still under the protection of the Netherlands, but Aruba has gained total
independence. 
A steep-to island in the middle of the ABC's, its claim to fame is
diving. The edges of the island drop quickly to hundreds of feet, and
scuba shops abound to take advantage of the 'wall' diving. The water is
very clear and millions of colorful fish hide among the coral. We stayed at the
only marina on the island - with easy access to the best ice cream in the
world. Salt flats on this island provide sheltered spots for huge flocks
of pink flamingos. We stayed at Harbour Village Marina for 12 days. We
left with 25 knot cross-wind, and made it out safely thanks to help from S/V Runaway.
In the middle of the ABC's, this Dutch island, home to a huge oil refinery, is a
favorite stop for cruisers where they spend weeks at Spanish Waters, a
well-protected anchorage. We were in a hurry to get to Aruba so we
anchored 1 night at Westpuntbai onthe north tip of the island among coral patches, having been
led to this folly at night by friends with a bright spotlight.
'One Friendly Island' as they bill themselves lives up to its
slogan. People are very nice, the island has wonderful beaches, casinos, lots of
resorts (that offer free gifts and meals if you will listen  to
their sales pitch), and good shopping. Once part of the Netherlands
Antilles, it is now a self-governing member state of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands. We spent Christmas and New Year's in Harbourtown
Marina in
the middle of Orangestad and
watched a 1 mile-long string of firecrackers explode for over 40 minutes.
The
marina is the only reasonable option with this island - the only protected
anchorage is under the jet landing pattern.
And then a 3-day lumpy sail to Colombia
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