Cruise 2025 Caribbean

Aruba is the smallest of the three ABC islands. It lies only thirty kilometers off the coast of Venezuela. The island measures thirty by nine kilometers. It was "discovered" during a Spanish expedition in 1499, but wasn’t considered very valuable. In 1636, the Dutch took control of the island to strengthen the defense of the South American continent. Later, when gold was found on Aruba, the island gained more significance. In the second half of the last century, Aruba gained more autonomy and became a separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Although there were plans for full independence, these were abandoned in the 1990s.