Where is aruba on the globe

To be fair, they gave us fresh fruit skewers first. Does anything feel more vacationy than to be floating among the reef fishes on a weekday? Lunch — including some tasty local fish — was terrific, and the bartenders were busy for the duration, whipping up rum-laced potions. But our best meal came later, when we joined executive sous chef Miguel Garcia for a cooking class at the Aruba Marriott. In the hotel's bustling kitchen, we learned how to prepare Aruba's national dish, keshi yena, a dreamy concoction of chicken, beef, or seafood typically chicken mixed with raisins, tomato paste, peppers, and spices, baked in a shell of Gouda cheese from Holland.

And it looked beautiful, served in La Creuset ramekins alongside a lemon-y salad and a mound of polenta-like funchi. Really, what wouldn't taste good in a shell of Gouda? Our last day's plan: To return to Arikok National Park to hike the trails.

We'd heard that the trails were awesome and that we might see a two-toned "Oreo" goat. What we actually did: Sprawled in a cushy cabana at the Marriott's adult pool, swam in the ocean, went to the Marriott's other pool, ate four more fish tacos — you get the idea. We finally roused ourselves to take a long walk down to Eagle Beach, another award-winning slice of sand, where we marveled at the fofoti trees.

Mother Nature's bonsai, these are sculpted by wind and always bend to the southwest. About that wind: It wasn't so bad, just enough to keep things cool, and nowhere near the "Lawrence of Arabia" scenario we'd envisioned.

Aruba, you've changed our minds. So, maybe we'll come back. Maybe we'll even bring the guys, as long as no one mentions that honeymoon. Diane Bair and Pamela Wright can be reached at bairwright gmail. Diane Bair for The Boston Globe.

Outline Map Key Facts Flag. The above outline map represents Aruba, an island country in the southern Caribbean. Salt Spring Island. Old Faithful Geyser. Kuril Islands. Cultus Lake, British Columbia. Cataract Canyon. Long Beach, California. Glenwood Canyon. The official languages are Dutch and Papiamento, but English and Spanish are also very widely spoken. The island is 21 miles 33 km long, 6 miles 9 km wide and has an area of about 75 square miles square km. Aruba is mainly flat with a few hills and is renowned for its white sandy beaches.

Aruba is located south of the hurricane belt which means that it rarely rains for extended periods. The climate is mostly dry and doesn't allow for a lot of vegetation. Constant trade winds cool the island and the temperature is about 82 degrees Fahrenheit 28 degrees Celsius year round. The north coast of Aruba is rugged terrain with all kinds of vegetation and some sand dunes. The ocean currents are much stronger here than on the west and south coast of Aruba and it not recommended to swim on this side of the island.

It is very rare to have completely wind-still and calm days on the north coast. Oranjestad , Aruba's capital named after the Dutch Royal House of Orange, is located on the west coast.