Aruba

Cacti-topped Aruba shares much with its Latin American neighbors.

After all, this gem-shaped island on the far southern reaches of the region is closer to the mainland than it is to many of the other salt-washed islands of the Caribbean.

Let’s start with the weather, which remains unusually steady and warm, unperturbed by the hurricanes and cyclones that wash through the Atlantic belt.

The 300 days of sun and soothing shore waters ensure a steady stream of snowbirds from the US, who can be seen reclining on the sands of Baby Beach in the south, the windblown rocks of Hadikurari, shaded Arashi, or the reef-ringed likes of Boca Catalina right throughout the year.

Then there’s Aruba’s dusty, desert-like interior, peaked over by the lookouts of Haystack Mountain, and the island’s curious Papiamento lingo, fusing Spanish and Dutch, Creole and Portuguese.