Aruba "pictures report"

[NIKKI]

Hi

I wonder if you could tell me how Aruba compares with
The Vigin Islands. I look very beautiful and I expect it is more developed but I wonder what the feel is.
Thanks Nikki

[sherban]

Hi
I wonder if you could tell me how Aruba compares with
The Vigin Islands. I look very beautiful and I expect it is more developed but I wonder what the feel is.
Thanks Nikki

Hi Nikki- I've only been to the VIs once....STJ in 2008 for a week and we stayed at Cinnamon Tarn on top of Catherineberg overlooking Cinnamon Bay (hard to beat that view anywhere in the world). I thought STJ had an awesome, lush natural beauty and outstanding coral and underwater "wild-life"...Aruba isn't lush but has outstanding beaches and a great wild north coast with a desert feel to it. Aruba has some decent snorkel spots but I think STJ is much better...more places to snorkel right off shore with more variation in "scenery". As far as the "feel" or "groove" of the islands and their cultures, I wouldn't say that one visit to STJ qualifies me to judge...but, again, my opinion--- STJ had a more gritty, natural (in a hiker-dude kinda way)feel to it and it felt much smaller than Aruba and less cosmopolitan feel than Aruba has. STJ feels very small and"groovy" to me...an islandy feel with maybe a west indie spice to it...Aruba has alot of europeans there visiting as well as South Americans...very common to meet Dutch, Venezuelan, Columbians, and Americans...with a bit of everything else in Aruba...I hear as mutch Dutch as I do English when I am in Aruba...also hear alot of Spanish and Papiamento. Ithought the locals and natives of STJ and Aruba were both very friendly...you get back what you put in...like a mirror. Aruba has far more development and therefore conveniences...clubs, air conditioning, fast food, etc...it is all there, what-ever you want...except the beauty of lush mountains and neighboring islands...that isn't there.

I hope that helps....

[cypressgirl]

Does Aruba have the "mountains' like STJ? Just wondering about the landscape.

[sherban]

Does Aruba have the "mountains' like STJ? Just wondering about the landscape.

Nope, Aruba is basically a flat, desert island...there are a couple of hills...nothing a STJ fanatic would call a mountain.

I'm not much of a geographer type....(electrical engineer...)but I think Aruba is a coral shelf type island where STJ was born from volcanic activity...thus the mountains in STJ and the flatness of Aruba. Yeah, I know there are more correct terms for these two types of Islands....this could be googled...

[sherban]

Woops...I think I meant geology....point proven...
Islands come in all shapes and sizes, yet most originated as volcanoes, even if no volcano is
visible on the surface today. Most of these volcanic islands occur along the boundaries of
tectonic plates, where the plates are colliding or moving apart. In fact, one can trace the
boundaries of many ocean plates by locating “island arcs” such as Japan, the Philippines, and the
Aleutian Islands. Less common are volcanic islands like those in the Hawaiian chain, which have
occurred within a tectonic plate. These islands are produced by a stationary “hot spot” within the
Earth’s interior, from which hot magma rises, forming a series of volcanic islands as tectonic
plates move slowly over the hot spot.
Not all islands originated as volcanoes. Some, called continental islands, are pieces of
continental crust that broke off long ago from continents and drifted out to sea. Cuba and New
Caledonia are examples of this island type. Some low islands also are formed on continental
shelves by coral reefs and sediment building up slowly over time in shallow tropical waters.
Similarly, coral reefs often ring tropical volcanic islands. Such volcanic islands may erode away
or sink below the surface, leaving behind an atoll, a circular ring of coral surrounding a lagoon.
If the ocean floor rises again, it may lift the atoll several dozen meters above sea level, creating a
coral island.
The Bahamas and many islands in the South Pacific were originally just coral reefs. Other
islands originate from a mixture of the standard island formation types. Whatever the formation
type, an island’s geologic history has an important influence on the island’s natural resources,
including its soil type and composition, minerals, and the availability of groundwater.

[cypressgirl]

Woops...I think I meant geology....point proven...
Islands come in all shapes and sizes, yet most originated as volcanoes, even if no volcano is
visible on the surface today. Most of these volcanic islands occur along the boundaries of
tectonic plates, where the plates are colliding or moving apart. In fact, one can trace the
boundaries of many ocean plates by locating “island arcs” such as Japan, the Philippines, and the
Aleutian Islands. Less common are volcanic islands like those in the Hawaiian chain, which have
occurred within a tectonic plate. These islands are produced by a stationary “hot spot” within the
Earth’s interior, from which hot magma rises, forming a series of volcanic islands as tectonic
plates move slowly over the hot spot.
Not all islands originated as volcanoes. Some, called continental islands, are pieces of
continental crust that broke off long ago from continents and drifted out to sea. Cuba and New
Caledonia are examples of this island type. Some low islands also are formed on continental
shelves by coral reefs and sediment building up slowly over time in shallow tropical waters.
Similarly, coral reefs often ring tropical volcanic islands. Such volcanic islands may erode away
or sink below the surface, leaving behind an atoll, a circular ring of coral surrounding a lagoon.
If the ocean floor rises again, it may lift the atoll several dozen meters above sea level, creating a
coral island.
The Bahamas and many islands in the South Pacific were originally just coral reefs. Other
islands originate from a mixture of the standard island formation types. Whatever the formation
type, an island’s geologic history has an important influence on the island’s natural resources,
including its soil type and composition, minerals, and the availability of groundwater.

Sherban, you are adorable..... I just got about 1000% more info on the geo of Aruba than I could ever think to ask. What kind of engineer are you?
My daughter wants to major in engineering, but isn't sure what the future will bring.
What would you suggest? She's a Jr. and thinks she wants to be an astronaut. She actually thinks aeronautical or biomedical?? So many choices. I think petro/chem may be a bit too late, even though we live in Houston and live and die by the oil market.

Her first run at the SAT was 1450 and she was disappointed. Hopeing for 1500 next time, plus the AP tests, and SAT subject tests. Not bragging, but UT in Austin is #10 in the country in engineering and about 30,000. less than Duke or Rice. Is that a no brainer, or does it really matter? I just figured you might have an opinion. We are at that point where adice from strangers is more than welcome.

If you wouldn't mind replyng in plain English, I'd appreciate it. I'm a Dental Hygienist, not a Rocket Scientist.

Thanks Sherban!!

[sherban]

What kind of engineer are you?
My daughter wants to major in engineering, but isn't sure what the future will bring.
What would you suggest? She's a Jr. and thinks she wants to be an astronaut. She actually thinks aeronautical or biomedical?? So many choices. I think petro/chem may be a bit too late, even though we live in Houston and live and die by the oil market.
Not bragging, but UT in Austin is #10 in the country in engineering and about 30,000. less than Duke or Rice. Is that a no brainer, or does it really matter? I just figured you might have an opinion. We are at that point where adice from strangers is more than welcome.

Cype- I'll give you my two cents...take it for what it is...one person's view. I work in the Power Gen industry, been in Engineering ~ 20 years now. We hire mostly mechanical and electrical engineers, I'm electrical from Georgia Tech. We also have some computer science folks and a few Chemical engineers. Hard for me to guess at what the future hold for us right now...so much unemployment and all...I personally feel that Software, electronics and medical areas are going to grow...I really don't know what areonautical engineers do these days...the military always has money for new weapons and jets though...UT Austin sounds great, we usually evaluate people based on what they can do and not where they came from...usually where you came from helps when the hiring company has management from the same school...no joke. You are fortunate to have smart kids who want to go to school...my son is 10 so I have some time to think about it! Tell her to follow her heart and try the astronaut thing...

[mahojim]

Sherb-
Wonderful TR & pics, as always.
Thank you.
Cypress Girl- don't go making me jealous, now! (LOL)
Thanks again Sherb. Wonderful window away from the the gloomy North East...Time alone , as Miss Pia mentioned, is priceless.
Smiles-
MJ

[cypressgirl]

Sherban........Georgia Tech was on her short list, but we heard it's in a part of town that we wouldn't want our daughter living. I've never been there. Is that true? I know it's a great school. I guess I'd like to keep her closer to home, plus she's kind of a momma's girl. (At least I have one of those.)

The astronaut thing is a bit of a joke. She can barely drive a car. lol She has a 5 mile radius she's allowed to drive and that's it. Never even driven to the mall, poor kid.

[NIKKI]

Thanks for the reply
Sound like its still STJ for me then as we love to snorkel right off of the beach

[sherban]

Sherban........Georgia Tech was on her short list, but we heard it's in a part of town that we wouldn't want our daughter living. I've never been there. Is that true? I know it's a great school. I guess I'd like to keep her closer to home, plus she's kind of a momma's girl. (At least I have one of those.)

The astronaut thing is a bit of a joke. She can barely drive a car. lol She has a 5 mile radius she's allowed to drive and that's it. Never even driven to the mall, poor kid.

Yeah, Georgia Tech is in downtown Atlanta...definately for people OK with a big city...it isn't terrible but it is downtown on the edge of a "shady part" of town. They have a pretty good campus, they got lots of Olympic money when the Olympics were in town. Probably not the best choice for a mamma's girl...I loved Atlanta when I was in my 20's-30's though...