<\/span>Culture, Nature and History in Cunucu Arikok<\/span><\/h2>\nI\u2019m on a hike with a local guide from Arikok National Park, and he has promised to take me to some of the most important cultural and historic sites in the area, which is known as Cunucu Arikok. The trail he has chosen takes approximately two hours to complete, and it will take me through the very distinctive landscape on the island.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m wearing hiking boots, but the trail is relatively easy to walk and it changes between sandy paths and small trails bounded by stones. Small signs, carefully planted along the path, tell us everything we need to know about the plants we see. It\u2019s amazing to walk past all the different types of cacti and prickly trees, which startlingly enough sport vibrant green colours \u2013 a stark contrast to the arid desert landscape.<\/p>\n
We also come across colourful flowers and cacti fruits. On a cactus I even spot something bright pink! My guide explains that this pink fruit is very rare in this area, as the local lizards love them and eat them as soon as they are ripe. I feel like a child in a candy store as I put one of the rare berries in my mouth. It tastes just as sweet as it looks, and I can see why the lizards love it!<\/p>\n
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<\/span>The Uniqueness of the Aruban Aloe Vera Plant<\/span><\/h2>\nDuring the hike, I quickly spot the famous Aloe Vera plant. Although, here on Aruba, the leaves seems to be a much darker shade of green than what I\u2019m used to. My guide explains that the Aloe Vera grown on Aruba is highly unique, and that it\u2019s supposedly more effective than the other varieties of the plant. The dry climate of Aruba makes the plant grow much slower, and the lack of colour makes the leaves darker. With less water, the healing properties of the Aloe Vera gel becomes more concentrated, and thereby more effective.<\/p>\n
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<\/span>The Arikok National Park Eco-System<\/span><\/h2>\nThe Arikok National Park covers approximately 20% of the island, and the landscape mostly consists of three different geological formations: lava landscape, chalk formations and quartz diorite.<\/p>\n
The park is also the home of diverse animal species, including a large group of bats, plenty of birds, some wild goats and even a few sea turtles.<\/p>\n
What they all have in common is that they have learnt how to thrive in the dry climate.<\/p>\n
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<\/span>Tracing the European Settlers in Canucu Arikok<\/span><\/h2>\nThe National Park was established in 2000, and it provides a good insight into how the island once looked. You see, before modern civilization reached the island, the landscape was actually the same all over Aruba! Dry, arid and covered in cacti, boulders and sand.<\/p>\n
With this knowledge, I can\u2019t help but admire an old house located in Canucu Arikok. This house was originally built by early European settlers! The guide explains that these houses were built with a specific type of clay local to the area, and that the settlers used cacti and stones to put up fences and walls to protect the precious crop they somehow had manage to grow out here in the desert.<\/p>\n
The fences were also used to quarantine the animals. As there are plenty of poisonous plants in the area, the animals were kept behind a fence and only fed water and hay the week before the slaughter. This week was sort of a detox for the animals, and it ensured that the meat would be safe for the settlers to eat.<\/p>\n
As we were walking around the area, we suddenly heard loud noises from a nearby bush. This time, however, it was more than just a scared lizard \u2013 it was a pack of wild goats! Our guide explained that the goats originally belonged to the farms in the area, but that they had either escaped or been left behind over the years. Somehow, they had managed to find a way to survive on their own. What once used to be a small population has now grown to a herd of more than 1,500 wild goats.<\/p>\n
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<\/span>The Caquet\u00edos Cave Paintings<\/span><\/h2>\nDuring our hike in Canucu Arikok, my guide took our group to a hidden cave. Located off the main path, the cave was barely visible between the round cliffs and the large boulders nearby. Although the entrance was protected by a metal fence, I could clearly see what my guide wanted to show us \u2013 the remnants of cave paintings made by the Caquet\u00edo tribe. This tribe lived on Aruba from around 2500 BC, and the paintings have been dated back to the year 1000. Although slightly faded, the paintings were still clear as day.<\/p>\n
The motifs contained glimpses of the tribe\u2019s everyday lives, including fishing, hunting and basic agriculture. In fact, the logo for Arikok National Park is a painting of a bird stemming from this very cave.<\/p>\n
The Caquet\u00edo tribe still lived on Aruba when the Spanish explorers arrived in 1499.<\/p>\n
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