A Little Taste of Aruba Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Netherlands

Aruba was originally inhabited by the Arawak Indians, and because of this, red cave drawings, clay pots and stone tools from their culture still exist on the island today. In 1499 the Spanish arrived and claimed Aruba, and for many years it was known as a centre for piracy and smuggling.

In 1636 the island was once again taken, this time by the Dutch. It was occupied by the Dutch West India Company, a trading company founded in 1621 to carry out economic warfare against Portugal and Spain. The company did this by primarily striking at Spain and Portugal's colonies in the West Indies and South America.

During the Napoleonic Wars, because Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles, in 1806 it came under British rule. However in 1816 the island was returned to the Netherlands. In 1986, Aruba obtained autonomous status and became known as the Country of Aruba. As such, Aruba controls and manages its own internal affairs. However, it is still part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and so does share responsibilities for external affairs.

Answer: Bonaire and Curacao

Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC Islands, the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles. Aruba is the smallest of these three islands, but is the most popular with tourists as it is the easiest to get to, is more developed than the other two, and has a wider range of accommodation and leisure/recreational facilities.

While Aruba and Curaçao are now both autonomous, self-governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Bonaire is designated as a 'special municipality' of the Netherlands.

Answer: It is square

The 50 cent florin is square. If you think this is incredibly rare, it actually isn't - around 20 countries have square coins in their monetary arsenal, including the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, Iraq, Kurdistan, the Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Suriname and Swaziland.

The florin (Afl.), which is subdivided into 100 cents, was introduced in Aruba in 1986 when the country became autonomous. It replaced the Netherlands Antillean guilder. Obviously rates fluctuate all the time, but as a very loose indication, the Aruban florin was pegged to the United States dollar at about 1.80 florin per USD in 2023. Almost everywhere on Aruba accepts U.S. dollars though, and there are ATMs all over the island.

Answer: Venezuela

The island of Aruba is located about 18 miles off the coast of Venezuela and on a clear day, it is possible to see North Venezuela from the south-eastern side of the island. The island of Aruba itself is quite small, measuring just 21 miles (33 km) long, and 6 miles (9 km) wide. It has an area of approximately 75 square miles (193 square km), which makes it about the same size as Liechtenstein, or slightly bigger than Washington D.C.

Answer: The beaches are made of fine shells and coral

Aruba is reknowned for its white sand beaches and crystal clear water.

Different types of sand retain different levels of heat - for example darker sand will be hotter than lighter sand. In the case of Aruba, it is thought that the sand doesn't become unbearable to walk on due to a couple of factors. The first and main reason is that the beaches are made from a unique, finely crushed coral and shell mix which retains air pockets, making the sand not too dense. And the second is that there is always a wind blowing in Aruba, and it is thought this wind cools the sand down.

Incidentally, Aruba, unlike much of the Caribbean region, has a dry climate and an arid landscape, strewn with cactuses. Because it has very little rainfall and is warm and sunny for most of the year (temperatures are around 30 degrees centigrade year round) Aruba has a climate that provides for year-round tourism.

Answer: One Happy Island

Aruba's tourism slogan is 'one happy island'. There are many reasons why this island nation is said to be one of the most cheerful in the world. Perhaps a part of this is that Aruba has just 18 inches of rain per year and is considered to be the sunniest of the Caribbean islands. The island is also out of the hurricane belt and therefore rarely experiences major storms. Another thing that often makes people happy is being able to swim in beautiful crystal-clear water, or lie on pristine white sand. Aruba has stunning beaches and in fact, Eagle Beach is consistently ranked by TripAdvisor as one of the top best beaches in the world. (In 2023 it was ranked at number five.)

One of the most interesting things about Aruba is that more than 90 different nationalities are on Aruba at any given time and everyone seems to live in harmony with one another. It's also very easy to communicate with the locals because almost all Arubans speak at least four languages - Dutch, Papiamento, English and Spanish. Because Aruba has Dutch origins, it is very LGBT-friendly and, in fact, many people go to Aruba to have same-sex marriages.

Answer: Aruba Ariba

The Aruba Ariba is known as one of the island's most popular cocktails and is, in fact, often served as a 'welcome to the island' drink. First created on the island in 1963, the iconic cocktail contains ½ ounce vodka, ½ ounce of white rum, ¼ ounce of Grand Marnier, 1 ounce of crème de banana, and 5 ounces of fruit punch. Oh, and it is garnished with a cherry and an orange segment. (I haven't personally been to Aruba, but this sounds absolutely delicious, and a jolly good reason to go!)

Answer: Cheese

Keshi Yena is a meat and cheese dish which originated in the ABC Islands. The dish become popular during the time of slave trading and Dutch rule. The reason the dish has a cheese base is an interesting, but sad, story. It is said that when the slave masters ate their rounds of edam or gouda, they did so from the inside out. When only the rind of the cheese in question remained, it was given to the slaves, along with any left-over meat scraps from the day. The slaves would take the rinds, or cheese shells, fill them with meat scraps and a bit of seasoning and then either bake or steam the dish until the cheese was melted.

Today, versions of Keshi Yena can vary greatly. Ground beef and chicken are the most common fillings, though almost any protein can be used, including seafood, which is abundant on the island. The protein mixture is first seasoned, and, then, more often than not, mixed with raisins, olives, and peppers. It can be either cooked in individual dishes or ramekins or enjoyed as a larger, shared, casserole.

Answer: Orange city

Oranjestad is the capital of Aruba and literally translates in Dutch to 'orange city'. A port city, it became the capital city of the island in 1824, and was named after William I of the Netherlands who went by the titles of Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Visitors report that with its colorful, vivid architecture, which is a mix of Dutch Colonial and Caribbean, Oranjestad is well worth a visit. One thing not to be missed apparently is Royal Plaza, a shopping mall that has been likened in looks to a giant pink decorated cake. The main street in the capital is called Caya G. F. Betico Croes and this street provides a pleasant pedestrian-friendly retail boulevard as well as restaurants, cafes and a number leisure/excursion businesses. (Aruba is great for snorkelling, windsurfing, hiking, kitesurfing, scuba-diving and horseback riding). In Oranjestad you can also find a marina, the Plaza Simon Bolivar, a tramline, Wilhelmina Park, an Archeological Museum, and various churches.

Answer: Yes

Clearly, the good citizens of Aruba are keen to have you back! If you stay every year for ten consecutive years, you are presented with 'The Distinguished Visitor Certificate' on behalf of the Minister of Tourism. For guests who visit Aruba for 20 consecutive years, you upgrade to 'The Goodwill Ambassador Certificate' and if you visit for 35 consecutive years, you are presented with 'The Emerald Ambassador Certificate.' It is more than likely that you will make it into the local paper too :)

Answer: Yes, but only the summer games

So, yes, Arubans have participated in the Olympic games, but only the summer games.

Between 1952 and 1984, Aruban athletes were able to compete in the Olympics, but formed part of the Netherlands Antilles team. This changed when Aruba became autonomous. In 1985, the Aruban Olympic Committee was formed and in 1986 it was recognized. The Country of Aruba started participating in the summer games at 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. The categories they have competed in include athletics, swimming, weightlifting, Taekwondo, sailing and judo.

Just as an aside, if you are wondering if the lovely people of Aruba have ever seen snow, the short answer is no. The lowest recorded temperature there in the past 30-odd years was 18.9°c or 66°F.

Answer: True

The very first all-passenger ship, called the 'Tradewind' visited Aruba in 1957. By 1958 two more cruise ships - the 'Santa Rosa' and the 'Santa Paula' which belonged to the Prudential Grace Line, began regularly docking at Aruba every Thursday. From then on, other cruise lines started including Aruba in their itineraries and by 1990, Aruba was welcoming over 100,000 cruise passengers to their shores.

The industry went from strength to strength from there, and by 2008 more than half a million passengers a year were arriving to enjoy the Caribbean experience in Aruba. (Excepting, of course, Covid pandemic years). In 2019, 832,000 cruise passengers visited Aruba.

Luckily the port in Oranjestad is well set up to receive the ships, having four docking spots (as at 2023), two of which have terminal buildings.

Answer: Drink bottled water

Aruba is quite unique in that its water comes from the world's second-largest desalination plant. In fact, Aruba's water supply is considered one of the best in the world. While bottled water is widely available, the Arubans discourage the purchase of it, due both to the environmental cost of importing it, as well as the cost and logistics of disposing of the empty bottles. Tap water is the way to go on Aruba.

By the way, please feel free to go ahead and do the other three options!

Answer: Burrowing Owl

While the other animals do live on Aruba, the burrowing owl is the national symbol.

Being as most people will probably never have heard of a shoco, let alone seen one, let's take a closer look at these little creatures. For a start, they are little! They only reach up to about 20 centimeters or 8 inches in height. They are immensely cute and loving (in pictures they appear to be kissing each other) and are monogamous. As such, they will usually remain with the same partner for their whole life. For this reason, they are typically found in pairs. There are approximately two nesting seasons per year, and shocos can lay up to five eggs each nesting season. However, because shocos are considered endangered (there are less than 200 pairs left on the island), the Aruba Birdlife Conservation and the Global Owl Project has created artificial shoco nests across the island, to help protect these little owls from extinction.

Shocos burrow in soft sand and like a diet of reptiles, fish, rodents and large insects. While they may hover above the ground in search of prey, they can also hunt from a perch, and can even catch insects in mid-flight.

Answer: Aloe

Because of Aruba's dry, arid climate, not a lot grows on the island, however aloe is very much the exception. Aruba has had a history with aloe since 1840, when the aloe vera plant was first introduced to Aruba by a man named Van Raders, who was the Dutch governor at the time. The Arubans realised very quickly that aloe thrived in Aruba's climate, and soon the cultivation of aloe became one of the island's earliest exports, not to mention, economic pillars.

Believe it or not, aloe was originally cultivated as a laxative. Its latex - that is the yellow sap that seeps out of an Aloe leaf when you cut it - was cooked and then allowed to dry into hard blocks of resin, at which point it was shipped to pharmaceutical companies around the world. These companies turned the resin into laxatives. By 1906, Aruba had become the world's largest producer of aloe resin and by 1920, two-thirds of Aruba was covered with aloe fields. At this time Aruba gained the nickname of "The Island of Aloes."

Once synthetic laxatives were invented, production was forced to slow down considerably. However, the Arubans weren't going to give up on their aloe, and in the 1960s they started progressing aloe gel into cosmetics. A brand called Aruba Aloe was created in 1966 which managed to put aloe back on the Aruba map. These days Aruba Aloe has a line of more than 100 products which are shipped to more than 35 countries.