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local Saturday 31 May 2025
How Aruban beaches came to be!

(Oranjestad)—We’ve talked How did Aruba get its off corals also contribute to
about the best beaches to white, sandy beaches? this, one small bite at a time.
visit on the island before, but Aruba’s beaches have de- Over the course of thousands
have you ever wondered veloped over the span of of years, as waves continue
how Aruba got its white, san- thousands of years. Waves to crash and fish continue to
dy beaches, and why there’s crashing on the rocky for- eat off the corals, sand starts
a clear difference between mations along our coast to accumulate around the
the northern and southern line (which consists mainly of area. However, whether the
shores? Here are some fun coral reefs) have started to sand stays there is another
facts about the development wear and tear the reefs over question to be answered,
of Aruban beaches. time, resulting in its gradual and this is where we high-
breakdown. Fish that feed light the biggest difference

between the northern and
southern coast of the island. Why north deep, but south
shallow?
The sand that accumulates Ah! Good question…and
around a torn coral reef is interesting phrasing.
swept away along with the
debris by the ocean stream. Aruba is a continental island.
However, in areas where The island actually forms part
it’s shallow and the stream of South America, and the
is weaker, the sand tends space between Aruba and
to sick to the bottom faster. the South American con-
This is why the beaches in tinent is simply referred to
the south—the areas with as land that runs under the
weaker stream and shallow- ocean. This is why it gets
er ocean floors—has sand gradually deeper in the
that stretches for miles. In south, whereas the ocean
contrast, the northern area, floor in the north runs steeply
where the stream is much to the bottom. q
stronger and the ocean floor
is much deeper, there is no Source: archival document
sand present—they were provided by the National Ar-
swept away with the current! chive of Aruba (ANA).

Adriaan Laclé

One of Aruba’s richest men in the twentieth century

now a restaurant. Though
he himself never lived in
the beautiful manor, his
own house also reflected
his success and good taste.
Today his house still stands
in good condition and can
be found in the back streets
of main street Oranjestad.

Regarding his personal life,
it has been said that he
was married twice during
his lifetime. He had his first
daughter during his first
marriage but lost his wife
soon after her birth. During
his second marriage, he
fathered 16 children. How-
ever, it has been said that
(Oranjestad)—The name six children. Not much is only 11 of those 17 made
Adriaan Laclé may ring a known about his childhood it past 18 years of age.
bell to locals as one of the upbringing or any of his Perhaps two of his most
bigger roads on the island, earlier business ordeals, but well-known daughters are
but about a century ago, during his hay day he often Maria Monica Laclé and
Adriaan Laclé was a rich helped people get loans, Maria Veneranda Laclé,
businessman, well-known was a well-established who went on to marry suc- functions as a townhall, rently under renovation af-
for his generosity, wealth, trader, and owned sev- cessful brothers Eloy Arends used to host civil marriages, ter years left in ruin. q
and taste. eral plots of land. In fact, and Maximilian Arends, while Maximilian and Maria
he commissioned the con- respectively. Their houses Veneranda’s house stands Source: De Kolibrie op de Rots
Adriaan was born in 1866 struction of the famous La are still standing; Eloy and on the opposite side of the (en meer over de geschiedenis
van Aruba) by Evert Bongers.
and was the eldest of Quinta Carmen manor— Maria Monica’s mansion road to them—though cur-