Page 8 - AHATA

A14 LOCAL
Saturday 4 auguSt 2018

Today Is Going To Be A Good Day

Here’s why: Aruba Today to turtles, monkeys, goats, nia Lighthouse. The project
collected some things to and many, many more dif- finished in September 2016
do BEYOND the beach. Yes, ferent species. The place and the Lighthouse is now
we know. Aruba, located was founded in 2009 and open for visitors to enjoy
15 miles north of Venezu- it is the only organization the beautiful view from the
ela in the warm waters of rescuing and rehabilitat- top. The construction of the
the southern Caribbean, is ing exotic animals in Aru- California Lighthouse start-
home to beautiful white- ba, which has resulted in ed in 1915. The name ‘Cali-
sand beaches, 82-degree an amazing collection of fornia’ came from a vessel
days, and thus ideal for the these animals. They pro- of the West India Company
perfect beach day. But we vide a suitable living envi- and Pacific Steamship Co.
are also blessed with some ronment for all the rescued called ‘California’ that
of the warmest people in animals. Up until now the shipwrecked in the area in
the world and our island is owner, Philip, has built this 1891. Therefore they came
19.6 miles long and 6 miles shelter with his own efforts; up with the idea of build-
across, with a total area of building all the cages from ing a lighthouse that could
70 square miles. Bit more scratch, designing all struc- indicate the island’s east-
to discover than the white tures and welding them ern tip to ships with its light.
stretch on the coastline we with his own bare hands. His www.arubalighthouse.com
say. Let’s mention some of goal is to upgrade the facil- will give you more informa-
these hidden gems. ities to a world-class animal tion.
shelter with veterinary care
Nature Calls and round-the-clock staffs. Kayak in the Mangroves
The Arikok National park is With the input from the Aru- Mangel Halto at Savaneta
worth the ride. We love the ban community and visitors is definitely a place not to
hikes that are guided by they provide the best care miss out on. The beauti-
the park’s rangers whose for these animals. Please ful beach with the natu-
job is to maintain trails and check out their website for ral mangroves is simply a
protect natural resources. more information: www. beauty, but if you are into
The flora and fauna are philipsanimalgarden.com. a more active way to enjoy
beautiful and the histori- the nature: take a kayak.
cal sites tell you about the The Lighthouse While you are doing some
island’s indigenous roots. No, you would not think workout -as it might get a
The guided tours are even of this as a hidden gem. little windy and rough-, you
free of charge. If you are The California Lighthouse will see the island from a
not up to walking, you can is actually one of the most different perspective. You
drive through the park, one known highlights in Aruba can even make a stop to
way or another this park is and many repeated guests do some snorkeling at the
a great place to spend an most probably took the ride reef. Its fun, it’s healthy and
entire day. Cruising through uphill already. But, there is for sure something else.
the landscape you end up a significant change to this There are several compa-
at some of the most stun- tower. Since September nies that offer kayak tours,
ning beaches like Dos Pla- 2016 you can climb the we had good experience
ya or Daimara Beach. In To- top. In 2015 Stichting Monu- with The Shack Kayak Tours
tal the park consists of 7907 mentenfonds started the Aruba, find them on Face-
acres protected nature restoration of the Califor- book. q
with a richness of animals
living in it. The Aruban whip-
tail lizard (cododo), Aruban
cat eye snake (santanero)
and endangered rattle
snake (cascabel) are just
some of them, you can also
admire these close in the
park’s Visitors’ Center. For
more information, visit the
website www.arubanation-
alpark.org

Philip's Animal Garden
To stay with the animals,
let’s hop to an amazing
place. Something different
to do, an experience that
is to be enjoyed by peo-
ple of all ages. Welcome
to Philip’s Animal Garden.
We are not talking about
a zoo here, this is actually
a sanctuary for all types
of creatures, from horses
to peacocks, kangaroos