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Home > Flying Sites > Aruba Sloping [Courtesy of Jim Bonk, JBonk "at" compuserve.com November 1998] The Island of Aruba is a little off of the Beaten Path , but it does have a few rather unique features. Number one , it sits right in the middle of the Tradewinds , so the wind is always blowing , say 90% of the time . Number two, this place gets almost no rain , 90% of the time the Sun is shining. Aruba has this nice little Slope about 25-30 meters high ( vertical cliff ) that runs for about 4-5 Km along the Eastern side of the Island . The Cliff sits back about 200 meters from the Ocean , so access to the bottom is easy, just get in the car and take the road down to the ocean. The lift-band is quite large and is silky smooth ,with the nearest land being Africa several thousand miles to the east, the lift band extends out about 200 meters from the edge of the slope . The top of the cliff is almost dead flat and you can drive almost up to the edge of it. While the Landing Approach is pretty easy , the top of the cliff is littered with small rocks from pea sized to 6" (75mm) in diameter , so you have to pick your spot when landing ( hand catching is the ideal method ) . You might also have to dodge the ocassional small wild goat looking for a handout . Things to do when your wife or girlfriend is sick of watching fly : The Windsurfing on the Bay at the opposite end of the Island is some of the best in the world , The Submarine ride should not be missed , most of us will never get the chance to travel 150 ft deep into a Coral Reef any other way . There are a few spots where even a rank beginner can enjoy snorkeling as the water is quite warm and you can spend hours in the water without getting tired or cold. Shopping is fun , and the Island has any kind of restaurant you can think of . The best Italian Food I have ever tasted was at a nice little place that was run by a Native Italian , with an Italian Chef , heck one half of the waiters were Italian ! Everything from the Breadsticks to the Pasta was homemade. Prices were very reasonable ,most of their food comes from South America , which is only 25 miles away. |
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