The ABC islands, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao have long historical connections with Holland. As a group, they are called the Netherland Antilles. Oranjestad is the capital of Aruba where the architecture is mostly in Dutch style with picturesque gables overlooking narrow streets with Dutch names. The native language is an unusual blend of Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and a few European tongues thrown in for good measure. This unusual language is called Papiamento.

Aruba is known for its fabulous beaches and arid countryside where cactus plants are grown close together to be used as fences to protect gardens from nibbling goats. Aruba's dry land makes growing crops almost impossible. Because of the island's close proximity to Venezuela fresh supplies are brought over daily by small boats and sold on the waterfront.

Due to an unstable government in Venezuela, in the 1920s large oil companies built refineries in Aruba and Curacao where crude oil is imported and refined before being shipped to destinations around the world. The refineries, along with tourism, provide the major income for the local workforce.

The above photo shows how cashews grow. The cashew nut actually grows outside of the fruit, just one nut per fruit, and only 200-250 nuts per cashew tree! The nuts are processed by hand, so it is no wonder they are on the expensive side.