Flora and Fauna of Aruba
We traveled to Aruba, an island nation which is part of the Lesser Antilles and part of Leeward Antilles located in the Caribbean Sea and ~25 miles off of Venezuelan coast. It is part of the Dutch Caribbean and one of the countries of the Kingdom of Netherlands.
We stayed in Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba and visited beaches and other areas where we saw some trees, birds, and animals which are unique. First in the beach we saw trees that are unique to the Caribbean.
Divi Divi or Watapana Tree
Fofoti or Conocarpus erectus mangrove tree
Cactus in foreground and Coconuts in background
We saw lots of iguanas. The young ones are in green color and older adults were ranging in color from blue to dark grey. We also some skinks.
Young green iguana on a palm tree
Iguanas were plentiful and they were very shy and ran away if you even came closer than 10 feet.
Adult Iguana on a Palm tree in Oranjestad, Aruba
We also saw lots of house sparrows, black birds, and bare eyed doves.
Bare Eyed Dove Patagioenas corensis
We also saw lots of black birds called Carib Grackle Quiscalus lugubris that were roosting on the palm trees next to our hotel. They were lots of noise in the morning and took some time in the night before they settled down.
In the area near the Alto Vista chapel (past the Arashi beach) and the north eastern corner of Aruba also called Hudishibana, we saw a male Aruban whiptail lizard (Cnemidophorus arubensis) with its beautiful turquoise color. Locally they are called codoco or kodoco.
Aruban Whiptail Lizard (Cnemidophorus arubensis)
We saw lots of cacti too.
Bushi cactus
Yatu Cactus
Cadushi di Colebra
Aruba currency Florin and cents
