Aruba is the jewel of the Caribbean

I took this photo of fun-loving tourists enjoying a
sail ride above one of Aruba's beautiful beaches.

DATELINE ARUBA - I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but I'm not a big fan of the Caribbean.

There are exceptions, of course. Grenada, Barbados and Bermuda (okay geography professors, I know technically Bermuda is not a Caribbean country but it's always lumped in with the other island nations of that region) are places I find fascinating to visit.

Now you can add Aruba to my "favourites" list.

Just returned from that treasured desert island which sits just north of Venezuela and I must say the country and its people captivated me.

Aruba's official slogan is "One Happy Island" and it seems smiles are etched on the natives' faces at birth.

Aruba is unlike any other Caribbean island I've visited. It really is a desert island with lots of cactus sticking up from the country's famous white sand. Aruba is more Arizona than Jamaica. The island sat under water for the first billion years of time and when the waters pushed back it left lots of coral on the land,  which helps filter the country's drinking water and makes it, according to locals, the best tap water in the world. I must say, the tap water was exceptional and it was sans chemicals.

Aruba is small - about 19 miles long and 8 miles wide, but proving once again good things come in small packages, the island has much to offer visitors, including some of the best diving and snorkeling in the world. There's lots of sunken World War II ships just offshore and they have become gathering places for tourists visiting the island.

The island was once part of the Dutch West Indies and the head of state is still the Queen of the Netherlands. Holland also handles Aruba's foreign affairs but everything else is controlled by Aruba's parliament.

The country is rimmed by white beaches and there's only one 18-hole golf course, a beauty designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. 18 years ago. The course at Tierra del Sol straddles the Caribbean Sea and playing it requires the strength of Superman because you are always battling hurricane force winds and that dreadful Bermuda grass that makes playing the course equivalent to teeing off on an SOS pad. But the course is in great shape and the views are superb.

Being so close to South America, there's a real Latin flavour about Aruba and the nightlife here is wonderful - lots of dancing and great rum!

I'll be writing lots of stories in the coming weeks about Aruba, including how Canadians have overtaken its beaches; how one man defies logic and makes wine on this desert island; and how I performed on the Robert Trent Jones course.

So stay tuned!