Aruba
California Lighthouse		 California Lighthouse - western tip of Aruba Located at the western most tip of Aruba is the California Lighthouse.  Presumably this served the ships at sea in years past - today, it is just a landmark.
Aruba is 17 miles long and 5 miles wide.  The California Lighthouse is only 1 mile from Malmok Beach on the south shore but the north shore is quite different.
Looking east from the California Lighthouse, one finds desert cactus.  This desert is only 100 yards from the ocean.  Much of the north and central portions of Aruba are desert - something I found very strange for an island in the middle of the ocean.  Shown below and right, the western most point of the north shore, a barren dirt strip runs along the volcanic rock coast.
Cactus at California Lighthouse Shore near the California Lighthouse
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