“What a great day to do this, right,” a woman asked us from the UTV rental parked beside ours. Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, but my partner and I didn't understand why. I looked around searching for contextual clues. We were parked at the Ayo Rock Formations, about to embark on the short hike up to the towering boulders, and it was a great day to drive the East Coast of the island. “We’ve been driving in non-stop rain,” the woman adds. We shrug. I guess we’ve been driving just ahead of the rain, we reply. It hasn’t rained yet.

From Palm Beach, we headed north toward the California Lighthouse at the tip of the island. The road toward the lighthouse splits off from a paved road to a dirt road. Our map showed that we were entering a shoco-protected area (also known as Aruba’s burrowing owls) and prompted us to stay on the main road. Shocos are known for their unusual habit of nesting underground and are often spotted nesting in the sand dunes in Arasji.

The flatness of the rugged terrain was striking as we drove a few hundred meters south of Westpunt Beach. There is a stark contrast between the reddish dirt of the main roads and the light gray sand and rock closest to the ocean. There is also an obvious difference between the white sand beaches you expect from the Caribbean island, which you find on the West Coast, and the turbulent waves crashing onto the rocky coast from the Atlantic Ocean.

We drove along the coast to the Alto Vista Chapel, dodging scurrying kododo blauw lizards (a turquoise lizard endemic to the island). The closer we got to the chapel, the deeper we drove into the desert landscape scattered with tangled cacti and woody shrubs until we were back on a paved road. Alto Vista Chapel stands where the first chapel in Aruba was built in 1750. At that time, it was a humble chapel made of branches and wood. Now, the chapel is visited for prayer and special religious services.

Even with a covered UTV, hats, water bottles and bodies lathered in sunscreen, the sun was sweltering and began to get the best of us. I felt like I was overheating. As the passenger in the UTV, I also felt as if my insides were shaken up like scrambled eggs from the constant bumps, bangs and swerves of the jagged roads. Luckily, there was a small bar cart for tourists in the parking lot of Alto Vista where I cooled off with a mango smoothie (I politely declined the addition of rum).

Refreshed and with sunscreen reapplied, we pressed on, passing a few abandoned fishermen’s houses on the way south to the Bushiribana gold mine ruins—the only remains of the Bushiribana gold smelting plant. At the plant, gold-bearing ore collected from the surrounding quartz mining area was crushed using a stamp mill. The walls of the ruin are an impressive 62 centimeters thick and stand absolutely alone in sandy flatlands overlooking the craggy ocean cliffs.

The sky began to cover in menacing clouds as we pulled up to our last stop before crossing the island to head north. I only noticed the clouds once the couple parked beside us at the Ayo Rock Formations mentioned their wet ride down the coast—and promptly ignored the changing weather, assuming we’d continue to ride just ahead of the rain. I was also too preoccupied with the marvel of the boulders in front of me. Located inland, the natural formations appear as if rocks were gathered and piled on top of each other. Petroglyphs and pictographs remain in the stones from the indigenous Arawak, as it was considered a sacred site.

Fueled by the awe of the vantage of the island from the top of the Ayo Rock Formations, we slowly puttered our way back up the West Coast. That’s when it happened. The heavy tropical rain stopped us dead in our tracks. The covered top of the UTV that didn’t quite shield us from the sun certainly didn’t shield us from the rain coming at us from what seemed like every direction. We stopped on the side of the road and let the rain soak us, waiting for a small break to resume our trip. A few passengers in cars laughed as we sat in the soggy seats of our own decisions.

The rain did eventually let up. By then, we were covered in mud splatter sputtered up from the outrageously big wheels of the UTV. It still was a great day to explore the island. Aruba showed us a whole new side of Caribbean paradise.

Kylee Ross
is a Montreal-based food and travel writer.