Far-flung Aruba has long been off the radar of most British travellers, but with new flights it is now more accessible than ever.
A shadowy but welcome visitor appeared on our first evening in Aruba: a burrowing owl – or a shoco, in the local Papiamento language. All penetrating eyes and spindly legs, the island’s national bird checked us out as we dined with our toes in the sand until, satisfied with proceedings, it fluttered off into the night….