The ABC Islands—Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao—sit just off the coast of Venezuela and feel distinctly different from the rest of the Caribbean, with dry desert landscapes, constant trade winds, and reliably sunny weather year-round. Aruba, in particular, feels structured and lived-in rather than performative: aloe farms, cacti, and limestone terrain dominate the interior, the north coast shows raw wind-shaped geology, and traces of gold mining, oil-era labor, and migration quietly shape towns like