During the day, I consistently went the beach in Aruba for several days in the week. I consistently went to the beach for a couple hours in the middle of the day and observed the different activities that were occurring at the beach around me. At the beach, there are a variety of different “personalities” and you can see how this plays out in the ontological design of the beachfront.
Talking & Multitasking (Eating, Drinking, Smoking)
Many people see the beach as a social place. Everyone I saw at the beach for the most part were in groups. People were talking about a variety of different topics. Some people would enjoy talking over a couple of drinks, either with drinks they bought at the bar or drinks that the casually brought with them at the beach. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages were consumed. There were a couple people also talking while having a smoke at the beach. Some people were also eating at the beach. Many people purchased food from stores on the beach, while only a few bought their food from the stores at the beach. People would pay with both Aruban Florins, United States Dollars, and their credit cards.
Swimming in the Water
One of the other common activities at the beach is that people swim in the water. There were people who just want to dip their toes in. There were people who wanted to go deeper in to the water to be waist deep. Some people went to medium distances, which is where most people went. People had their bodies completely submerged and were swimming around in water they could stand in. Very few people were adventurous and went farther. Their behavior might have been a reflection of how their fear of potential drowning, being pulled by the current, or their ability to swim.
This might have also been because the water varied in coldness and warmness throughout the days. When there was less sun and more cloudy, less people seemed to go in the water and they also seemed to go not as far away from the shore. When it was warmer and less cloudy, more people seemed to go into the water, and more people seemed to be submerged in the water. Less people also went into the water when it became darker throughout the day. At sunset, many people seemed to be on the beach because they wanted to watch the spectacular nature event. Other people would also leave at sunset because they knew it would turn dark. They probably felt that it was unsafe, or they generally had things to do.
People also stayed away from the dark spots in the water. People were generally avoidant and pointed at it then walked away. The people who went toward it seemed generally in pain. Those areas were rocks.
The water in general was extremely clear. The winds were very strong on the beach. In some places, you could see people moving away because some of the sand was hitting them in the air. The tides were strong which caused some people to stumble or be in shock a bit when they first entered the water. Despite all this, people generally love the water.
Sunbathing
Sunbathing is another major activity that happened on the beach. People would apply sunblock. The sunblock would have to be reef-friendly, and not omit any toxins that would harm the coral reef. People were generally very mindful of their garbage, and nobody left trash on the ground. The majority of people would sit in chairs while sunbathing with their towels. Women generally had purses and men carried backpacks next to the chairs. Some people were also laying directly on the towels. Most people were under umbrellas at the beach, likely because they did not want sunburn, did not want to be blinded, or overheat.
Mobility
Mobility methods were a significant part of the beach experience. Many people arrived to the beach in cars, as they said the public transportation system was not good. The public transportation system (the bus) seemed to come about every 20 minutes to the beaches. Despite people seeming to say that public transportation was bad, many people were getting off the bus indicating that potentially large amounts of people were riding it. The people who were getting off the bus were mostly people of color, making me think that those were the locals. People seemed to also be mostly getting on the bus and paying in Aruban Florins. There were also many micromobility solutions at the beach. The left side of Aruba was filled with electric scooters and electric bikes. You could see people zooming by on them. The major brands that were there with Lime scooters and Bird scooters. There were also a couple of BIRD electric bikes. Many people were also walking toward the beach from the parking lot to get to the beach, Some people were walking along the beach ask getting some fresh air. Other people were walking along the combined pedestrian and bike path. Some people also brought their pets to walk with them.
