This time a route that starts at the Balashi Gold mill ruins and then runs through French Pass and back via the Small Jamanota. A beautiful route, but unfortunately the start and end are on asphalt roads and/or wide dirt roads. That takes more than 1/3 of the total distance. The remaining 2/3 part is very nice. Quite tough, because you gradually climb over a large distance to almost the top of the Small Jamanota. The highest point of the route is 90m.
Here again the different rock and the beautiful old Divi divi trees stood out. The rock is very layered and resembles the Central Curaçao formation. Furthermore, I have seen a very white rock, which is most reminiscent of Quartzite. The Divi divi trees are especially notable for their impressively thick and clearly old trunks. At some point in time, almost all Divi divi trees on Curaçao have disappeared; that has clearly not been the case in Aruba. Very nice!
Start/end point of this route are the Balashi Gold Mill ruins. It is a great pity that these former gold mines have not been made a tourist spot. Currently there is no information available about the purpose of any of the buildings and other structures that are still standing. Apparently there isn't enough interest in this spot. The large building at the top of the hill suggests that there was a restaurant there. And in the past there have been paths laid to each of the structures.
Strangely enough, the Balashi Gold mill only dates back to 1899, while gold was already found in Aruba in 1825. In 1916 this gold mill was allready closed due to a lack of gold and the lack of parts, which mainly came from Germany.
The track of my hike (clockwise); to the left the starting point
An old Aruban house is being renovated
Lots of cacti with flowers
A beautiful Divi divi
A small old watertank along the route
Striking layered rock
Also here the rocks are clearly layered
View from the Small Jamanota in the direction of the sea
View towards the Jamanota
Lots of cacti along the route and on the slope
Another beautiful Divi divi
Uñagato, a large bush
Uñagato, detail of the flower and the claw
Boa? At least this snake is dead
Spanish lagoon
Restricted breeding area of the rare Shoco (small owl)
Spanish lagoon
Parts of the Balashi Gold mill ruins
Parts of the Balashi Gold mill ruins
Main building of the Balashi Gold Mill
Overview in the direction of the Spanish lagoon
Overview a bit more to the right
Very fragile structure
Large mainly round construction
