Qualla: Spaans Lagoen https://qualla.com/spaans-lagoen en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:13 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/6/n/n/spaans-lagoen-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Spaans Lagoen https://qualla.com/spaans-lagoen Spaans Lagoen: Introduction https://qualla.com/spaans-lagoen/ Photo credit Caribiana, CC BY-SA 4.0. The name means "Spanish Lagoon," but the Spanish left centuries ago and the lagoon remains -- a sheltered bay on Aruba's southern coast where three species of mangrove knit their roots into tidal mud. Spaans Lagoen is the island's only inner bay, a two-kilometer crescent of quiet water carved out during the last ice age and recognized as a Ramsar wetland site since 1980. In a place famous for white sand beaches and resort pools, this patch of mudflats and tangled roots is easy to overlook. That would be a mistake. More ecological complexity is packed into this single lagoon than into miles of the manicured coastline to the north.

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Image: Caribiana | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/6/n/n/spaans-lagoen-wp/d6nn-spaans-lagoen-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Spaans Lagoen: Where the Roots Meet the Tide https://qualla.com/spaans-lagoen/ Photo credit Caribiana, CC BY-SA 4.0. Three mangrove species anchor the lagoon's ecosystem. Black Mangrove, White Mangrove, and Buttonwood form dense thickets along the channel and the inner lagoon, their submerged root systems functioning as nurseries for reef fish and crustaceans that depend on the shelter those ta...

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Image: Caribiana | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/6/n/n/spaans-lagoen-wp/d6nn-spaans-lagoen-where-the-roots-meet-the-tide.mp3 0:06 2 full Spaans Lagoen: The Owls in the Mud https://qualla.com/spaans-lagoen/ Photo credit Caribiana, CC BY-SA 4.0. Beyond the mangroves, tidal mudflats extend inland, flooded daily by the rhythm of the Caribbean tide. Bird species congregate here during daylight hours to forage, but the mudflats' most charismatic residents are nocturnal. Aruban Burrowing Owls dig their nests into the drier se...

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Image: Caribiana | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/6/n/n/spaans-lagoen-wp/d6nn-spaans-lagoen-the-owls-in-the-mud.mp3 0:06 3 full Spaans Lagoen: Fire and Limestone https://qualla.com/spaans-lagoen/ Photo credit Caribiana, CC BY-SA 4.0. Walk northeast from the lagoon and the landscape shifts abruptly. Volcanic rock and sediment from the Aruba Lava Formation replace the soft mud, bringing with them a different cast of inhabitants: cacti standing in stiff columns against the dry sky, the critically endangered Arub...

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Image: Caribiana | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/6/n/n/spaans-lagoen-wp/d6nn-spaans-lagoen-fire-and-limestone.mp3 0:06 4 full Spaans Lagoen: Building a Bridge, Healing a Wound https://qualla.com/spaans-lagoen/ Photo credit Caribiana, CC BY-SA 4.0. Spaans Lagoen sits halfway between Queen Beatrix International Airport and the town of San Nicolaas, which made it a natural corridor for road infrastructure. In 2016, the Green Corridor project built a bridge over the lagoon to improve access to San Nicolaas. Construction damage...

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Image: Caribiana | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/6/n/n/spaans-lagoen-wp/d6nn-spaans-lagoen-building-a-bridge-healing-a-wound.mp3 0:06 5 full