I have to say when I first went to the market place in Oranjestad, Aruba I was not sure what to expect. I had read it was build on a man made expansion over the sea. I must say the architects did a great job and is worth stopping by when you are in Aruba.

It's a good thing that they expand the land in order to have more places in constructing buildings and establishments. Without those talented architects, there's no Renaissance Marketplace and Queen Wilhelmina Park. Obviously, these places are situated in the expansion area.

I always marvel at man made expansions but I also worry about them too. As if it might tempt nature into washing it away just because. Do you think the expansions were done by Dutch trained engineers?

I have to admit that they scare me. Sure they are great but anytime I am in the market place I worry... "What if it collapses" I know it won't and its a silly thought! Yes, even though I am afraid of them I respect how imaginative the architects and builders were.

Man made islands and/or extensions are becoming more and more common these days. Dubai has that whole man made finger-ish things for boats and beach front. They do make me nervous though, I don't think it's good for people to pretend to be as the original design.

Haven't the Dutch managed to keep large parts of their country from being swallowed by water through feats of engineering? I wonder, since this is the Dutch Caribbean, if this is an influence on the architecture as Roadsofgold suggested.