You may have read the news last week that the Kingdom of the Netherlands has reached a new agreement with the Caribbean countries of Aruba (105.000 inhabitants - capital Oranjestad), Curacao (140.000 inhabitants - capital Willemstad) and St. Maarten (71.000 inhabitants - capital Philipsburg). These countries will remain within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as will the new Island cities of Bonaire, Sint Eustachius, and Saba.

For travel and tropical island fans this is welcome news, as the Netherlands can say that within the Kingdom there are jungles, exotic fruits, and everything you can associate with the Caribbean. For the landmark fans, according to most news reports, the highest peak in the "Netherlands" will from now on be Mount Scenery (877 meters above sea level) in Saba. Until this development it had long been Vaalserberg (322.5 meters above sea level) near Vaals in the southern part of The Netherlands.