Aruba Facts - Aruba News Desk - Newsletter October 1-31, 2001

also
Back Issues

Welcome to the Visit Aruba Newsletter!
This section will be updated regularly, so keep coming back...

News Briefs for October 1- 31, 2001

Ay Caramba in Aruba
Telemundo's most popular Sunday night, prime time show, Ay Caramba, mixing travel segments with funny home-shot videos sent in by viewers is here in Aruba. The Miami station...
Santa Rosa, a good place for trees
Santa Rosa, the island’s agricultural station is raising awareness this weekend celebrating International Food Day. The complex is a modest one, though it boasts a long name, the Department of Agriculture, Husbandry & Fisheries. On my visit..
Annoucing the Ace Convention 2001
The Aruba Tourism Association and the Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association hosted a joint press conference yesterday announcing the Ace Convention 2001. Speakers on behalf of the associations Myrna Jansen & Glennie Tromp, ATA, Dyane Vis, AHATA, described the events unfolding the...
Florida Caribbean Cruise Association Trade Show opens
Aruba's Minister of Tourism cut the ribbon of the FCCA trade show at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino. Dr. Lili Beke Martinez pronounced the show officially open in...
$AVE in Aruba with the VisitAruba Plus card!
Your VisitAruba Plus card is a convenient and effective way to get the most out of your Aruba vacation with significant discounts and special offers on hotel accommodations, car rental, watersports, sailing and party cruises, spa treatments, entertainment, casinos, shopping and more!

Ay Caramba in Aruba

Telemundo's most popular Sunday night, prime time show, Ay Caramba, mixing travel segments with funny home-shot videos sent in by viewers is here in Aruba. The Miami station which took Latin audiences in the US by storm, is filming 2 half hour shows to be aired this Fall. Telemundu was here before. The crew recorded 4 travel segments in the summer, reporting on watersports and beaches. They are now ready to take on the island's night life which according to producer Manny, is the best in the Caribbean. The crew, starring Roberto, the show host, a true heartthrob - he wears a wedding band, though - is staying at the Holiday Inn. They will also be filming the concerts unfolding this weekend at the Piedra Platt Entertainment Center. Telemundo which started as a local station in the Miami area is now viewed all over the US and was recently bought by NBC. The Ay Caramba show airs a new episode each Sunday, yet re-runs are regular on late-night TV.

[courtesy of Rona Coster]

Back to top

Santa Rosa, a good place for trees

Santa Rosa, the island’s agricultural station is raising awareness this weekend celebrating International Food Day. The complex is a modest one, though it boasts a long name, the Department of Agriculture, Husbandry & Fisheries. On my visit there Thursday I did encounter two tourists, from Farmingville, NY, two undaunted explorers who dropped in to see what the station is growing and raising. Charles and Carolyn Taylor are seen here in the picture with Marine Biologist Byron Boekhoudt and Nature Manager Facundo Franken. While Byron toured the Taylors, Facundo took me under his wings and proceeded to give me an update on the preservation and conservation of indigenous trees.

Facundo, the good-looking head of the Nature Section of the department was first involved with husbandry before moving on to flora. He has been at his post for five years, since completing his bachelor degree in Holland. He has ample experience in the agricultural and nature conservancy fields having worked in projects in Africa and Honduras. My reports indicate he is single, still, yet dating Vivi, a geologist, working for the Archeological Museum.

In the realm of trees says Facundo, Aruba lists about 300 kinds, alas around 50 of them are on what he calls the attention list, meaning their spread and growth should be monitored to increase their chances of successful survival.

The station at Santa Rosa makes notable attempts at growing seedlings from clippings and obtaining seeds for planting. Facundo divides trees by their character in general, the Pioneers are the ones who take over; they come out of nowhere and invade entire neighborhoods. The Kwihi and the Hubada – a flowing cousin of the Mimosa, two of Aruba’s most famous varieties are shameless and strong. They dominate the landscape. The other variety, aptly named the Determined, depend on birds to spread their seeds and when they finally germinate they are slow to develop, competing for resources, heat stricken, taking forever to grow into their own.

Facundo’s babies are a group of four Wayaca Macho. They are 3 inch tall and have been nurtured to this size since September of last year. Even under benevolent conditions they remain suspicious and slow to give. The ordinary Wayacas are abundant in the countryside but for the Macho version there are only about 4 specimens left in the wild, and at secret locations Facundo cannot divulge for fear that something might happen to those precious individuals. They look every bit like a more rugged, more weather beaten version of the yellow-fruited, mushroom-domed, spreading Wayaca. Same but very different and endangered, Facundo explains.

The Bushikuri is another one of Facundo’s patients. The tree bears brown mispel-like fruits out of which seeds may be obtained. In the wild, there are about ten survivors. Facundo speculates that limestone areas, favored by the tree have been developed. Houses, malls and asphalt parking lots have taken over his habitat. The Bushikuri shares his fate with Placa Chiquito, small change. In addition to being a slow grower, that one also favors limestone areas, now built up. Besides, the resilient Kwihi and Watapana are so strong they rob all others of resources.

Tree seedlings are available for sale at Santa Rosa in a shady small nursery, for a pittance. A more extensive stock of trees may be found at the back of the station where islanders may see the adult specimen in all its glory before deciding what to buy in a pot.

Facundo is a living encyclopedia: One tree variety internationally known as the Palisia Cora, growing freely in all humid regions from Florida to Columbia, doesn’t grow well in Aruba’s harsh conditions. It’s sister the Palisia Blanco, typical to the ABC islands, Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao, may be seen everywhere.

Some trees are fast growing, Facundo declares, and recommended for impatient gardeners in quest of immediate results. Pan Cu Keshi, Bread and Cheese in one - a wonderful specimen perhaps 30 years old, was just cut down next to Brickell Bay Resort. Others surrounding the then-Americana were axed, when the Allegro introduced more aristocratic palm trees. If you plant Kurahout, with exquisite yellow flowers, you will be rewarded nicely and in relatively short time. Hunya di Gato, cat’s claw, has the potential to turn into a sturdy decorative garden fence, and its flowers look like little loose white brushes. The Asufro, a cross between a cactus and a tree, is a thorny yet flowering oddity, which may be seen next to the Natural Bridge. Facundo knows the island astoundingly well, naming places and locations for rare beauty of horticultural interest.

Aruba’s natural bounty also includes indigenous ficus and indigenous creepers. What they all have in common is their ability to survive through drought and disaster, and then thrive when the good times roll.

Visit Byron & Facundo’s universe, this weekend. The station will be open Sunday all morning, for a modest Food Fair. Byron promised to keep a bottle of fresh goat milk for me. I can’t wait. Yes, the station has recently begun to milk its goats – those are
fancy, pampered European-born beasts, not the scrawny Aruban streetwalkers.

[courtesy of Rona Coster]

Annoucing the Ace Convention 2001

The Aruba Tourism Association and the Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association hosted a joint press conference yesterday announcing the Ace Convention 2001. Speakers on behalf of the associations Myrna Jansen & Glennie Tromp, ATA, Dyane Vis, AHATA, described the events unfolding the coming weekend, Oct. 18-22. According to the island's tourism officials more than 125 US travel agents will be here as guests of the hotels and the airlines, to undergo certification. They will learn all about the island and will emerge at the end of a four-hour formal curriculum and a fun filled weekend,as Aruba Certified Experts, also known as the ACES. The program was instituted three years ago and to date 749 agents have participated and graduated. They are now more capable of selling Aruba than any of their colleagues in the industry. Visiting agents will be treated to a catamaran sail with Red Sail Sports, they will enjoy an evening under the stars "Where the Sun meets the Sea," on the Sonesta island, and will dine on delicious food offered by the Aruba Gastronomic Association, at the Manchebo beach resort beach pavilion. An unusual trip will deliver them to Fontein and the Chinese Garden for a close encounter with Aruba wilderness. The program's goals for next year is to enroll 1,000 agents and to launch a home study option, as an alternative to the live training sessions.

[courtesy of Rona Coster]

Florida Caribbean Cruise Association Trade Show opens

Aruba's Minister of Tourism cut the ribbon of the FCCA trade show at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino. Dr. Lili Beke Martinez pronounced the show officially open in the company of Michael Ronan, VP Destination Development for Celebrity Cruises and Michelle Paige of the FCCA, Florida, Caribbean Cruise Association, an organization of 13 companies, operating ships in the region. The Trade Show at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino Caribbean ballroom showcased many vendors and suppliers. Trade show visitors found islands such as Aruba, Curacao, Barbados, and Jamaica, rubbing shoulders with products such as sun tan lotions, Charlos & Charlie's, specialty rum cakes and Angostura Bitters. Ronan, who also won the golf tournament earlier in the day declared the conference of great importance. With more mega ships being built, cruise companies will be looking for products and destinations, he said. Networking and exploring alliances are key elements of success, he added.

[courtesy of Rona Coster]


BUSINESS DIRECTORY Tell a FRIEND!	Click Here for GREAT SAVINGS on your Aruba Trip!


		Back To Facts Main