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a8 local
Saturday 2 december 2023

Aruban legends:

Frenchman’s Pass

ing too much smoke and he noticed that the there ized he wasn’t some drunk
most died in those caves. was no driver in the front. messing around; he was
From then on, this passage Paralyzed with fear, he telling the truth.
was known as Frenchman’s didn’t dare to get out, and
Pass, and there have been the car started to move. Sometime later, two men
many accounts of spirits walked into the bar and
roaming the area of Span- When approaching a one of them noticed the
ish Lagoon. sharp turn, the hitch hiker hitchhiker. He called out to
braced for impact, but just his buddy and said: “Look,
There are many ghost sto- when he though the car there’s the idiot who sat
(Oranjestad)—If you ever the colonization era, when ries surrounding this area, might drive straight off the in our car when we were
plan on taking a group the French tried to colo- but one of the most famous road and crash, he saw a pushing it!”
tour of the island, you may nize the island, but were one involves a lonely hitch- hand appear out the win-
pass through the French- met with an angry mob of hiker, trying to find a ride dow and turn the wheel. French man’s pass is one
man’s Pass in Balashi. The indigenous settlers, refusing back home in the dark For the next few turns, the of the few sites on the is-
Frenchman’s pass (known to give up their land. How- rainy night. hand appeared again. Af- land that keeps the locals
to locals as “Franse Pas”) ever, as the French were ter having had enough, the on their toes. While most
remains a mysterious—and heavily equipped with fire Sometime after trying to man decided to jump out ghost stories may not have
spooky—road of which its arms, the indigenous set- hitchhike, the man saw a and he ran to Santa Cruz. real grounds—or some may
legend is told from genera- tlers began to retreat, and car approaching, appear- even be a set up story for a
tion to generation. hid away in nearby caves. ing almost ghost-like in the Arriving at a nearby bar, he joke, this pass contributes a
The French colonizers tried rain. However, since he ordered a drink and began lot to our culture of folkloric
The history of the French- to smoke them out of the needed a ride real bad, to tell everyone about his story-telling. q
man’s pass—and how it got caves, but the indigenous he didn’t think twice and experience. Everyone grew
its name—dates back to settlers ended up inhal- jumped in. But to his horror, quiet, because they real- Source: visitaruba.com

Why You Should Not Miss Aruba’s Free City Center Street Car Tour

ORANJESTAD - Aruba’s City Center free pedestrian mall. The double- waters. first ride starts at 10:00 am sharp
Street Car - or as we call it in Dutch; decker offers you a 360 degree with intervals of 25minutes. The last
“Tram van Oranjestad’ - is a single view of the down town area with The “Tram van Oranjestad” starts trolley departs from the cruise port
track tram line in Oranjestad, the a picture perfect scenery of the is- from a balloon loop near the Port at 5:00pm. Don’t miss this tour of
capital city of Aruba. It was inaugu- land’s clear blue skies. Who would of Call and serves the downtown the beautiful Aruba’s City Center–
rated on 22 December 2012, being not enjoy a ride on this beautiful area and ends at Plaza Nicky. The it is free for all!q
the first and so far the only passen- and naturally air-conditioned ve-
ger rail service on Aruba and the hicle? The tour consists of a total of
rest of the Dutch Caribbean. There 9 stops approximately 200 meters
are two trolleys, a single-deck one apart from each other; all stops are
with 42 seats and a double-decker clearly marked. The tram will bring
with 64 seats. The line was inspired you close to different museums,
by the popular battery-powered historical plazas, monuments, the
streetcar operation at the Grove in Protestant church, Aruba’s high-
Los Angeles, USA. Aruba’s street- end mall, retail shops, and a vari-
cars are powered by hydrogen fuel ety of local and international cui-
cells, which are charged by the is- sine restaurants. The “I love Aruba”
land’s year-round trade winds. trademark also belongs to that list.
The third stop on the route is close
Caya Betico Croes, mostly re- to a 5-minute walk to the famous
ferred to as our “main street” has Renaissance Marina showcasing
been developed into a pollution- luxurious yachts and Aruba’s blue