Page 14 - AHATA

A7
LOCAL Wednesday 28 February 2024

Aruban legends:
Frenchman’s Pass

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

Visit the island’s hidden natural pools

(Oranjestad)—Amongst di Turtuga (Turtle’s Cove) or enough water and food—it rocks and jump in! Aruba. However, this pool is
the countless beaches sur- just Natural Pool—is reach- could take you up to three much easier to reach with
rounding the island that are able with any 4x4 vehicle hours to hike there! Cave Pool any type of vehicle, and
well-known and frequently or by foot if you’re up for a This relatively new pool ap- there is no hiking needed.
visited, there are an addi- long hike. However, since it However, when you even- peared just a few years This spot has also become
tional two “hidden” natural is part of the National Park, tually do get there, you ago, when a part of the a regular stop for touring
pools that are situated in you must first get permission will be greeted with crystal dried up coral floor broke visitors.
the northern coast of the is- from park management to blue water surrounded by off and created a partition
land, two ideal stops in your enter. You would have to a natural rock formation between the ocean and When you get there, may-
tour itinerary. purchase a day pass, and that protects you from the what is now the natural be you won’t be able to
receive a wristband as wild waves on the other pool that is hidden there. spot the pool immediately,
Conchi (Natural Pool) proof of payment. Once side. Though the pool is lo- Because it’s still so new, because you will probably
For many years, Conchi you’ve completed that, cated on the northern side there is no official name for notice the moon-shaped
was the only natural pool you are set! of the island (where the sea it, but most people just call lagoon where wild northern
that we had on the island. If you decide to hike from is largely rough and largely it the cave pool. waves crash into each oth-
Located in the Arikok Na- the entrance of the Arikok no suitable for swimming), er. Sounds scary, but if you
tional Park, near Boca Keto National Park, this is also the pool itself is very calm. Just like the Conchi, the look down on your right,
and the Daimari Ranch, possible: do bring plenty It’s also relatively deep, new natural pool is situated you’ll see a calm, crystal
Conchi—also known “Cura of protective clothing and and you can climb up the on the northern coast of blue little pool in the cor-
ner. To get there, you have
to climb down some stairs.
Be careful when climbing
down and follow the in-
structions of your tour guide
if you have one.

And just like Conchi, this
pool also has a jumping
spot, and a rope to climb
back up the boulder.

Picture of cave pool is cred-
ited to RockaBeach Tours