Page 18 - AHATA

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local Wednesday 12 March 2025
Aruban legends:

Frenchman’s Pass

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

Prohibited by law: leaving the

island with seashells, white

sand or corals

(Oranjestad)—Often times, Flora & Fauna, it is absolutely
the customs department at prohibited to take any sea-
the airport intercepts many shell, sand and coral outside
tourists leaving the island of Aruba. This is to protect
with seashells, white sand our environment. The high
and/or corals as souvenirs. number of seashells, coral
and amount of sand con-
Conforming to the interna- fiscated is very strange and
tional treaty of CITES and our it is suspected that our own
local law which protects our locals are the ones selling
these to the tourists, which
is unacceptable.
Upon confiscation at the air-
port, you can also face a fine
that they have to pay before
leaving. This is surely not a
pleasant experience for the
tourist. This also leads to a
negative reaction which can
put our tourism in a nega-
tive light.
Though we love to accom-
modate our visitors, let’s all
give nature the respect it
deserves by protecting our
environment. Stop collect-
ing seashells, white sand
and corals from our shores
and stop buying or accept-
ing these from local sellers or
companies.
We want our future genera-
tions and visitors to enjoy the
beauty of our beaches, shells
and corals in a sustainable
way, without destroying or
disrupting the Aruban eco-
system. Help us protect what
is ours!q