Page 12 - AHATA

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local Saturday 16 November 2024
Ayo & Casibari: Aruba’s famous rock formations

(Oranjestad)—The Ayo and Casi- great place to get refreshments
bari Rock Formations are known and snack before continuing your
locally as one of the crucial sites off-road adventure!
to have in your “off-road” trip itin-
erary. These naturally formed rock Both sites are open free to the
formations as just one of the few public, 24 hours a day. However,
places on the island that hold a unless you are taking a trip with a
rich history of our culture and of our professional tour guide, there are
ancestors. no guides at the sites to help you
climb the rock. So, do be careful
Ayo when trudging on the boulders,
The Ayo Rock Formation is located and make sure to befriend any
in the northern part of the island, roaming goats you see along the
right on the road that leads you to way! q
the Black Stone Beach, and close boulder, offering a breath-taking round, flat bolder. For this position,
to the Natural Bridge. The Ayo is a view of the Aruban backyard. The you can see the majority of the is- *Mondi: what we call our Aruban wil-
fenced terrain that consists of sev- Ayo is usually quiet, as it is situated land and the ocean in the south. derness. We don’t have forests, or des-
eral giant boulders, resting neatly farther away from the busier parts Right in front of the entrance, there erts, but we do have mondi!
on top of or side by side each oth- of the island. However, this is just is the Casibari Café and Grill, a
er, adding gorgeous natural archi- another charm of the site: the quiet
tecture to the surrounding “mon- area and the refreshing breeze of-
di”*. This is also one of the few sites fer a sense of comfort and peace.
to contain prehistoric markings of
our indigenous ancestors. The Ayo Casibari
Rock formation contains stairs that Probably the busier rock formation
lead you to the top of the highest site, the Casibari is situated more
in the center of the island, much
closer—and more accessible—to
the general public. Just like Ayo,
Casibari is a fenced area contain-
ing several boulders that lay on top
or lean on each other. The best as-
pect of the Casibari Rock Forma-
tion is the accompanying view
when you climb up the top of the

Planning on snorkeling? Get to know our Candelchi!

waters, which is called squirrelfish In our waters, there are 7 to 8
in English or scientifically known as types or species present and they
Holocentrus adscensionis. are sometimes caught and seen
occasionally. They can be distin-
Under candelchi, we in Aruba guished by different marks such as
generally refer to all the different color on the dorsal spine or marks
species of squirrelfish. They all look on the body.
alike and it's really difficult to distin-
guish between them. In Aruba:
Candelchi are found on reefs or
The squirrelfish family is distinguished areas with structure in the water
by the following characteristics. where they can hide. Although
They are heart-shaped with pink they prefer to hunt for food at
or red hues and often show heart- night, they are also active dur-
shaped streaks between the scales ing the day. They are edible and
along the body. They have hard delicious when prepared dry and
fins and are always armed. Over at crispy with lime. It is particularly
our sister island Curaçao, they are challenging to scale the fish, which
called "bari di clabo" (nail barrel) is why it is not one of the favorites
for that reason. among fishermen. They often live in
groups.q
(Oranjestad)—If you’re ever plan- Santa Rosa, offers this informative
ning on snorkeling during your article that illustrate some fish and
vacation on Aruba, you may spot their names in Papiamento.
fish that you can’t recognize. One
of these may be the “Candelchi” Candelchi, Squirrelfish, Holocentrus
(Squirrelfish), a common, yet shy adscensionis:
fish that swims all year long in the Candelchi actually refers to the
waters of Aruba. entire squirrelfish family or, as some
say, when we say candelchi, we
Let's talk about the names of fish. mean several different species but
Do you know your fish? The Depart- without distinguishing them by spe-
ment of Department of Agriculture, cies. In this picture, we are show-
Livestock, and Fisheries, known as ing the most common one in our