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local Wednesday 1 november 2023

The Ostrich Farm

on cue Mr. Ostrich flapped his wings excit-
edly and poked around the ground with his
bill, triggering Mrs. Ostrich who ran around
in circles, flapped her wings and also poked
around, before collapsingon the ground in a
heap of feathers, allowing him to mount her,
shaking, winding and spiraling his head in all
Matividiri– One of the most entertaining va- direction!
cation activities is a visit to the Ostrich Farm,
a popular stopover on most island jeep tours. Mr. Ostrich concluded his unexpected per-
formance with a loud honking, his eyes roll-
Locals and visitors enjoy the guided ostrich ing, then got up in a huff to nonchalantly strut
tour at the farmand features a well-stocked away, leaving his wife and the scrutiny of our
locally crafted and produced Art Boutique. cameras. 10– 3pm. No reservations needed for small
The highlight of the visit is always the fun inter- groups.
action with the resident ostriches and emus, It was a surprise reality TV moment, and not
including a trip to the incubators and the bird usually included in the regular program. Matividiri 57, Open daily from 10:00 AM till
kindergarten,housing baby ostriches, baby Feeding the Ostriches is however always on 4:00 PM
emus, chicken and ducks, and even a land the program, and they are eternally hungry, Telephone: 5859630
turtle! and fun! For more information go to the website: www.

arubaostrichfarm.comq
It was a National Geographic moment when Tours are available daily every half hour from

Aruban legends:

Frenchman’s Pass

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