Page 10 - AHATA

a7
local Thursday 19 december 2024
Why You Should Not Miss Aruba’s Free City Center Street Car Tour

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

Lessons from our elders:

Plants and fruits for medicinal use

(Oranjestad)—Though western medicine is now
widely used for common illnesses and to keep
our bodies healthy and happy, it is still very
common in every household in Aruba (and
around the world) to have staple home rem-
edies that is passed on through generations.
Here are some tips that our elders have passed
on to us over the years.

Pineapple This also stimulates the passing kidney stones.
Pineapple has more uses than topping it on When ripe, the fruit can be used for poisoning in add a pinch of salt. Raw arrowroot powder can
your Christmas ham. According to elders, the the gut and can help treat rheumatic diseases, be used to powder babies.
skin of a pineapple is great to use to refresh your like arthritis.
body. Clean the skin thoroughly and make tea Eggplant/Aubergine
or warapa* with it. It is said that this tea can also However, breastfeeding women who cannot Eggplants, or aubergines, are easy to find in
be drank after an operation on the ovaries or produce much milk are advised not to con- supermarkets around the world and can be
uterus. This gets rid of irritation and inflamma- sume too pineapple, and people with acid grown all year round on the island. Related to
tion. reflux are recommended to not consume any potato and tomato, eggplants are good to
pineapple at all. calm nerves. It can also be used to lower blood
When the fruit is unripe and green, this can be pressure, by steeping its leaves in boiled water
used to stimulate menstruation flow in women. Arrowroot and drinking it. You can also make eggplant
Arrowroot is native to tropical America and can juice to help purify your blood. However, do
be sold as a powder or whole. It is said that you make sure to drink slowly; let it mix with your spit
can take arrowroot powder and make a “shal- and then swallow.
up” (porridge) for stomach pain or when you’re
feeling weak. You can make it with milk too, but Eggplant kataplan* can also be used to treat
it is advised to best use just water. You can also skin tumors, abscesses and hemorrhoids. Egg-
add prunes for a bit of sweetness. Arrowroot plant kataplan can also be used externally to
shalup is also good to treat an unhealthy gut or treat arthritis.
for diarrhea.
*warapa: term referring to a water and sugar solu-
To make arrowroot shalup, boil a bit of water tion, a.k.a simple syrup.
and add one tablespoon of arrowroot powder *kataplan: porridge-like mixture used externally for
and stir continuously until you reach porridge wounds or parts of the body that are painful or swol-
len.
consistency. If you make a shalup with milk,