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local Thursday 23 OcTOber 2025
Aruban legends: Frenchman’s Pass

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

The Bali Restaurant: a touristic hot spot and lost gem on the island

(Oranjestad)—Once located in what is now
the Renaissance Marina, the Bali Restaurant
was once both a touristic and local hot spot,
and nowadays it’s considered a forgotten gem
on the island.

Known as “the floating restaurant”, Bali first
opened in 1955 by Willem “Bill” Strijland, who
had experience in Javanese cuisine. At the
time, the restaurant was pretty exclusive—with
space to host only 25 guests. Yet, 4 years later,
it was named the best restaurant in the Carib-
bean by the Caribbean Tourist Association.

The restaurant was probably most iconic for
its Javanese-inspired exterior with its pointy,
slanted roofs. However, the first version of Bali
did not look like that at all but was still consid-
ered as one of the most popular restaurants on
the island at the time. The restaurant saw three “The New Bali”, who had its official (re)opening things come to an end, so did the survival and
different owners during its existence, during in 1972. maintenance of the Bali Restaurant. However,
which it underwent various renovations and folks today still reminisce its legacy, and it’s
rebranding. After 1972, when Ronny Schmand took over, now considered a lost monument.
the restaurant saw yet another expansion; this
In 1964, the restaurant was taken over by Karel time complete with a long bar and dance Be apart of the conversation: if you or any
“Carl” Schmand. Over the years, the restau- floor, where guests enjoyed live music from family member of yours have a memory of the
rant needed constant renovation and repair, legendary Aruban musician and composer, Bali restaurant, whether it be a picture or just
mainly due to its vulnerability to leaks and the Toti Arends. a story, share it with us! We would love to see
unstable pillars underneath the foundation. this legendary hot spot through the lens of our
However, the biggest change made to the After 1989, the restaurant was again handed visitors!q
restaurant happened in the year 1970—still over to other owners, and since then suffered
under the ownership of Schmand, when it got from unstable pillars underneath the founda- Source and pictures credit to: “De Kolibrie op de
its iconic pointy roofs. The restaurant was also tion, resulting in various leaks and overflowing Rots (en meer over de geschiedenis van Aruba)”
expanded to host a total of 85 guests. This was of water into the restaurant. And as most great by Evert Bongers.