Page 13 - HOH

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local Thursday 13 March 2025
Aruba’s most family-friendly beaches

(Oranjestad)—One of the biggest concerns that across the bridge, passed the mangrove trees
parents have when travelling with their children near the entrance sign. Here, there are small
is a guarantee of their safety and healthy enjoy- and big palapas, perfect for big and small fam-
ment. Therefore, we thought it would be a great ilies to set up their belongings. In this area, the
help to travelling parents to list off some the shore is also shallow, falling right around your

most family-friendly beaches around the island. knee before slowly getting deeper: perfect for
kids to safely play.
Baby Beach in San Nicolas
Baby Beach is one Aruba’s most popular and Eagle Beach/Palm Beach in the hotel area
visited beaches, and for good reason: This san- Yet another highly popular beach site, Eagle
dy and quiet lagoon is a great place for par- Beach and Palm Beach is where most of our it is relatively quiet and tranquil. This is a great
ents to sit back and relax while their children visitors go to tan, swim or play in the white sand. place for family to lay down a big blanket and
play in the shallow shores of the beach. Beside Because they are near the low-rise and high- have a little picnic. This is also one of the best
the relaxing atmosphere, there are also several rise hotel areas, these beaches are the most places to snorkel, as this area is filled with little
services that may accommodate your stay, accessible for visitors on foot. These beaches fish and corals, even close to the shore.
like a parking lot, sun tent rentals, chairs, bath- also offer many palapas free to use, but you
rooms and a snack bar right at the far left of the can also rent chairs and tents. Much like Baby Palm Island
beach. Beach, these sites are one of the best beaches Ok, this one is technically not a beach, but a
for your children to play and build sand castles. must-visit attraction for family fun. This small wa-
Mangel Halto in Pos Chiquito ter park oasis is located further down the Man-
Mangel Halto is situated in the back streets of Boca Catalina in Malmok gel Halto Beach and is reachable by boat. This
the Pos Chiquito city. Though there are several Boca Catalina is a small bay beach near the water park offers 6 hours of fun activities, food,
stairs on the sides of the beach cliff leading you Malmok beach area further down the hotel ar- drinks, and a chance to see pink flamingoes up
down, the best spot for families to hang out is eas. Though it may not be a very sandy beach, close!q

Food culture in Aruba

most households around noon or
in the afternoon. This can consist of
meat, fish, and chicken—stewed
or fried—with funchi (polenta)
or rice with stewed vegetables.
Often, fried or boiled plantain or
pan bati (Aruban pancake) is in-
cluded. Stews are a staple in Aru-
ban cuisine and can are largely
influenced by Latin-American
(Oranjestad) - Like many other and Latin/Afro-Caribbean Stews.
cultures, an important aspect of Some of the more unique stews
the Aruban cultural identity is our and soups from the ABC Islands*
connection to food and food tra- include sopi di bonchi cora (red
ditions. The local food traditions kidney bean soup with pig tail),
consist of a melting pot of different sopi mondongo (tripe soup), carni stuffed turkey, roasted glazed also has a food tradition that in-
cultural and religious eating habits stoba (beef stew), comcomber ham topped with pineapples, ar- cludes snacks and other tasty
and dishes. stoba (West Indian gherkin stew) roz con pollo (rice and chicken) delights that you may easily find
and much more. and potato salad, among other around the island. These include,
Breakfast, lunch and dinner items. Traditional drinks include Saco*, basket, pastechi, kroket,
The routine of breakfast, lunch Dinner Time ponche crema (Aruban eggnog), deditos, Johnny cake and more.
and dinner on the island is one Dinner time can vary significantly chuculati pinda (hot chocolate These snacks are usually sold at lo-
that does not completely follow from household to household. Un- with peanut butter), and home- cal snack trucks and cafes, often
a European or American routine, like the U.S. or in Europe, dinner made fruit punch. Desserts in- located on the side of the road.
despite the major influences from time typically does not consist of clude, bolo di pistachio (pistachio In the area of Tanki Leendert and
these parts of the world on our a whole (warm) meal. Instead, cake), bolo di cashupete (ca- Tanki flip, for example, there are
culture and way of living. When the evening “meal” can typically shew cake), quesillo (flan), bolo many of these trucks parked on
it comes to the three important consist of something lighter, like a preto (dark fruit cake), drigidek the side of the road and often
meals of the day, most of the Aru- sandwich, though it is not uncom- (gingerbread), pan boyo (bread open until late at night—offering
ban population follows a Latin- mon to see leftovers from the main cake) and more. tasty and filling snacks post night-
American influenced routine. meal reheated and eaten again. life fun.q
Tea and coffee are often also Snacks and tasty delights
Breakfast served with the evening snack. Besides meals and dishes that are *ABC Islands: Aruba, Bonaire and
Breakfast in Aruba is quite simple: eaten on the dinner table, Aruba Curacao
a cup of coffee or tea, some (Religious) Holidays *Pan di ham: Derived from the Ven-
bread, and sometimes an egg. Christmas is probably the big- ezuelan Pan de Jamon (rolled up
Sometimes, due to the need of a gest global holiday, and every bread with ham, raisins and olives)
*Saco: Saco literally means “bag”.
quick “to-go” breakfast, you may culture has its own spin on what Saco contains fried potatoes, plan-
also find many snack trucks and their Christmas cuisine entails. tains, chicken (and ribs) and a John-
cafes that sell sandwiches, paste- In Aruba, our Christmas cuisine ny cake, served in a paper bag.
chis (meat pie), arepas and em- is again largely based on Latin-
panadas early in the morning. American influences, most nota- Source: Voeding, voedingsgewoont-
bly form Venezuela. Ayacas and en en gerechten op Aruba (Nutrition,
Food Traditions and Dishes on Aruba)
Main Meal the famous pan di ham* are two by Biblioteca Nacional Aruba
The main meal is typically eaten in crucial holiday dishes, along with