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local Monday 28 august 2023

Blackstone Beach

(Oranjestad)—Named af- the northern side of the is- the more natural side of
ter its most recognizable land, away from the white Aruba: the stones that cov-
feature, the Blackstone sandy beaches of in the er the beaches and the
Beach almost represents southern region. So, if you shape of it has been craft-
the opposite of the typical feel up for something differ- ed for thousand years via
Aruban beaches. For one, ent—or if it’s opposite day, volcanic eruptions, coral
it has black sand and is visit the Blackstone Beach. reef movements and wave
covered in black smooth activity of the rural northern
stones. Secondly, it lies on Blackstone Beach shows part of the island.

Located further east to the
Natural Bridge and Andi-
curi Beach, the Blackstone
Beach is relatively easy
to access. Once you get
passed the Ayo Rock For- Arikok National Park and is and can easily stray you
mation, take the Andicuri therefore a site that is pre- further in the wild ocean.
road leading up to Andicuri served. This is why it is also However, you can still en-
Beach. There, you can park relatively untouched by joy a spectacular view of
your car and take a 1km commercial influences. De- the stones and the northern
hike towards Blackstone spite being called a beach, ocean that stretches out
Beach. do note that it is not ad- in front of the beach and
vised to swim in the water, take a picture with your
This beach forms part of the as the current is very strong friends or family!q

Papiamento words and phrases you may want to know!

(Oranjestad)—Aruba is a potting least, not officially. We often just es may look very familiar. Yes…no…maybe?
melt of different nationalities, cul- use the English “hello” or “hey”, or The affirmative and negative ex-
tures and languages. Primarily for Dutch “hallo” to greet someone. 1. Bon dia is used in the morning, pression is very simple in Papia-
this reason, the average Aruban We do however, always follow it up up to about noon. Bon dia es- mento. Just like Spanish, our yeses
can understand and speak Dutch, with “con bay?” or “con ta?” Con sentially means good morn- are “si” and our no’s are “no”. Pret-
English and Spanish relatively well. bay is a shortened version of “con ing. The word “bon” means ty easy right? If you want to gain
However, as much as we pride ta bay?”, which essentially means “good”, and while “dia” does some extra points from younger lo-
ourselves in being able to com- “how are you?” not directly mean “morning” in cals, you can also say “se”, which
municate with almost everyone, The word “con” in Papiamento English, it is used often to refer is a more casual affirmative used
we cherish our native tongue Pa- means “how?” and is pronounced to the morning time. mostly by the younger generation.
piamento above all else. Want to with a rounder “o” sounds, like in 2. Bon tardi. In the afternoon to However, do note: some older
learn some common words in our the English word “cone”. “Ta bay” early evening hours, we use generations may find this improper
language? Here are a few basic refers to how you are doing. “bon tardi” to greet people, and not respectful, so keep that in
words and phrases that can get which means “good after- mind.
you a hat tip from an Aruban. When we say goodbye, we use noon”. “Tardi” actually comes
the word “ayo” (not like the Ayo from the word “atardi”, which Thanks man…
When you arrive at the airport in Rock Formation, but also…kinda?). directly translates to “after- Lastly, a word that we can also
Aruba, one of the first words in Pa- We may also use “te oro”, which noon”. However, the short- say more often is “danki”, which
piamento you may encounter is means “see you later”. ened “tardi” is used to keep means literally “thank you”. “Dan-
“Bon bini.” Bon bini in Papiamento the rhythm on the phrase. And ki” is derived from the Dutch word
means welcome, and is probably Greetings during the day the same could be said for our “bedankt”. Though we don’t really
the most famous Papiamento Most, if not all, languages have dif- last greeting of the day. have a translation for “I appreci-
word for tourists. ferent ways to greet according to 3. Bon nochi. You guessed it, “bon ate it” in English, we do use “masha
the time of day, and Papiamento nochi” means “good night”. danki” to convey the message.
Hi! Bye! is no different. Since Papiamento is Just like “tardi”, “nochi” is ac- “Masha” means “a lot” or “very”,
To be fair, there is no unique way heavily influences from Portuguese tually the shortened version of so “masha danki” means “thank
to say “hello” in Papiamento. At and Spanish, some of these phras- the word “anochi”. you very much”. q