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Monday 3 noveMber 2025 locAl
A10

Exploring the Mainstreet of San Nicolas

SAN NICOLAS— At Just 11 the items of old-time Aruba
miles southeast from Oran- that has been preserved. A
jestad you will enter the city collection of artifacts and
San Nicolas, also known as other objects of artistic, cul-
Sunrise City or Chocolate tural, historical, or scientific
City. A city that is rich in importance can be found
authentic culture and is- here for the purpose of ed-
land charm. San Nicolas is ucation or enjoyment.
Aruba’s second largest city
and was once a bustling The new San Nicolas
company town dominated In the shadow of the refin-
by the oil industry since the ery, an art capital is quietly
early 1930’s. beginning to grow. This is
the new San Nicolas, a
Over the course of four de- place that is starting to be-
cades, its demographics come a magnet for all that
had changed immensely is young, cool and hip in
due to a stream of Afro-Ca- Aruba. Indeed, San Nicolas
ribbean and South Ameri- has all of the ingredients of
can workers who came an emerging cultural hub
to fill the jobs in the oil re- — varied history, interesting
finery between the 1920’s Flow of history about gold, aloe, phos- and renovated in 2014 is architecture, and, perhaps
until the 1960’s. To this day If you are looking for history phate, oil and the tourism the home of the Communi- most importantly, an urban
traces of the multicultural San Nicolas has it. industries which made San ty Museum. The collection is layout that makes it walk-
influences in culinary offer- Nicolas once a bustling remarkable and spans mil- able. As you walk around,
ings and customs, housing The Museum of Industry is business center. Experi- lennia. Ancient fossils stand the streets are silent but
and population are clearly situated in the Water Tower ence the touching stories next to tableaus of an au- the walls are loud, filled
visible in San Nicolas – more in San Nicolas and narrates of those who were part of thentically recreated colo- with bright, colorful murals
than anywhere else on the Aruba’s industrial history this history. nial kitchen and bedroom painted by a collection
island. which began in the 19th and 19th-century barber- of artists from around the
century. Here you will learn Nicolaas Store built in 1940 shop, just to name a few of world.q

The Lionfish and its threat to our marine wild life

and dangerous for other invaded the entire Carib- They are caught with a
types of fish. bean area, from Aruba, hand spear, an object re-
Bonaire and Curacao up to sembling a garbage picker
For Aruba, the lionfish is a New York. In Aruba, lionfish with 4 sharp prongs. These
problem especially for our were discovered in 2009. spears are used like a sling
local coral reefs. According shot to catch lionfish from
to Patrick van Brakel, lion- Controlling the lionfish a distance. These fish are
fish expert and hunter from population is challenge, as then put into a collecting
the Hunting Lionfish Aruba each female fish can lay up tube and taken out of the
foundation, every reef has to 40,000 eggs a day. Lucki- water. Van Brakel not only
a “cleaning station”—tiny ly, we have people like van catches them himself, but
fish that eat algae and oth- Brakel who dedicate their also cooks them for locals
er types of waste on a reef, lives hunting and capturing and tourists at The LionFish
thus maintaining the reef’s these invasive species, us- Snack Aruba in Paradera.
health and providing food ing them for consumption This way, he does his part
to the fish population in the and jewelry making. in protecting the local wild
area. However, as the lion- life. q
fish feeds off of these tiny
(Oranjestad)—Despite its to 100 times more painful fish, it becomes harder for
colorful and striking ap- than that of a bee’s sting. the coral reef to maintain
pearance, the lionfish has its health.
become a Caribbean- Its natural predators in the
wide problem for Atlantic Indo-Pacific are sharks and Patrick also shares the ori-
sea life. The Aruban marine barracudas, but in the Ca- gins of lionfish in the Ca-
wild life is also affected by ribbean Sea, local fish do ribbean Sea. It is theorized
this beautiful dilemma, as it not recognize the lionfish that the introduction of
is foreign to our waters and as part of their diet. In other these fish in the Atlan-
has become a danger to words, the lionfish has no tic happened in Florida,
our local fish and reefs. predators in the Caribbean where people would buy li-
Sea. And this becomes a onfish from across the world
Originating from the Indo- major problem for our lo- to keep in their aquariums.
Pacific Ocean, the lionfish cal marine life; if there are However, lionfish grow, and
is a relatively small fish. It no predators to stimulate as these buyers realized
has no teeth, but it does population control of lion- that the fish were too much
protect itself against pred- fish, these fish can continue upkeep, they were let out
ators using its sharp, color- to reproduce and expand into the ocean to roam
ful spikes. It is said that the to other parts of the Atlan- free. From continental USA,
sting of a lionfish can be up tic, become more invasive the lionfish travelled to and