The Aruba Experience Café hosted a book launch yesterday, a publication packed with insider tips and essential information about Aruba. The booklet by Marielle & Maureen is a labor of love of two members of our business community, who saw a need for a hardcover fact-filled directory and went to work.

They report it took them 10 months to compile the information and lay it out, identify partners, pick pictures, and do the graphics. They then sent the manuscript of 145 pages to print in the Netherlands.

The book is available for sale at the Tradewinds boutiques around the resorts, The Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino, Costa Linda Beach Resort, Divi Phoenix Beach Resort and Marriott Ocean Club.

Aruba, Isla di Oro, is a perfect gift for newcomers to the island, and/or a thoughtful souvenir from the island, for those who stayed behind and could not come on vacation.

The hardcover format, the bright front cover photography, the smell of just-printed paper, are throwbacks to a pre-digital era, where books, flyers and magazines were our main information providers. Then print disappeared with the pandemic and the no-touch rule.

But I understand print is coming back. We missed it.

Marielle and Maureen opted to bring it back, inviting readers to interact, by posting their own pictures among its pages and customizing their copy with their own journalism.

Isla Di Oro, they explain, refers to Aruba’s first name, related to its gold rush era, Oro Uba,

The party at the Aruba Experience Café was well attended by beautiful people. A young generation of entrepreneurs, in love with the island and the possibilities it offers.

The text in the book mixes facts, recommendations, Papiamento phrases, official holidays, public transportation, how to tackle driving in the roundabouts, Carnival, wildlife, sea life, flora, environmental considerations, important telephone numbers, weddings and proposals, beaches, coffee spots, sport activities, shopping, lunch spots, happy hour, night life, dining, bars & food trucks, kids’ activities and more, all interspersed with charming photography.

The booklets partners, Casago Vacation Rentals, Twist of Flavor, Poke Ono, Tradewinds, L’Avenue Belgian Bistro, The Aruba Experience Café, Papillon Restaurant, Caya House, Chef’s Table, and Keda Keto ice cream, are all nicely presented!!

It was a Myrna Jansen initiative, and she tried to make it happen since 2009, finally in 2016, we got a monument to tourism pioneers at Plaza Turismo.

The monument, while a bit graceless and soviet in style – solid, heavy, no frill, two tone gray and black, is not the sort of monument which tourists visit, but it fits the plaza and pays homage to deserving individuals, “whose unwavering dedication significantly shaped Aruba’s tourism industry.” (text from invitation)

I got the best seat in the house, sitting in the shade of the rock, commemorating a royal visit from 2011. I never understood that monument, but it was useful yesterday, on a sweltering day, on a clinkered plaza, no cover overhead, long speeches.

The speeches by the CEO of the Aruba Tourism Authority, and the Minister of Tourism were floral and predictable. They each went on to say pretty much the same, that we owe our solid tourism industry to the founding fathers.

Originally the monument paid tribute to visionary politicians Juancho Irausquin and Oscar Henriquez; the entrepreneurs and businessmen who figured out mobility with De Palm Tours, Wichi de Palm, Ramon Richardson and Harold Malmberg; hoteliers and developers Ike Cohen, Raymond Maduro, Eduardo de Veer and Ewald Biemans; marketing guru Eline Bartels-Daal, Calypsonian Lloyd Baptist, musician Jesus Kock, show producer and emcee Louis Pavlis, colorful bar owners from San Nicholas Charlie Brouns Senior and Charlie Brouns Junior, the man who created our first glass-bottom boat, Herman Ponson, and the father & son duo who gave us our first beach hotels, the Coral Strand and the Basi Ruti, Chaubin and Maurice Neme, the island’s first home-grown F&B director and restauranteur Eduardo Ellis, and the man who saw the future in group travel, Simon Oduber Jr.

Left out intentionally then, and added this time Rory Arends, Adwina Arends and Walter Wiggins.

But this time, the Aruba Tourism Authority dug very deep and included EVERYONE that over the past 50 years played a role in tourism: Area Directors, AHATA Directors, Marketing Directors, ATA Directors, General Managers all found their names on a plaque.

This honor was also extended to former Ministers of Tourism, and I could not help but think that those that are largely responsible for our over tourism today were honored just because of having filled the position in the past. Yes, we had some good ministers of tourism, same for directors, but we also had some mediocre ones, who did not read the map correctly.

I fully understand why ATA did not separate the wheat from the chaff, it is easier that way. Because at the end of the day, it does not matter. All loved Aruba and did their best.

Kudos to Minister Cicilia who can talk forever without notes.

My humble opinion: Instead of long speeches it would be nice to know why these people were honors. I remember Thomas Zeisel, he was the general manager of the Aruba Caribbean Hotel donkey years away, but many do not know. Some names on the monument, I did not recognize, it would have been helpful to explain.

Just a thought: A taxi driver that recently passed away, Candido Wernet, was popular with the name Pan Seco. He was the only taxi driver wearing a tie while on duty. Does anyone know him? I would have loved to see his name on a plaque. He was a sweet and hospitable individual and I am sure he made many friends among our visitors. He was tourism!

In February of 2024 ATA and the ministry of tourism organized an event at Tierra del Sol honoring former ATA Directors. It was a very elegant event where it was good to see the likes of Rory Arends and our living icon Michael Kuiperi.

Yesterday’s event honoring those that followed in the steps of pioneers Juancho Irausquin and Oscar Henriquez, honored contributors, which is amazing on its own, but we cannot bundle them with that first generation of visionaries.

The Golden Age Expo is back, for its 2025 edition!

The Golden Age Expo exceeded all expectations last year. In its debut, it welcomed 80% more visitors than expected, demonstrating that older adults are active and interested. The expo revealed a market niche with great potential, both for the community and for companies interested in highlighting their brands and products. For this year, organizers expect more than one thousand visitors, a figure that defines the Golden Age Expo as the most important platform for senior adults in Aruba.

Golden Age Expo 2025 will unfold Saturday, September 6th at the Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino, from 8am to 2pm.

You may contact organizers at tel.: 736-9000, or send a mail to: goldenageexpo@gmail.com, or check out Golden Age Expo on FB

(17.1 % of our population is 65 years and older, which translates to roughly 21,400 people. The total number of people aged 60 and over is approximately 35,431.)

The success of the first edition, at the Alhambra Ballroom, reflects on the number of businesses wishing to repeat their participation. Many have seen immediate results from reaching a segment of the market that eluded them before. Senior adults are looking for products and services tailored to their needs: From healthcare, to exercise, entertainment and technology, to fashion, travel and finance.

The Golden Age Expo is more than just a fair – it is a vibrant happening, a platform to build a brand in a creative way. Vendors and partners may choose from different branding opportunities, such as:

The combination of a physical exhibition with visual branding guarantees that your product/service is seen and remembered.

Golden Age Expo confirms that senior adults are not only a part of our community, but an economic engine that generates demand for custom products and services. With more than a thousand visitors, the fair will provide a unique opportunity to connect generations, network and hear directly from targeted consumers.

Register today as a vendor and/or mark you calendar as a senior adult, meet your friends at the Golden Age Expo, have fun. Become part of the fair that brings a record number of people together.

Vendors who wish to showcase products, services or innovations serving senior adults will find in the expo beneficial.

I was on the phone waiting for DIMP to pick up the phone for a general question, how do you report an address change. I waited from 10:57 to 11:41.

No one answered. I gave up.

Yesterday was disappointing too. I listened to parliament, in my car, and found it incredibly uninspiring.

Parliamentarians were making suggestions, revive and renovate the Centro di Barios, among other modest initiatives.

MinPres mentioned trees, his favorite topic, namely the nature reserve in Noord. He did not remember its name and went on to share completely wrong information. FYI: The GMC Nature Preservation Foundation owns the park in Noord, the land is indeed privately owned, an initiative by Ewald Biemans and Bucuti & Tara Beach Hotel. Ban Lanta & Planta has a modest nursery there and planted some trees, but the project is NOT theirs, they contribute, they do not own nor manage.

Credit must be given where credit is due, to the private sector, and generous doners who saved the land from ‘development.’

Then Otmar Oduber pitched in and ended his allotted time slot with an extensive call for unity, working together and making positive changes without too much blame and resentment.

Immediately afterwards, member of parliament Tevreden delivered an extensive barrage of blame and resentment against the sitting government and faulted it for Aruba’s loss of autonomy. He only had praise from his own party — he must have forgotten it lost the elections.

Parliamentarian Lindor stole the show with a totally incoherent dissertation. I had no clue what she was talking about. She is a very confusing and cryptic speaker.

As is the habit, all speakers addressed themselves to the Voorzitter; constantly referring to him by his role as the president of parliament — as if he was listening.

Minister Arthur Dowers made sense. He will be renovation Scol di Polis Watty Vos. Yet he couldn’t resist throwing fabulous insults at his predecessor, the former Minister of Justice, as I said, there is lots of blame and resentment going around.

Over the weekend I received a lot of fake videos in Spanish and English pretending to report on the tension between the U.S. and Venezuela.  Fact is that in 2020 the U.S. indicted president Maduro and several other high government officials on narco-terrorism charges, offering a US$15 million reward for his capture. Then same year, Venezuela captured some Americans, that are still held hostage, all former U.S. special forces soldiers. Recently, the reward offer went up to US$50, as the rhetoric and troop deployment escalated.

The world as you know is now divided for and against the Maduro regime. Russia, China, Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Turkey support Maduro, the U.S. and what we refer to as the G7, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom do not recognize the legitimacy of his regime.

I am no expert on the subject, but according to reports cocaine manufactured in Columbia is warehoused in Venezuela and finds its way to the four corners of the world from there. The border area is controlled by many criminal groups, and the respective governments lost control to dangerous gangs.

Aruba’s aerial border with Venezuela is closed since Venezuela accused Aruba of stealing precious metals. But our maritime border is open, and produce continues to come in. So as long as that holds true, we have nothings to worry about.

What will the future bring and what is the conflict about? We have no crystal ball, but it is safe to say that it’s about access to energy sources, AI is a great energy consumer, and a bit of muscle flexing, as a reminder to criminals that lawlessness will not be tolerated forever.

The Caribbean’s first restaurant led by a chef honored with both a Michelin Star, for extraordinary cuisine and a Michelin Green Star, for sustainability, is checking into the multiple award-winning resort into a freshly designed 32 seat culinary theater, with an exhibition kitchen, inside, outside and bar seating.

Chef Ford is Miami-based where he reigns over Stubborn Seed, on Miami Beach, in the South of Fifth neighborhood. He also runs a sister-restaurant in Las Vegas, by the same name, both serving innovative, modern American cuisine. The Butcher’s Club, a steakhouse, in Palm Beach Gardens, is also one of his acclaimed creations.

The chef has been a repeat visitor to Aruba, he came here with his dad a number of times, has known Maurice Neme for a while, and of all Caribbean islands decided to hitch his culinary talent to Aruba’s quest, and help turn the island into a major culinary destination.

The idea of a specialty restaurant at Bucuti was hatched between Chef Ford, investors Maurice and Karim Neme and hotelier Cresi Biemans. The three are collaborating creatively to make the dream a reality.

This is a convergence of superpowers. Cresi, Ewald Bieman’s granddaughter, who will be named the resort’s managing director at the end of the month, the Neme twins who are third generation movers and shaker in hospitality in Aruba, and chef Ford, an award-winning American celebrity, are actively bringing their visionary dining concept to life.

We met Chef Ford at Bucuti this week, at the under-construction restaurant. He came here with his team and is making the rounds to introduce himself to local chefs, growers, and purveyors, work on the menu and explore possibilities. He walked the garden barefoot with Lorraine, of Petite Green’s fame, and admired mushrooms grown locally by Rachel at Farm a Cure Fungi. He visited supermarkets and scoped out the restaurant scene. He did not just lend his name to the enterprise, he is deeply involved in the development and construction of Terra, being carefully put together by Coastal Crafters Aruba.

The subdued, elegant restaurant décor, and its color scheme, by a Mexican interior designer, reflect the connection to sand, land and soil as defined by the restaurant name Terra.

Chef Ford reports he was inspired to enter the kitchen by his maternal grandmother, an Italian immigrant. They cooked together. What she missed in English communication she made up for with delicious recipes. He learned that cooking is fun, brings people together and may result in a rewarding career.

The young aspiring cook, catapulted to stardom on TV when he won the 13th season of Bravo’s Top Chef. But what truly sets him apart from other culinary wizards is his love for farming and agriculture, and that his actual immersion in farm life impacted his culinary vocabulary and deepened his appreciation for freshness and sustainability.

Originally, he thought about cultivating a tiny farm to experiment with new dishes and flavors, a kind of test garden paired with a test kitchen, but then he soon discovered he wanted to grow his own food from seed. Following a substantial investment he now owns the Ford Farm in Homestead, Miami, approximately 5.5 acres in size, where his grown tomatoes, okra, eggplant, carrots, herbs, and specialty crops, which are featured farm-fresh on the menus of his restaurants.

The chef’s deep commitment to sustainability made him the ideal partner for Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort that achieved certified CarbonNeutral status, as a net zero operation in 2018, the first resort in the Caribbean.

The meeting of culinary brilliance and sustainability, is an extraordinary combination, and we wish all partners success and satisfaction.

The handsome, tall, green-eyed Chef Ford reports Terra will be relaxed, unpretentious, and very approachable for locals and visitors. Grandma did an excellent job, he is charming too.