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Asufro as part of
the exposition at Fort Zoutman
Two small plants and a
compilation of pictures of Asufro (Pereskia guamacho) presently
make part of an exhibition at the historical
museum Fort Zoutman. The exhibition is placed for the royal visit of Prince
William Alexander to Aruba in past April. Department of Agriculture,
Husbandry and Fisheries (DLVVM) focuses on Asufro as CARMABI foundation (Curaçao)
has last year internationally declared this plant as a new specie for the flora of Aruba
in the Caribbean Journal of Science. Thereby mentioning that DLVVM keeps voucher
specimens in a herbarium. Asufro is a member of Cactaceae, the family of
cactuses, as if the plant people make cactus hedges of on Aruba. Unlike the more common
known cactus, Asufro has a more defined stem with branches and it has leaves. However, the
thorns are like cactuses and the stem peels off just like the cactus. The plant has
yellow flowers and it blooms in April/May, in the dry season, when it sheds all its
leaves. The plant is present in Colombia and Isla Margarita, Venezuela, specifically in
the arid coastal areas.
 The international
announcement of the presence of Asufro in the Arubian flora is important for botanists who
studies vegetation developments. Specifically those botanists who are interested in the
different variations of the same specie
now know that specimens are available in Aruba. Since 1977 DLVVM knew that Asufro was
present in the local flora, but nobody has announce it internationally. Furthermore, Stoffers
among other botanists has studied the flora of Aruba, but never mentioned this specie to
be present in the flora of Aruba. The existing specimens of Asufro are old big trees, not
easy to overlook. This stresses the necessity for botanical research on regular basis to
discover new species and to check on the status of present species. Interesting to know is
that Frere Arnoldo, the author of a huge description of the flora of the
Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, mentioned that Curaçao imported Asufro around 1850.
In Curaçao Asufro solely lives in tree gardens.  On the other hand, the three Asufros on
Aruba live in National Park Arikok, which is a natural area. There are no
historical data known of the import of Asufro in Aruba and some species like Palo di Boonchi (Erythrina
velutina) are indigenous to Aruba but imported into the adjacent islands. Asufro is a
unique plant for Aruba and there are only three specimen left in its original habitat.
Therefore, a preliminary list of plants to be protected in a resolution under the Nature
Protection Ordinance of 1995, also mentions Asufro. DLVVM has, as a protection
measure, a few small plants of the Asufro at sale in prevention of a complete
disappearance of this plant on Aruba. Although it is preferable that the specie multiplies
in its own habitat as this has proven to be its living place. The exhibition in Fort Zoutman is open
daily from Monday to Friday, from 9 to 12 in the morning and from 1 to 4:30 in the
afternoon. The exhibition will remain open until the end of August.
[courtesy of Facundo
Franken ]
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Efe Ice Cream
offers excellent quality
 Efe ice cream hails from Venezuela and
is imported to the island by TEC agencies. The ice cream is all natural, and is made under
strict European quality standards, with the help of the latest technology. The ice cream
factory has been in existence since 1926, yet the product constantly undergoes updates and
renovations. Efe ice cream comes in 17 flavors, among them Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry
and Pistachio which are the best sellers, says Indira Jansen, Tec's
ice-cream girl. Indira keeps in touch with all restaurants, snack-bars and
mini-markets carrying the delicious products. Efe ice cream sells very well she says, at
Le Petit Cafe, at Coco's Beach Cafe, Polo Rico, the French Steakhouse, and at sport events. While at the
beginning TEC used to bring in just one 20-foot container, it now import 40-foot
containers to satisfy the demand at the 24-stores in Savaneta, Dakota, Paradera and at the
chain of Wan Boy Supermarkets. Indira reports that Efe makes refreshing sherbets and three different
varieties of frozen cakes, a Swiss Torte, a layered Ovation & Duquesa, the Duchess of
ice cream cakes, for the convenience of house wives, also perfectly suited for office
celebrations. Kids love the novelties, says Indira, including Piñata, with bubble gum at
the bottom and the Doble Fresco Popsicles. There are two popular kinds of Super Tornado,
one with Vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge and sprinkled peanuts the other with Key Lime
Pie filling. There are also two types of Gimik, one made of Dolce de Leche the other
featuring smooth Chocolate ice cream. Dieters will be happy to discover the richness of
the Light/Ligero line, and those who simply enjoy the good life will fall in love with the
Sundaes! Efe ice cream is available in convenient 1/2 LT & 1 LT containers and is
packaged in 5Lt for commercial use. The little Efe truck will deliver, everywhere . . .
just give Indira a call at TEC # 821304. Try Efe ice cream today and you'll discover a
premium ice cream at a very reasonable price. . .
[courtesy of Rona Coster]
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NEW HANGOUT
 Tabasko just opened at the Bushiri
with legendary barman Paul Faas at the helm. It is really gorgeous. The
inside features an attractive bar and two sitting corners, the outside, a terrace-
restaurant overlooking a fully-grown dense garden. The building was in existence and
"just" underwent a bit of a transformation. Tropical ceiling fans churn the air
over exotic plants, inside mandarin and cobalt blue walls, lit with ceramic lamps. Miriam
and Isa wait on tables, Dennis is in the kitchen. They
are popular Horeca personalities from their old days at Que Pasa
and Salt & Pepper. Cute is the keyword. Cute menus, cute candle
holders, cute tables and chairs with leopard skin cushions. We tried the Carpachio, the
Goat Cheese/Honey appetizer, the Spanish Paella, and the  Stuffed Chicken with capers and
pickled onions, all very good and reasonably priced! Paul sent faxes around town, then he
hand-delivered PERSONALIZED cards to all his friends. He is a PR wizard besides being the
BEST cosmopolitan maker. Yoa Beke designed logo, menus and miniature hot
sauce bottles to go. Hopi nice . . .
[courtesy of Rona Coster]
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A discerning
client for Aruba
Adriaan Arends
is presently on the island with 24 hand-picked special event planners. Adriaan is Aruba's Director
of Conventions and Meetings Bureau. His job is to find people, who can move people,
bring them down to Aruba for an educational tour, make them fall in love with our product
then go home and send us large groups with considerable vacation budgets to spend. Adriaan
who is headquartered in the US runs the Fort Lauderdale office. He escorts groups of
prospective clients four times a year, out of different markets, the US, Canada,
Europe and Latin America. This is a partnership, he explains, and by working
together we shine. As his partners he considers all of Aruba's major resorts, Tierra
del Sol's golf course, the Aruba Gastronomic Association and three local
companies catering to the finicky needs of incentive travelers. De palm Tours is
the largest. And De Palm just hired the services of Robert Eldrige, to
come up with a bunch of creative ideas. My job says Robert is to conceive a plan to sell
our products - snorkeling, diving, and that of our third party partners - golfing, dining,
to corporate officials holding the incentive purse strings. And this summer is reportedly
going to be very challenging with some of the large companies cutting back on travel,
foregoing deposits, and saving the cash they would have otherwise eagerly spent on
rewarding their top producers. The other two companies in the incentive business are ECO
Destination Management and Every Aruba Event Specialists. Among Adriaan's current guests
the American Express Company, out of Canada. They already had a few small size groups on
the island. Also Authentic Events Travel, with a group on the books for next year. It's a
joint effort confirms Adriaan. One of the hotels will get the room revenues, but all other
partners will benefit. You are welcome to kick the tires while you are here, said general
manager Jeff Lesker. Give us a test drive. See if we walk the talk, if we
embody that spirit of service you are looking for, for your clients. Lesker is at the helm
at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino and was the host of the kick off event.
We will deliver on our promise, he said. Tourism is our specialty, this is what we do, we
don't manufacture anything (Aruba Aloe Balm, will beg to differ), and thus all of our many
splendors are at your disposal. The group will remain in Aruba for four action packed days
and nights.
[courtesy of Rona Coster]
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Extravaganza
stocks Longchamp
 Longchamp, a quality line made
by a French bag-maker is now available in Aruba at Extravaganza, Seaport Village.
Zosia Drotkowski, company representative was on hand this week at the
store, arranging showcases, sharing some of her knowledge with the local sales team.
Longchamp, Zosia reports features the design of French-born Isabelle
Guyon who creates two distinctly different collections twice a year for the
Spring/Summer and the Fall/Winter. The collections offers new shapes and colors each time.
For the Spring/Summer 2001 a fresh Lilac is available, also an assortment of bags in
Mandarin, Capuchin, and Sky Blue, besides the more functional, classic, Black, Tan and
White. The young, trendy Bionic line features Gold and Taupe bags well-suited for the
Fall/Winter 2001 season. The bags are durable and scratch resistant, which make them very
popular with consumers. They are all made of fine leather and beautifully finished.
Longchamp's most famous invention, explains Zosia is the nylon and leather Pliage
Collection, also available in Microfiber and leather offering a practical, colorful
folding bag, for travelers. Stick it in your purse, she says,  go shopping, unfold your
Longchamp, then elegantly carry your purchases around. Zosia who worked for Longchamp in
Paris, served for two years as company representative in Miami. She now travels the
Caribbean to introduce the quality product to new clients. Once a Longchamp client, she
says, always a Longchamp client.
[courtesy of Rona Coster]
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Changing of the
Guards at the Rotary Club
 Hotelier Alex Nieuwmeijer, Divi Resorts,
assumed the Presidency of the local Rotary Club during a gala evening celebration at the Radisson
Aruba Resort & Casino. Humanity is our business, declares the Rotarian lapel pin.
Indeed, in Aruba, 51 members raise up to one-quarter- of-a-million florins each year for
the old folks center Kibrahacha, Meals on Wheels and similar social causes. Alex replaced Dr.
Bryson, a pediatrician at the helm of the organization. He is also a very active
Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association member, besides other professional and social
affiliations. The evening at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino took off with a
cocktail party accompanied by the music of flutist Delbert Bernabela, and
was followed by an elegant sit down dinner, speeches and a video.
[courtesy of Rona Coster]
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Cocktail Party
 Publisher Jossy Mansur
hosted a glitzy cocktail party at the Wyndham Sirocco Lounge introducing some
powerful, interesting,
overseas guests, among them star attorneys Johnny Cochran and Bob
Washington, shareholders in Leeward Island lottery whose subsidiary Lotto
Pa Deporte Diario, Jossy Mansur is now trying to set up on the
island. The party was attended by Dr. Lili Beke the Minister of
Tourism and Economic affairs also by Glenbert Croes, the Minister
of Transportation and Sport whose office budget will benefit from lottery proceeds.
Other guests included some members of the opposition, hotel managers and business leaders.
The Minister of Justice, Eddy Croes, announced this week that the Lotto
Pa Deporte Diario petition hasn't appeared on his desk and that according to Aruban law
only one lottery benefiting sports is possible and it is already in existence under the
direction of Ipi Kock,  nevertheless the Lotto Pa Deporte Diario already has two outlets
operating, one of them at Hooters, with a large attractive, jackpot luring locals
to play. Johnny Cochran and Bob Washington, who doesn't practice law anymore, are setting
up similar lottery operations on a number of
islands in the Caribbean.
[courtesy of Rona Coster]
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Flowering
Indigenous Trees at DLVVM
In these days there are
several indigenous trees flowering at the local tree garden of the Department of
Agriculture, Husbandry and Fisheries (DLVVM). The garden has been setup to acquire
seeds and to study the growth of indigenous trees of Aruba. DLVVM invites the public to
see these flowering trees as the garden also functions as an extensioning garden for those
who want to learn more about these trees. This comes in handy for those who buy indigenous
trees as they can see how their little tree would grow. At the planting of the little tree
in their garden, they can take measurements for its future growth. The blooming indigenous
trees are Huliba (Capparis odoratissima), Huliba Macho
(Capparis indica), Stoki (Capparis flexuosa), Cawara
di Mondi (Cordia dentata) and Palo di Taki (Geoffroea
spinosa). Cawara di Mondi flowers several times a year, but the others only once a
year. Palo di Taki is now flowering after two years, probably because of this year's
severe dry season. The flowers of the capparislike trees are very fragrant and white of
color. The flower of Palo di Taki is orange colored and that of Cawara di Mondi is light
yellowish.
Of the five trees mentioned, four are on the draft list for the protection of the
indigenous flora. Soon the government will declare this list in a resolution under the Nature
Protection Ordinance of 1995. The most endangered of the four plants is Palo di Taki
as it has only one location on the Island. The conservation of the local flora is among
the tasks of DLVVM. DLVVM tries to implement this task by conserving and protecting the
local flora habitats, as these area proofs to be flourishing with the particular flora. As
people remove particular tree species of their habitats, the result can be a degraded
landscape. To restore such a landscape would be very difficult, as these particular trees
are slow growers and it will take a long time before there will be a diverse and full
grown tree stand, capable to maintain and reproduce itself. For Palo di Taki the loss
of its unique habitat would be disastrous and irreplaceable.
DLVVM presumes that the trees would be flowering until 8 June. Those that want to be sure
to see the trees in bloom can call to 856473. The local tree garden is located at Piedra
Plat # 114, between the Piedra Plat Protestant Church and the road bridge at
Piedra Plat. The gates are open from 7 to 12 o'clock in the morning and from 1 to 4 'o
clock in the afternoon. When arriving at the agricultural station, the visitor can walk
through the vegetable garden, past the big 'Wilde Roos' trees to the right and walked to
the nursery with the black shadow cloth. There lies the local tree garden and usually
there is someone nearby to provide information about the trees.
[courtesy of Facundo
Franken]
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Chopra then conducted a long
four-hour session. The first part was dedicated to his idea of the connectedness of the
universe, the fact that we should pay attention to all events, big and small. They are
related. He calls that phenomenon the Conspiracy of Improbabilities; a
tongue-twisting way of saying that nature is eavesdropping on our internal dialogues thus
bringing events and
The master of marketing made us listen to some mythical Hindu
poet called Rumi, whose ruminations include the adventures of his love arrow, in some
purple comet Hailey-like planet, accompanied by oude music, arranged as rap-nouveau
rapture. Again all CDs were sold out. But, I did have a good time, especially with my
girlfriends, spending quality time together. Chopra is an excellent speaker; he has a nice
rhythm to his words. He also makes sense especially when talking about the future, fight
poverty is his advise to Aruba, conserve your resources, prevent environmental disasters
and you’ll thrive. Ohm-Nama, which in Chopra-lingo mean Amen.
He is a
versatile balladeer with an extensive repertory is several languages. The Father of
Aruba's Culture Padu del Caribe also dropped in with his friend
writer-poet Hubert Booi. They helped Etty sing, some of Padu's own
compositions to the audiences total delight. Also on the program for this weekend, Rufo
Odor, Aruba's master choir conductor. The musical matinee only showcases local
creativity, poets, singers musicians and writers of all kinds and is Ike Cohen's
favorite Sunday activity. Ike will be 90 this week, June 2nd, and will be celebrating his
birthday in great style, with all party proceeds earmarked to charity.
Alex & Mieke, from Holland, opted to tie the knot on
the island of Aruba. We love the beach, they say, and we wanted to get away to a far,
exotic place. The 
public celebration upon their return. Alex, a plumber, met Mieke, a banker, in a bar. He
invited himself for a drink. It turned out to be the cocktail of a lifetime. The wedding
ceremony was followed by an elaborate dinner for two, toes in the sand.
