Next stop
was the ABC Islands. Aruba was the first
stop of the three Islands we visited of the six that make up Dutch Antillean. Aruba’s history is quite intriguing. The first
settlers derived from Venezuela more than 4500 years ago. Later another group known as the “Caiquetios”
arrived 1000 years later to populate the island. In 1499 the Spanish laid claim, but ignored
Aruba for nearly 16 years until the entire population of natives where
transported to Santo Domingo (now known as Haiti and the Dominican Republic) to
work as slaves. Shortly after the Dutch gain dominance and have maintained
control to this day with the exception of a very short English rule in the 19
th
century.
This is my
third time in Aruba. The island itself is very aired and the terrain reminds me
of Arizona. The island has an interesting mix of people and cultures including
Pilipino, Chinese, Spanish and Dutch. Although all the Arubans speak English, visitors
to the island will frequently hear a local language known as Papiamento.
Papiamento is a creole language derived from African dialects and either
Portuguese or Spanish, with some influences from Amerindians, English, and
Dutch.
Again, we
walked the island and looked for sites. Mostly, we met random Arubans and proceeded
to ham. We hung out at the gorgeous
beaches and stopped to window shop here and there.
My favorite
stop was a place called the “Local Store”, which was a bar with free wifi and
local drinks. I partook of the local
snacks
Pastechis (ham and cheese turnover) and Croquettes (similar
to a large eggroll filled with a mystery meat) and sipped rum and coke.
The
bar tenders where young and cute just like we like them. We snapped a few photos and later
danced toSpanish music in the upper bar.
I think the
most interesting things were actually happening on the ship, which leads me to
my second couple to highlight, Basil and Dan.
Basil and Dan are a petite Jewish couple from Manchester England. Tracy and I met Basil while chatting with
other guest in the atrium of the ship. Somehow, we had broached the subject of
booty sizes in Brazil. During that conversation, one of the guests mentioned a
report of women getting ripped off and poisoned by a scammer that was injecting
a magical plumping elixir into their derrières, which turned out to be “fix a
flat”. Upon over hearing this report as she
walked past,
Basil was taken aback, inviting herself into the conversation to
warn in her proper, slow and deliberate English accent, “If your bottom is too
large then eat less. If it is too small, well then, learn to live with it.”
From that point on Basil was an immediate favorite of the clams. At seventy
years plus, Basil is no more than five foot tall with a sturdy frame, short
grey hair, a pleasant round face and a forever pensive look as if she is
constantly contemplating solutions to all the world’s problems. Basil was easy
to chat with, because she did most of the talking and was always generous with
advice. Although she was quite loquacious, her smile, warmth and English
practicality were irresistible.
Dan, Basil’s
husband for the last forty-six years, turns out to be quite different in
disposition. Dan stands less than five foot
six inches and looks twenty years younger than his staggering age of eighty-six.
Dan is all about efficiency and amazingly high-tech for his age. Not only does
he have a functioning Ipad, he also writes e-books on how to stay fit and
youthful as a senior in his ample spare time. He is an avid swimmer and has a
speedo for every mood. Dan frequently
interrupted conversations and would politely offer to leave Basil “to chat with
her new friends” if the venture or conversation extended beyond his short attention
span.
Basil and Dan
recently moved back to the eastern part of London to reconnect with their roots.
Basil gave me detailed stories of how she and Dan had met nearly 5 decades ago
through a family match maker. She had
been married once before and didn’t want to go the tradition route of meeting
men. Dan shared his recollection of riding in a horse-drawn taxi at the age of
four and tales of his journeys to America on a merchant navy ship after World
War II. According to Dan, the ship was transporting, “pregnant English Gals
that had married ‘Yanks’ during the war. Of which, most returned to Brittan after
being stood-up by their new American husbands.” Dan also took great pleasure in
teaching me and Tracy a few proper English terms such as “Rubbish” and “inverted
commas” (to mean air quotes) mixed with a bit of Cockney slang like using
apples as a euphemism for stairs.
The most
interesting tidbit I gathered from Dan and Basil was their current living arrangement.
After moving back to London and selling a summer flat on Tenerife Island (part
of the Spanish Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa), they decided
to move to a retirement apartment building.
This by itself is not interesting; however, in an effort to fully enjoy
their surroundings, they decided to live in separate apartments across the
hallway from one another. Basil wakes up late and enjoys a leisurely breakfast
and read of the paper. Differently, Dan often rises early and takes a swim and
then has a nap after lunch. Basil reported that they typically meet for a
nightly supper at her slightly larger flat unless Dan is distracted by a football
match, whereas, he has to find his own dinner between goals. According to Basil, the two years of this
arrangement have worked well allowing them to pursue their own interest. Although Dan and Basil have an atypical
situation, I see their true affection shine through when Dan gloats about how
their children adore Basil and how the biggest joy in life is finding the right
partner. I have always said the key to long successful marriage was separate
rooms, little did I know it was separate flats!
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