1/23/2013 Aruba Island & The odd couple

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!