The New Pueblito Paisa Restaurant in San Nicolaas, Aruba, is a local favorite for Colombian food. I’ve had many good meals here at very reasonable prices. Here is a short video showing a recent lunch featuring the lomito dish.
Quite a plate of food and delicious, too! Best to go early for lunch, around 11:30 because the place fills up with workers from the nearby oil refinery. They serve lunch and supper until well into the night and do a steady take-out trade if you don’t want to eat in. As a side note, I used to spend a lot of time here, writing at the counter and learning Spanish from the wait staff and customers. It was a fun experience that continues to this day.
Bon dia from Aruba.
John was in the Polish Underground during the Second World War. He fought the Nazis and the Russian Communists. His brother was involved with another resistance group which was sometimes at odds with John’s. As the war came to an end, John escaped from Poland (to avoid the Soviets) and ended up in Germany of all places before making his way to America. He was very successful in business and now visits Aruba, Poland, and other places every year. What a guy!
It’s a true pleasure to meet people who have read the book or heard about it and want to know more. I’m surprised at the questions asked, which actually serve as inspiration to keep writing. After all, if a reader wants to know more or found something particularly interesting, it is a cue to include it in the next story.
Of course, hearing people’s stories about Aruba is also fascinating. There are many visitors who have been going to the island for 20 or 30 consecutive years. That’s quite a few frequent flier miles. Aruba is a wonderful island full of nice people, good restaurants, and fringed by beautiful beach. However, I don’t write much about that part of Aruba.
I write mostly about the refinery boomtown of San Nicolaas. It was here that I came in 1994, when I first visited the island. It’s a strange place, full of characters and stories, all of which are incredible when understood in the context of the Caribbean.
And below you’ll see a photo of Mansur’s Papiamento/English dictionary:
Wherever you go, reading the local papers will put you in touch with the sensibility of the citizenry, what’s going on in their world, what they think is important. I find this makes my traveling experience more enriching. Instead of taking in the sights, sampling the food, and heading for home, I’ll take the time to peruse their papers and magazines, try to decipher the letters to the editor, and get a deeper understanding of the culture. It’s a challenge, but one well worth the effort.
The Bent Page 
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