Book Signing Fun

The story told in An Island Away, takes place in Aruba, Dutch Caribbean. I have the good fortune to live on the island six months of the year, and thus, meet many people interested in the book. Here are some photos from a book signing event at the Tamarijn Resort.

tamarijn3It’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.

tamarijn2Of 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.

tamarijn1I 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.

My thanks go out to all the people who have bought and read An Island Away. Similarly, I would like to express my gratitude to the staff of the Tamarijn Resort as well as all the retailers on the island who have helped make it the best selling book in Aruba for 2008.

Published in: on January 24, 2009 at 10:59 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Short History of Aruba

Aruba Short History by Dr. J Hartog is a handy reference guide for those curious about Aruba’s past. It provides information on the native indians who first inhabited the island all the way through the time when the Esso refinery was the largest in the world.

auahist1

You can find the book at the Samsom Bookstore on L.G. Smith Boulevard as well as at the DeWit-VanDorp main store in Dakota, not far from the airport. Among the many amazing fact in the book is that the population of Aruba in the mid-1920’s was 6,500 and in the mid-1970’s was more than 60,000. That’s quite an increase.

There’s much more in the book including a brief overview of the Esso Refinery days, some details about the Second World War, and bits of insight into local culture. This little book is worth the 14.50 florins you’ll pay.

Published in: on January 20, 2009 at 9:42 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Aruba Maps

Until recently there were very few good maps of Aruba. Yes, it is a small island. Nonetheless, you can get lost here, which can be fun or annoying depending upon your purpose. Well, I was in the Samsom Bookstore the other day and found this Guia di Caya, or street guide as it is known in English.

auamap1This is quite a good resource. For example: If you’re looking for your friend’s house, especially that friend who has invited you to visit his home in Aruba but told you it was EASY to find. He might have said, turn left at the Divi tree, right at the big rock, go about half a mile then turn right again by the third cactus on the left. If this is the case, you definitely want this book.

Seriously… let’s say you would like to buy a home on the island and you’ve been looking through the listings. You’ll be able to see individual neighborhoods, whether or not the roads are paved or packed dirt, and how they fit into the larger scheme of the island.

auamap22

The page above shows the De Bruynewijk area of Savaneta. The red line in the center of the right page is the main highway. The gray lines are paved secondary roads and the yellow lines are dirt roads. As you can see, some house numbers are listed, but not all of them. You’ll also note that house numbers are not sequential. It is my quest to convince the powers that be in Aruba to name all the streets and assign sequential numbers. The lack of them plays havoc with deliveries. It’s quaint until you spend half a day waiting for something that could have arrived in mere minutes.

Once again, I found this book at the Samsom Book Store on L.G. Smith Boulevard, across from the container port. The book was situated on a series of shelves under the heading “Aruba History.” Cost was rather expensive, $25.00 US. Given the price of gasoline, it is probably well worth it.

Bon dia from Aruba.

Published in: on January 14, 2009 at 11:10 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Hard Rock Cafe, Aruba

The Hard Rock Cafe in Aruba opened in December of 2008. It’s located near the high-rise hotel area adjacent to several other restaurants. Here is a short video of the place.

This Hard Rock is smaller than many of the other ones. Still, looks like a friendly place and the drink prices are about the same as elsewhere on the island. If this is your kind of thing, enjoy yourself! They don’t call it one happy island for nothing.

Published in: on January 9, 2009 at 1:55 am  Comments (1)  
Tags: , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »