The Bent Page

My novel, An Island Away, takes place in San Nicolaas, Aruba. San Nicolaas was actually the second capital of Aruba, the town of Savaneta being the first and currently Oranjestaad is the seat of government. San Nicolaas experienced a massive boom when an oil refinery was built there in order to process crude oil from the Lake Maracaibo area of Venezuela. Originally known as Lago Oil, the refinery was soon purchased by Esso, (aka Exxon, formerly Standard Oil of New Jersey). Today, the refinery is a shadow of what it once was. During World War II, it was the largest oil refinery in the world. Winston Churchill’s strategic world maps featured Aruba prominently because of this.

Here is a view of the refinery as seen from Roger’s Beach.

This was the photo used on the back cover of the first printing of An Island Away. The view is not only the flip side of the book but also the flip side of paradise. Aruba is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean. The island has more repeat visitors than any other. And they deserve the fine reputation they have for excellent hospitality, great beaches, and good restaurants that every tourist can enjoy.

Yet, there is more to Aruba than umbrella drinks and sunshine. Thanks to the refinery, San Nicolaas was once a thriving boomtown. Due to the many small ships calling at the port, as well as the thousands of workers at the refinery, the town had more than thirty barrooms in six square blocks These bars doubled as brothels. I’ve seen photos and heard stories of those days, when it was more like the Wild West than what we think of as the Caribbean. These adventures were described to me by people who grew up there in the 1950’s and 60’s. First-hand accounts are the best.

At first I thought these accounts were exaggerations. However, as I spent more and more time in San Nicolaas, I learned that, if anything, they were diminished to protect the innocent. And the San Nicolaas that I first experienced was about 20% of what my friends were talking about. Still, it was a bawdy good time that led to a great story. One of the reasons I wrote An Island Away was to put down permanently what it was like to run the town the way these people did. Keeps the exaggeration to a minimum as we get older.

And so, if you get to Aruba, or another popular destination, take an afternooon or at least a couple of hours to check out the other side. You might be surprised what you find. In a later post I will have photos of Charlie’s Bar, and talk about Charlie Brouns, Jr., the man who introduced me to the ways of San Nicolaas. Don’t forget, excerpts from the book and other info are on my website, www.danielputkowski.com.