As you drive around Aruba you see under trees, and across mini markets, in many of the island’s neighborhoods, battered, abandoned pieces of furniture, bau palo – literally, under the tree.
The sitting areas are used by neighborhood residents as a social hub, where one can play domino in the breeze, on suffocating summer nights. And the game of dominos naturally equals drinking, mostly beer.
Throwing back a few cold ones on an informal street corner is the spice of life and a cornerstone of bar culture in Aruba.
Surprise. The Police conducted a raid just recently, the Dakota gang got busted, and confiscated an especially dirty and shapeless sofa, the color of vomit, among other locations in the heart of Oranjestad.
The media reported: The Police is enforcing the no drinking in public areas decree.
I hope the raid was fueled by the ban on agglomeration, because drinking in public areas is our national hobby and if you crack down on that, much of the Aruba Fun Outdoor Experience will be lost.
So hopefully, it was a ban on agglomeration that sparked the raid and not the ban on public drinking.
Just think about Carnival without drinking at Julio’s on the sidewalk, or happy hour on the beach, or standing on the curbside at Chaos, on a Friday, or Manuelito’s, anytime, sipping and chatting.
I almost said rum shop.
Alas, I think we no longer have rum shops on the island, how sad.
Of course, I don’t go drinking under every lamp post every night, but I want to hold on to the option!
