When I was younger, much younger, and arrived in Bali Indonesia, on a beautiful summer days, we checked into a fancy hotel, I remember an atrium, must have been the Hyatt, and went looking for the drug waiter. It turned out our hotel in Bali Indonesia had a bartender entrusted with the drug promotion, and while he did not carry any he told us where to go for Mushroom Pizza, Mushroom Omelet and Mushroom Quiche.
Magic Mushroom, right? Yes, the psychedelic variety.
So the happy marriage of drugs on vacation is a reality. I imagine our guests, taking time off on the island, wish to also include various mood-altering methods and mix them in with sex and rock n roll. Nothing wrong with that picture, unless it is a bother to other vacationers.
I recently got the following note:
Rona, wondering if you would provide some advice. The drug peddler situation in the beach area, at the end of the walkway leading to the De Palm Pier and Bugaloe, is out of control. The police does not interfere with their business. Is there anyone in Aruba to help with this challenge? You are the most knowledgeable and truthful person I follow – thank you darling for the compliment – so I thought it is worth asking. Over the last few years I have tried the Hilton/Radisson, the Riu, De Palm Tours, Unique Water Sports, the Police and no one reacts. The area is so populated with drug purveyors you cannot walk down the sidewalk without being engulfed in smoke. Let’s see if you can ring someone’s bell about it.
Thank you so much for helping. K.R. a timeshare owner.
I asked for a reaction from friends, some of the companies mentioned above and this is what I got:
It’s not for a lack of effort on our part bringing this problem to the attention of the highest authority, including the MinPres, which we did in writing, citing an experience one of our customers had on the pier. That letter was neither acknowledged nor responded to. AHATA, the hotels and de Palm have over the years sent countless letters, had meetings and offered proof to the police, ministers and the MinPres…. And absolutely nothing has been done about it. In the rare case when they have actually had the police conduct a raid the police came up short (finding no drugs), no surprise there, or the peddlers were released from jail within hours of their arrest. It’s a challenge and in my opinion a big threat to our tourism asset on Palm Beach. The authorities have no interest in helping resolve this issue.
A copy of this tourist letter has been sent to the MinEcon, who promised to deliver to the attention of MinJust and MinTour!
