ARIKOK PARK AND THE ISSUE OF TRANSPARENCY. We were told this week that the Director of Arikok National Park was placed on non-active duty. It means that you cannot fire the guy. It also means that he continues to make his money, but doesn’t have to work for it. Honestly, if you were going to be vague and wishy-washy about what exactly happened there, then keep it out of the press, just hide it, don’t tell us anything about it. Just like the government does. If you’re not going to tell us something of substance, don’t waste our time reading the fluff. It’s either you dish out the news, or keep quiet. Additionally, a dry Dutchman at the helm of the park would be perfectly fine if the park didn’t have to earn a living. But the park needs to become sustainable, marketing mainly to American tourists. Get someone with a marketing background, who understands the needs and wants of those park visitors. I believe the park is getting sufficient visitors, but it’s having difficulties, with the commercial exploitation aspect of the experience.
TRY SOMETHING NEW EVERY WEEK. In the spirit of trying something new we stopped at La Focaccia, Renaissance Marketplace, for what was going to be a light lunch, just soup. Between Potato Soup and French Onion, guess what we ordered?! We got a nicely satisfying soup as far as the flavor of the beef broth and the caramelized onions, but the soup was poured into a flat soup dish, not a bowl. It was layered with sliced Gouda, not aged Gruyère, and topped with soggy bread, not toasted baguette! So it was a tasty cousin, but not the real deal. Coffee on the other hand was excellent, Italian Lavazza, now available on the island from the S&D crew, and the pastries were good-looking. We should go back for the shortbread fruit tarts or the Sacher torte. I saw lovely cannoli in two different sizes, which means you can order a mini on low-cal days, croissants, Danish pastry, apple tart and appelflaps, focaccia with rosemary and sundried tomato and assorted breads, some healthy some sinful.
