Cuppa Connections Episode 10: From Venezuela to Aruba; Ana's Story

This episode is a continuation of Episode 9. Listen to Ana's story of how she and her husband have created one of the best kept secrets in Aruba. It's wonderful to gain new perspectives of a place that only locals can provide. 

You will gain knowledge of her community Mangel Halto, which is located in the city of Savaneta, and you will hear why her restaurant and beach apartments, Anate, are some of the best that the island has to offer.

We hope you will enjoy it.

Transcript

Portia: 0:00

Hey guys, welcome to Cuppa Connections.. I'm Portia, and we're here coming to you from our virtual cafe, Better with a Cup of Coffee. We are savoring relationships with coffee lovers around the world and sharing their experiences that have been better with a cup of coffee. I wanted to show you a second part of episode nine in episode 10. This episode is about a lovely woman and her family, Ana Lombardi. She is in Aruba. And she's here to talk to you about Anate, her beach apartments, her restaurant, the community of Savaneta and Aruba. So welcome Ana.

Ana: 0:39

Thank you again. Thank you so much Portia because it's nice to talk, you know, with friends. You are also very special for us. This is exactly what we love being here and working here, we brought wonderful people. They are all so sensitive about what we are. You know, what we like, and it's having nice to see you again.

Portia: 1:08

Thank you. Well, I have to tell you guys, uh, Something just happened. I Ana and I were just chatting away thinking that I was recording everything and sure enough, I was not recording anything. So what Ana was telling me is that she and her family have only been in Aruba for seven years. I thought she was there for longer because she and her family. They originally, I guess, from Venezuela, but Ana, you were saying that you're part Italian. Juan Carlos was born in Colombia. Your mother, your father have various backgrounds. All of that combined, you just feel like you're worldly. You're a hundred percent Venezuelan as you said, but, but

Ana: 1:44

I think identity is important. I mean, I, I feel like understanding your origin, your roots. It's very important because it gives you, you know, the identity it gives you what, who you are, but at the end of the story, it should not be a limitation or it should not define you. I mean, it's just, um, a gift that you will use to communicate and to have stories to share, but at the end, I mean, I don't feel that I'm different than you.

Portia: 2:16

I know. That's exactly how I felt when I first met you. When you sat down that first dinner, and you were just talking to us about your family, about everything really. I just felt like I knew you forever and we were no different.

Ana: 2:33

I was talking with my daughter this morning because she was, she was sharing about, uh, difference and groups at school. Let's say it's much easier if you try to focus in what we have in common and not in what we are different. It will be much easier. Everything. We have less troubles.

Portia: 2:51

I agree with that. So tell us what idea in your head made you and your husband, since you said you weren't thinking you were going to be in Aruba for more than a couple of years, then all of a sudden, here we go it's seven years. Yes,

Ana: 3:06

we are staying longer now. My husband said that he will stay here forever. That's why he said, I mean, I will respect that and I will be with him. I will say too.

Portia: 3:21

Well looking at Aruba, it's not called one happy island for no reason.

Ana: 3:25

Yeah. It's not, it's not really a sacrifice.

Portia: 3:30

How did it come about that you created a restaurant. You turn your living room into a restaurant, right?

Ana: 3:37

Well, honestly Juan Carlos and I, we have been working with tourism all our life. I mean, I started working when I was 19 and I'm 47, almost 48. So I have almost 30 years of experience working in tourism.

Portia: 3:53

No wonder. I love it. I love it. It's really my passion. But of course, I did different works in airlines. And in, other hotels, but at the end of the story, all the experience we would put together we decide we want to have something really small.

Ana: 4:12

And, the Airbnb option was perfect for us and having this little restaurant that was a, maybe an accident because it was not in our plans. It's perfect. And we don't want to grow more than this because this is the only way we can manage it like it is. Like part of our daily life and you can make new friends. We only have 12 places at the restaurant. You know that. We can have a dinner with them, with you, and talk with all the group that is with us. If we, it won't be like that would never have the opportunity to talk to you. So, the way we are managing this, It's the way we like. It's not only like a product. It's real. This is our life, and you are in our home, and this is how we want to keep it. And this is how we like it. I mean, at this moment, I don't want to do anything if I don't enjoy,

Portia: 5:12

I get it. We're at that age, you know, I'm about to turn 52 I'm at that age where life is too short and you do want to just enjoy it now.

Ana: 5:20

Yes.

Portia: 5:21

In everything that you do,

Ana: 5:22

I like to work. I work hard. I work from early morning til evening.

Portia: 5:27

Yes.

Ana: 5:27

But, I want to have the possibility to stop and talk to you like today. And then if I, if we want to go to the beach. We are going once a week on Sunday. We decide not to work because we need time for us and the family. So it's like, we need to make that balance enough. It doesn't make sense. As you said, maybe it's this age. You know when I was twenty five, I was in a completely different place and it's okay. It was the moment for that. But at this point, this is the rhythm I want and I am enjoying it and it's going good.

Portia: 6:00

Oh, it is. So, okay. You have the restaurant. It is so intimate. Quaint. Then you have, speaking about the Airbnb. It's pronounced Anate?

Ana: 6:10

Anate. Yes. Anate is the Spanish way to say the name Ana and the letter T. The reason because that's, the name is because my mom's name is Ana Teresa. I am Ana Maria, and my daughter and my sister is Ana Carolina. So, my father always have to create names to make it easier, and Ana Teresa was too long. Ana Maria was too long. Ana Carolina was too long. So the easier way was Ana M or Ana Me, Ana C Ana Ce for my daughter and my sister or my mom.

Portia: 6:50

Ana Te for your mom.

Ana: 6:52

Yes. That's a reason.

Portia: 6:54

Awww.

Ana: 6:55

It's like Ana on the letter T, Anate. Yeah, we have those two apartments. We are planning to build two more. The end of the project, it's four apartments and the little restaurant.

Portia: 7:08

Well wait, wait. Okay. So let me set this up for people. I know you can, but I just have to give them a visual a for my experience. Okay. So guys, when I walked into the restaurant, there's a restaurant in the house to the right. And then there's a little gate where you can open it, and you walk down a pathway and it's so beautiful because Juan Carlos, he has his artwork to the left and it's all colorful and you're just walking down this pathway. And then all of a sudden there is a pool in the back. It's very intimate. That's where they're two apartments. They're lofts. You have downstairs where there's a kitchen. And then you have an upstairs that's where you sleep. So where would the other two go? Right beside their?

Ana: 7:57

No, we will move a little bit. Where the restaurant is right now, we will make the two apartments and the restaurant will be a little bit where our house is right now. Yeah, we will make that. Maybe the restaurant a little bit more, professional, maybe the kitchen we'll make it a little bit more, you know, a better kitchen and, you know, a better insulation. This is more or less the idea, but it will be always a little restaurant and we will keep for sure that workshop of Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos needs to have the place for the art, and you know, the mask he, he does all the time.

Portia: 8:36

Well, I had the privilege of visiting Juan Carlos's second home. I guess you could say, and he's an artist. He takes that very seriously. He does some beautiful work. It's a lot of woodcarvings, correct? And as he turns it into pieces of art. Small, large, It doesn't matter. From what I remember him saying that he had a very, very large piece of art that went for what, several thousand dollars, this incredible.

Ana: 9:09

No, I mean, he's doing good, but I think it's also same point because he loves to do it. I mean, he loves to do what he's doing with the wood. He's passionate of wood and work with wood and painted and then applying colors. I mean, he is not a really good one where routines. So, that the idea of this kind of pieces that he's creating, it's perfect for him because each one is completely different, you know, the shape. And then the colors, the size is it's customized for each person. So, it's never the same. For him, it's always creating something new, something new. So, it's good for him. And yes, he makes big pieces or small pieces, but honestly, not because he's my husband, but he put the same love for a little one or a big one. And, he's doing good. He's happy now painting a piece to go to Washington, DC. We have a few in Colorado and they have been all like you, you know, guests that becomes friends and then they want to have the piece at home.

Portia: 10:11

Yes. This is why I wanted to share you with our guests because of what you provide for us. And, I can only imagine that you provide for the community as well, because I just have to say we as guests, we're so lucky. You're in Savaneta, but a smaller community within Savaneta, and is just a small piece of beach area or ocean area. That stretch that's right in front of your apartments, but there's a road and you have another set of apartments, and it's quite original because the majority of the island, especially where tourists are, you don't have that cliff. It's just another scenery where you have this cliff and you see this beautiful sea of green and blues. And, and especially when the sun rises and the sunsets. We as guests are privileged for that little area, but then you have the best of both worlds. You have the apartments that are in front, to the left. You have Marie's set of apartments, and then you have your apartments in the back in the second street. But as I mentioned, your apartments in your restaurant, that's the glue because you don't have to go anywhere if you don't want. Yeah, how's the entertainment there. You have food there you have, Right?

Ana: 11:40

Yeah. It depends what you're looking for, but definitely people that comes to this area of Aruba is really, um, it's sensitive. You know, it has the sense of. being quiet and more local and more, human contact, if not, you will say, in another concept Aruba has a lot to offer. And also the other side of Aruba is different. It's completely different, but just being here. It's so nice. And then when you meet people here and in the same table and you feel that others are in the same mood of you. It's so nice. I had people that at the beginning, you said you are going to share a table. And they said, oh, okay. You know, very

Portia: 12:21

Apprehensive?

Ana: 12:23

Yeah. A little bit timid, but after half an hour, you see they're sharing plates, you know, I said, okay, too long ago, I had a group also. They were all completely different couples and they were not leaving and not leaving. It was almost midnight and I was sleepy, you know, but I still think they're having fun. And at the end, one of them says, oh, thank you so much. Oh, becomes like best friends forever. And it'll be like, we have been together all life and we just met. This is exactly what we should be always. We should just be making things easier. Why we have, be so different? if we have the opportunity to talk with any human being for a few minutes, we will find things in common.

Portia: 13:12

Absolutely.

Ana: 13:14

We just need to have the opportunity. Give ourselves the opportunity to prove that.

Portia: 13:20

That's what your restaurant does, but let me ask you this. When you were creating this, did you have any idea what your restaurant does for guests and the community as a whole? Did you have a clue of what experiences that you could offer people?

Ana: 13:36

Yes, I think so. I think we could have an idea because if it was what we were looking for ourselves too, but then that is an addition of things that just happened. You know, like for example, we decide we don't want to have social media because it's so small and it's personnel, it's just for the neighborhood. That's a concept. You know, it was just a decision. Maybe because we're lazy. We don't know how to do it. It's complicated. This is not our part. We decide, okay, let's wait. Do not do anything. And one day I'd receive a call and people said, do you have place for tonight? Yes, of course. Can you send me the location? He said, but why do you need the location? Are you, are you in the neighborhood? No, we are not in the neighborhood. I say, how did you do get my number? Oh, because it's in Google map. I say, but how is it in Google maps? So, at the end it was a guest like you that create a profile in Google map. And, then we have to learn how to request Google map. You know, we are the owners. Please let us administrate the page. And, we have to learn about it. I mean, we'd never planned that to happen. And now we are not only receiving from the neighborhood because it's in Google map. We don't have a menu but he's not necessarily because people just show the pictures and then people call and say, I want the picture that I saw that Portia was eating. We did not plan that part. That just happened. It's part of the dynamic.

Portia: 15:07

Yeah. Speaking of that menu, that is true guys. They didn't have a menu. I remember when I went in there, I made a reservation for dinner. Ana said, well what do you want? What would you like to have? And I mentioned that we wanted something light. You gave us a few examples. Oh gosh. It was an aoili sauce sauce with the Venezuelan chips. Yes, we had that. And then we had some stuffed sweet peppers with quinoa and mushrooms. And then had we had a salad with that, a simple salad. Then we had, was it mahi, mahi?

Ana: 15:46

We like to cook Mahi Mahi. We love to cook Barracuda. It can also be Red Snapper.

Portia: 15:52

It was delicious, but

Ana: 15:58

when are you coming back?

Portia: 16:00

Well, we wanted to come back for new year's Eve, but I doubt if we're going to do that. Um, it'll, it'll be next year sometime. Not quite sure, but this time we want to stay at your place.

Ana: 16:16

We'll make sure you have had a great experience.

Portia: 16:18

Okay. So you guys, this is what I'm talking about. This is exactly the experience that you want to have wherever you go. But if you were looking for some place quieter in, in that side of Aruba, this is exactly what I was talking about in the previous episode. So tell us about the community of Savaneta.

Ana: 16:40

This neighborhood. Mangel Halto. The beach. It's very particular. I mean, it's different. It's a very nice mix of locals and tourists. Not thinking about locals. It was too thinking about the visitors

Portia: 16:56

Right.

Ana: 16:57

But, here in this neighborhood, these visitors and guests I'd like to ask, you said, you know, Maria Luisa comes and eat with us. She brings the guests, and we go and stay at the beach. It's really, like, let's say maybe like a huge hotel, but just split in different Airbnbs or houses. So everybody's like with everybody. You know, you walk on the street, and you start talking with the guests that is in the house next to you. So I wouldn't say that it's for locals, but this neighborhood is very particular. Locals and tourists, we are like altogether. You know, and Aruba is also very particular place because local flavor very open and friendly. There is an important community. People like me that we are leaving here. Working here. Making a life here, but we are not from here.

Portia: 17:49

Right.

Ana: 17:50

It's very common to, you know, these people from, but in my neighborhood that is people from Holland, people from Costa Rica, people from Argentina, or from Miami, Arubans, of course, from Canada and they're all in the same block. It's so diverse. This is diverse, not only about the tourists that are coming, but also people that leave here is a very diverse population. So, thinking that Aruba is a very small country with only 150,000 people, maybe. And it's so diverse. It's a very interesting place.

Portia: 18:26

It is. I love the quieter neighborhoods, Savaneta, San Nicolas but if people wanted to venture out a little bit, would you recommend something for people to do, while they're staying with you?

Ana: 18:41

Well, this place is famous for the snorkeling. You know, because it's very quiet because you can really relax. It's not a lot of traffic I mean, you can do snorkeling, dive, kayaking, but I mean, it's less active than other places in the island, like restaurants or places to dance or drink, it's less. Honestly. But, Aruba is so small that you just can stay here. And if one day you want to just do a lot of activity and action and things, you go out. 10 minutes drive, 15 minutes drive, and you will be in a completely different experience, and this is part of the charm of Aruba. Everything is really close.

Portia: 19:25

Right?

Ana: 19:25

I mean, you can do one extreme of the island to the other extreme of the island in less than one hour. So, if you can drive the whole country in less than one hour. I think that decision is, if you stay here in this area, you will be more quiet, relaxed, less touristic, but it doesn't mean that you will spend the whole vacation in this area necessarily.

Portia: 19:50

Right. Right. Oranjenstad is the capital and that's

Ana: 19:53

Yes.

Portia: 19:54

That's no more than say 20, 30 minutes up the one.

Ana: 19:58

No less.

Portia: 19:59

Less.

Ana: 20:00

10 or 15. Yes, less.

Portia: 20:02

And, it's where you have all of the hotels, the casino.

Ana: 20:05

No. Well, the hotel and the casino is not in the capitol. It's in Palm Beach or Eagle Beach. Driving there is 20 minutes, 25 minutes.

Portia: 20:14

Gotcha. If you wanted to go out, you could scoot up there, do some parasailing, do some other snorkeling, things like that. But that's the beauty of the whole island. You can easily go to the other side of the island where the rough seas are, and you can go ATVing and you can go horseback riding over there. But, when you want to come back down to your quiet place, and you don't hear the nightlife. That's where your area is perfect for.

Ana: 20:47

I mean when you can just walk on the beach, you know, after the sunset. And, it's nice because this beach, it's very visited during the day. So when you wake up in the morning and you go walk into the beach, you will see kayaking, people doing snorkeling cars parking, the ATV, but then when at the end of the day, after the sunset, everything is so quiet. No one else, because everybody went back to the hotels or whatever, and it's like, this is my beach. This is my place.

Portia: 21:18

I'll never forget. When I first went to Aruba and stayed in Airbnb, Klaus and Vonda, I have to introduce you to them, they're just lovely people, too, they live in Savaneta, and they have an Airbnb as well. And they were explaining to me that the locals, they tend to come and experience the beaches on the weekend.

Ana: 21:37

Hm hm.

Portia: 21:38

Then, the tourist have it on the weekdays. But, and that's what I noticed when I was there. That street is packed for a certain amount of time on the weekends, Saturday and Sunday, it is packed!

Ana: 21:55

Party. People doing barbecue, but it's also nice because it's such a local ambiance. I mean, it's just locals doing there, but then also, after the sunset, you see people.

Portia: 22:07

They leave, and it's very, very quiet. Oh, this is so special. I can't thank you enough for talking about what you and Juan Carlos have created. When I come there, I've learned a few words a Papiamento, and then you guys have taught myself and Kate dushi. That's like sweetie.

Ana: 22:32

Uh huh. Yeah. Dushi can mean a lot of things. Sweetie, darling, pretty.

Portia: 22:40

But you know what? It's never grotesque. If a guy says that to you, like my friend Renato loves saying dushi because it was just a terms of endearment. Yeah because it's like saying honey. It's something sweet. Yeah. It's very friendly. And, that's what I want people to also understand stand, especially women, you know, when we travel, I want women to understand that it's such a safe island. People are very, very respectful of you, your space, and they're very warm and inviting. I want people to get a better understanding of that because Aruba, as wonderful as it is, it's had some press back a few years ago that it was not very nice. When I went there for the first time, I was in neighborhoods, in Airbnbs. I felt the safest that I've ever felt when traveling.

Ana: 23:32

Oh, that's good. That's good.

Portia: 23:33

Yes.

Ana: 23:34

Me too. I'm not from here and I feel safe here.

Portia: 23:38

I'm glad you said that. It's just down to earth people. That's the energy and experience that I think more tourists should experience in Aruba. It's that easy laid back feel, great, community great experiences. Very safe for us.

Ana: 23:55

I agree with you.

Portia: 23:56

Well, my friend, I know

Ana: 23:59

It has been such a pleasure.

Portia: 24:00

It has been such a wonderful pleasure.

Ana: 24:02

Looking forward to see you again. I will prepare a nice, welcome drinks at the pool, and we will enjoy an incredible dinner.

Portia: 24:10

Thank you.

Ana: 24:11

Okay.

Portia: 24:12

Give Juan Carlos my love. Tell Maria I said hello. Thank you. It's a pleasure,

Ana: 24:20

please come back soon. I am forward. Okay.

Portia: 24:25

Ciao.

Ana: 24:26

Ciao. Ciao my dear. Bye-bye.

Portia: 24:28

Bye. I'm Portia White, and I hope you've enjoyed today's conversation. I'd like to give a special thanks to our sponsor, betterwithacupofcoffee.com. If you like what you heard, please rate and review our podcast and join us again soon at Cuppa Connections.