Wasting Away in Palupaville

February 15, 2006. Aruba. In my experience "palupas" are unique to Aruba. A palupa is a thatched straw mini-hut, open on the sides, really a structural umbrella, with a wooden tree-pole perhaps 12 feet high and with a radius of 10 feet at its base which is about 7’ above ground, tapering to a one foot width around the tree-pole at the top. Palupas are placed about 30’ apart on the beach, are owned by the hotels and reserved through the hotel beach staff, although the beach itself if public. During school vacations weeks competition for palupas can become quite intense, with a family scout reserving the prime location palupas at 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. During non-vacation weeks the competition is less intense.

But in Aruba the sun is intense every week, and the palupa shade cuts a cylindrical path across a swath of beach Most days consist of moving the chaises to stay within the shade of the palupa, a chaise and shade minuet heading generally from west to east as sun moves across the sky. Wasting away in Palupaville may be just drinking or it maybe it is a state of mind, switched "off". How else to explain a frantic rush to a palupa at 8:30 a.m followed by a frantic rush to...nothing? OK, to reading. I Am Charlotte Simmons. There are only two topics of discussion - where to have lunch and where to have dinner. I wish I were the kind of person who could not do this, someone who would seek out the best shops, get to know the culture or even play tennis. My brother recently played tennis 14 times on a 15 day vacation. I have spent two days thinking about maybe water skiing. This afternoon I would have exercised but had a drink instead. That must mean it’s almost time for dinner.