Aruban born and bred Steve Francees has a passion for photography. Being a local photographer he knows the hidden gems of this island and captures them in an amazing way. As a Family and Landscape photographer Steve is ready to create your next ‘vacation memories’, morning and/or sunset shots. T: (297) 738-0777, M: stevefrancees@hotmail.com,
www.instagram.com/stevefrancees and www.stevefrancees.com
Sea grape.
“Druif di Lama” as we locals call it in Papiamento, but is the Coccoloba Uvifera known also as sea grape or bay grape. This Grape can be seen all over our coastline especially in the Eagle Beach and Palm Beach area. The fruit gradually ripens to a purplish color. Each contains a large pit that take most of the volume of the fruit. The wood of the sea grape is sometimes used for firewood and also for making charcoal. The purplish fruits of the sea grape may be eaten raw, cooked into jam or fermented into sea grape wine.[ Sea grape wine may also be fermented into sea grape vinegar, which is also useful in cooking. I took this picture last Friday at the Palm Beach Area.
California Lighthouse.
The California Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at Hudishibana near Arashi Beach on the northwest tip of Aruba. This lighthouse was named for the steamship California, which was wrecked nearby on September 23, 1891. This lighthouse is newly renovated and is open for visitors to climb up to the top to see the nice view from the top. I was there a few months ago and the view from the top is awesome. Tickets are available at the restaurant near the lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1910 as they told me during the tour.
Back in Aruba after 30 years.
Chad and I were very good friends and life broke us apart as much of the students here in Aruba must go abroad for higher education. Like two months Chad send me a DM on Instagram and told me that his daughter asked for her 16th birthday present to come to Aruba and to have a Photo Session done by me at Eagle Beach. So Chad and his family were here in Aruba last week and we had a very awesome week. He still speaks pretty good Papiamento after so many years living in states with no Papiamento.
Iguana or Yuwana(Papiamento).
The Yuwana is an herbivorous lizard that can change colors and blend in a tree and be very hard to see. This very beautiful reptile lives with us on this dry and hot island. The word “iguana” is derived from the original Taino name for the species, iwana. I love photographing Iguana’s and this one is a small one but they can grow to 2 meters.
