Before
Posted on 09/02/2005 7:00:13 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
ORANJESTAD, Aruba - A natural coral bridge that spanned a cove along Aruba's west coast collapsed before dawn Friday, destroying one of the island's biggest tourist attractions.
The bridge, the largest of its kind in the Caribbean, was 25 feet high and 100 feet long, said Tourism Minister Edison Briesen. The cause was not immediately known, he said.
"It's a very sad day for Aruba and for its tourism," Briesen said. "A picture of the bridge appears in almost every promotional flier, and more tourists visit it than any other attraction."
He stood among hundreds of Arubans who traveled along a bumpy dirt road to see what remained of the national treasure.
"The people who saw it always marveled," said Julie Lacle, a 26-year-old taxi driver who often took tourists to the bridge. "They couldn't believe how beautiful it was."
The bridge, a formation of coral limestone cut out from thousands of years of pounding waves and strong winds, was a popular picnic spot. Hundreds of visitors walked across it each year.
A crack had appeared at one end of the bridge several years ago, said Jose Joseph, who owns a nearby snack and souvenir shop.
Aruba has several natural bridges, some of them difficult to reach. A shorter bridge is located next to the one that collapsed.
"We lost the mother. But we still have the daughter," Joseph said.
The bridge's collapse brought more bad news to an island that has been under the scrutiny of the U.S. media for three months since the disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway.
Aruba, an island of 97,000 people, depends on tourism for 70 percent of its gross domestic product. It welcomes 728,000 visitors a year and an additional 550,000 cruise ship passengers. Some 70 percent are from the United States.
The God like powers of Bush caused another one.
Before
Looks like it got Bushed.
Maybe if those morons weren't walking around on top of it. :^)
Oh well, maybe we can throw what's left of it on a barge and go drop it in the 17th Street canal.
And those people walking on top were so confident.
"Is there a "before" picture?"
Yes, but unfortunately it shows Michael Moore about to cross the bridge.
Thanks for the picture, I had never seen it before.
Screw Aruba!! This is the place that let people get away with murder, especially if they murder a white American girl.
Reference comments from the mayor. What else?
Perhaps, when worldly justice is denied, divine justice occurs. And since tourism is what Aruba values above all else...
You have a link to that? Just for my own benefit, if you have one please.
That sure would have been an inconvenience compared to staying at the Dome with sewage strewn everywhere.
Is that a photo of Bill and Monica, vacationing in Aruba?
Karma. Sorry. Had to say it!
The chick is too small to be Monica.
Ping - just in case you haven't heard about this yet.
Yeah! And New York, and LA, and San Fran, and Chicago, and..and...
God's revenge for Aruba letting the Dutch Boy go. He works in mysterious ways.
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