The Jan Thiel Zoutpannen (salt pans) date from the first half of the 18th century. In 1737 the Jewish merchant Jozef Penso bought the Damasco plantation from the Dutchman Jan Thielen. The lagoon “Puerto Sardinero” ran from the sea all the way to the edge of the plantation. By building dams of turnipstones, the water was retained, after which the sun evaporated the water and salt could be deposited at the bottom of the resulting reservoir. The salt was collected by slaves and Portuguese workers after which it was sold in Willemstad.

In 1915 Casper Arthur Perret Gentil bought the Damasco plantation where he grew oranges, mangoes, coconuts, bananas, medlar and kenepa and exported them to France, Venezuela and Sto.Domingo. In addition, he kept livestock and expanded the salt pans, sometimes extracting up to 20,000 barrels (of 130 kilos) in good years. The salt was sold to Cuba and Sto.Domingo among others. Shell was also a major customer that used the salt to refine crude oil from Venezuela.

In the 1970s, the plantation was sold to the General Pension Fund of the Netherlands Antilles, which parceled out parts of the area for houses, villas, apartments and resorts. Fortunately, the salt pans were spared.

The salt pans are now a beautiful nature reserve with nesting birds and

beautiful hiking trails.