"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." - Henry Miller
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| Sometimes the blooms were on cactus. |
In May, Nick (my travel partner/husband) and I ventured to this colorful island on holiday. And, colorful it was. Curacao is located about 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela in the southern Caribbean (part of the ABC island chain); it was a major hub of slavery during the 17th Century slave trade; and, its widely spoken Papiamentu is a Creole mix of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English, French and Arawak Indian. Today it is self-governing within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. So to say that Curacao has many cultural influences is an understatement. Geographically speaking, it is also more diverse than I was expecting. Even with its mainly dry, desert-like terrain, it was, surprisingly, filled with bountiful flowers and shades of green that were endless.
What we knew when we booked our trip was that Curacao was colorful, its downtown of Willemstad was noted as a UNESCO world heritage site and its waters are some of the worlds-best when it comes to snorkeling and diving. After booking our trip, we learned more - for instance, it has a huge oil refinery and that oil refining is one of the largest industries, it has two really cool bridges and that it has a remote western side. After having traveled there, we saw two Curacaos - the wild west and the modernizing historic city.
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| Views from the Lodge |
We stayed at the Lodge at Kura Hulanda located near West Punt on the western side of the island. It was remote and it was wonderful. Mere minutes from two National Parks, unbelievable shore snorkeling and diving and a rural-island feel. I loved it there. People were warm and kind and the pace was slow. Conversely, we had another experience of another Curacao...and that was in Willemstad. Our time spent in the capital city was well, interesting. On the surface it was beautiful, historic and colorful but when you really delve into the place, it is unique mix all its own. Old with new, wind turbines and an oil refinery, a floating market filled with boats from Venezuela and huge cruise ships. All in all, I am glad we spent some time there to see some of the sights, meet some locals and just get a feel of this unique place. However, it still felt like a big city with Caribbean flair. It wasn't the other Curacao we found, the one we really didn't know about until we experienced it, the one that was slower and greener.
The heart of the West Punt area is filled with rugged nature, small townships and unbelievable waters. You know, traveling is about exploring both your surroundings and yourself. We found both in the other Curacao...
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| Mt. Christoffel from trail head. |
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| Kenepa Grandi - water so clear you could see the reef fish atop a 60 foot cliff. |
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| Sweeping Views |
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| Nearing the Summit |
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| Indian Caves |
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| Yum? Well it tastes like pork, kinda. |
Travel Review
Jessica's Best - Climbing to the summit of Mt. Christoffel
Nick's Best - Diving at Alice in Wonderland
Least Favorite - strange experience with a local in Willemstad
Food - Iguana. enough said.
A few tips to offer - there is broken coral on all the beaches, if you are tender-footed you may fair better
with water shoes; you'll need a rental car to easily get around; it's HOT so be sure to have a water bottle with you so you can easily refill throughout your journeys.
For more, you can check out my reviews of the Lodge; Mt. Christoffel and Boca (Boka Tabla) at Trip Advisor. A few other helpful sites - www.unesco.org and www.curacao.com
