Curacao – The Island of Healing

 

“Happiness is not a state of mind, but a trip to Curacao”.

Anonymous

Right on the pier at the cruise port when we got off the ship in Curacao, we were greeted with female Flamenco dancers dressed in brightly colored dresses. How beautiful and graceful they were and what a great way to start our adventure on this stunning island. We headed on to get on our tour bus to see the island.

Curacao is a Dutch Caribbean Island that is located in the Southern Caribbean and is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, at least since October 10, 2010. It is part of the Lesser Antilles Islands and is only 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela. It lies outside of the hurricane belt but does still have an occasional hurricane. It’s sister islands are Aruba and Bonaire and is a part of the ABC islands.

Our first site on our tour was going over the impressive Queen Juliana Bridge, named after the Queen of the Netherlands who ruled from 1948 - 1980. This four lane 185 foot high bridge goes over the St. Anna Bay. During the construction of this bridge in 1967, the eastern side collapsed killing fifteen workers. How dreadful. It was replaced and the current bridge opened on April 30, 1974. From the bridge, there are fantastic views of Punda, Otrobanada, and Schottegat.

The Landhuis Chobolobo is located in the Salina Shopping District and at one time was a plantation house but now is used for the liqueur business and museum. They make the famous, Curacao Liqueur there in a small room with only a few ladies working in the back bottling it. It was interesting reading how they make this special liqueur from the peels of the bitter laraha orange. After viewing how the liqueur is made, you can get a free sample. They also have a liqueur that tastes like a dark chocolate candy bar called Chukulati. It is amazing and you can only buy this on this island. It is very special. If you get a chance taste it and bring some home. You can still take a self guided tour of the plantation home. It is open Monday – Friday 8 am – noon and 1 pm to 5 pm. It is free to see.

Back in the 16th and 17th century, many European explorers came to the island. Many sailors arrived on the island sick after their long voyage with scurvy from the lack of vitamin C. The sick Portuguese and Spanish sailors were left on the island to get better. When the ship returned, some of the sailors got better most likely from eating the vitamin C fruit on the island. It was during this time that the island was known as ilha da Curacao or “the island of healing”.

Curacao has 37 picture perfect beaches so choosing one go to is not easy. Our excursion took us to Mambo Beach for a few hours and really enjoyed this man made beach located only four miles south of Willemstad and the cruise port. This is a spectacular beach with gorgeous white sands, crystal clear water, and several beach bars to get a refreshing tropical drink. There is also a boardwalk next to the beach lined with many interesting shops to check out. The warm crystal clear waters make this island a great place to scuba dive, snorkel, and many other water sports.

At one time, salt mining was done on the island and was a very lucrative export business. This island was perfect for making salt since there is minimum rainfall. During that time, Curacao was the center for the Atlantic slave trade. At one time there were 5, 498 slaves that worked the salt mines and built the beautiful and impressive colonial buildings in Willemstad. Now they have moved the salt mining business to Bonaire. The Dutch abolished slavery in 1863. Many of the slaves stayed to work for their past owners as tenant farmers. Now the main means of bringing in income on the island is tourism.

As we got closer to the city, the views of Willemstad with the beautiful Dutch Colonial buildings painted homes in brilliant pinks, blues, and yellows really stood out in the sunshine across the St. Anna Bay in Handelskade.

A short walk from the cruise terminal was the floating Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge aka “Swinging Old Lady.” This is a pedestrian bridge that is made of 18 pontoon boats and connects Willemstad’s two halves, Punda and Otrobanda. This bridge was built in 1888 but has been renovated many times over the years with the latest renovation in 2005-2006. The lights on the bridge were installed in 1955 and is a beautiful site to see at night. This bridge swings open to one side which allows ships to enter the bay. It is a neat experience to see the bridge open. We ran a good distance just to see it happen and when we got there we notice as the bridge was opening, there were people on it. Their is a water taxi that will take you across the bay for free also.

Willemstad is a lovely town full of narrow roads with unique shops, and restaurants. There are lots of outdoor cafes where you can get something to eat or drink throughout the city. We were lucky enough to meet up with a couple friends at one of the outdoor cafes and met three nice people. One was from Curacao and the other two were visiting from the Netherlands. It was nice to meet a local and folks from the Netherlands.

The Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue was built in 1732. This is the oldest Jewish temple in the New World. We didn’t get a chance to see it but heard it worth a visit. The floors are sand which symbolizes the 40 years that the Jews spent wandering the desert. The sandy floors were also used by Jews in Spain to muffle the sounds of their illegal worship during the inquisition. It sounded fascinating.

We really enjoyed walking around this charming town. We had to stop at one point to watch two artists do a mural on the outside of a building by hand. They did an amazing job. It was fascinating watching the two and the beautiful work they were doing.

Most people we ran into spoke English. The other languages on the island are Dutch, Spanish, or Papiamentu, a Spanish and Portuguese based Creole language that is spoken mainly in the ABC islands. The amazing town of Willemstad is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We thoroughly enjoyed this gorgeous island and had a great time there. This is a great destination for a vacation.

Till next time. Bye for now.