Curaçao, February 14 2022
The Caribbean hasn’t been too appealing to me for a long time. Trips over the years led to the belief it was just too uncomfortable, for me anyways. Hot, humid and above all too infested with mosquitos. Why go back. Well, it turns out that in my efforts to experience the natural world, I realized I’ve ignored the larger half that’s under sea level and so I decided it was time to do some serious snorkeling. That led me to try and recruit two of my closest friends to take a trip, who both are avid snorkelers. We settled on the ABC islands as the best option and in particular Curaçao since our wives were joining us and we wanted a good balance of sightseeing and snorkeling.
Setting out for a snorkel tour
The trip was easy, a short flight from Miami. The covid restrictions were another matter. We faced some overcomplicated entry paperwork and requirements that had us getting tested three times for a five day trip. It was however, well worth it.
Curaçao is an interesting melting pot. Its residents are mostly of African and South American Indian mix with of course a large Dutch representation. It is after all part of the Netherlands, and is a major tourist stop for European Dutch vacationers. There are numerous languages in play, native Papiamento, Dutch, and English; the latter is fortunately spoken everywhere.
A game of dominos near the city center
Curaçao was a peaceful little island inhabited by the Arawaks until a Summer day in 1499 when the Spanish arrived. This sudden alien invasion led to their prompt impressment into slavery, and the island lacking any precious resources, was subsequently put to poor use by its new overlords. It changed hands, between the Spanish and Dutch and never seemed to be very profitable for either as attempts at agriculture proved disappointing. It only gained importance when the West Indian Trading Company arrived. This Dutch corporation, based on trade profits and operating its own military arm made Curaçao a base. The island soon became a commercial center, and the principle commodity and profit source was none other than African slaves, unloaded, sold, bought and transferred throughout the Americas. The Dutch slavery trade finally ended about the time of the American Civil War and left the island waiting for the next exploitive venture, which was oil. A giant Shell refinery opened there and for decades processed Venezuelan oil. Located in the center of the island is makes a sizable mark and during it’s operation contributed a mix of economic stimulus, bad air and tar fields. Just a few years ago it was shut down and now awaits efforts to reopen it that I hope won’t prevail.
The famous pontoon bridge at the harbor entrance
To the tourist’s advantage, the air is now fresh and clean and the shores remain pristine. The main city Willemstad reminds you of Amsterdam with its colorful old European architecture. Parts are a bit run down, but there seems a major effort in renovation, no doubt directed at expanding tourism. Beyond the city, the rolling landscape looks dry and supports plenty of cactus.
Government center in Willemstad
A back alley in Willemstad
The most pleasant surprise was the weather. Every day partly cloudy, breezy, warm and dry. The climate felt more like Hawaii than say the Bahamas; and the bugs? I didn’t see a single mosquito much less get bitten by one.
The shoreline provides many diving and snorkeling opportunities. We saw multitudes of beautiful, colorful fish especially as you crossed outside the rocky breakwaters. We swam with sea turtles and were brushed by large schools of fish swarming the coastal seas. Pictures wouldn’t do it justice but it doesn’t matter as my waterproof case for my iPhone failed miserably (kept the water out but was impossible to operate).
Our Dive Shop at Scuba Lodge
Dinners were delightful with local specialties and seafood. We found several great restaurants and would recommend in particular the Mundo Bizzaro and the Restaurant Fish and Joy, both an easy walk from our base. That by the way was the Avila Beach Resort which was very clean, modern and reasonable. It included a good sized private beach and easy access to great snorkeling. I would skip it for dinner, and keep my bar choices to beer and rum drinks which were great.
Mundo Bizarro
Restaurant Fish and Joy
Traveling to Curaçao now is a great opportunity given the proximity, the beauty of its natural environment and the window that has opened allowing one to take full advantage of the tourist benefits without the shadow of the refinery. Most tourists are Dutch, but I expect it will become quite popular with Americans in the coming years.