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Willemstad, Curacao - Little AmsterdamDec 23, 2008
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Beautiful Old Architecture
Aboard the Sea Explorer
Tropical Fish
The Captain and the local pilot docked the ship in Curacao around 8 o’clock while we were having a leisurely breakfast. Curacao, pronounced ‘cure-a-sow’(think of a sick pig), is the largest of the Netherlands Antilles and is only about 35 miles from Venezuela and about 12 degrees north of the equator, so it was already toasty even at this early hour. Willemstad is the capital city and is referred to as Little Amsterdam.
We had booked a tour so we gathered on the pier to meet with our tour mates. Our tour guide explained a little about the colorful mosaic of buildings which present a storybook Dutch charm reminiscent of picture post card images. It seems a politician complained the bright sunlight reflected off the white painted buildings and gave him migraine headaches; he decreed that all buildings be painted in a variety of pastel shades of paint. The residents complied; however, it was discovered after his death that this politician held a big stake in the local paint factory. The tradition of the brightly colored painted buildings still remains today and the buildings give the harbor area a very cheerful appearance.
Our first stop was at the Seaworld Explorer, a semi-submarine, where we would see some underwater marine life. The passengers all go down to the hull, about 5 feet below the surface of the water, sit two abreast on little metal seats and look through glass sides at the wonderful fish and coral life in the area. This is not for the claustrophobic or those suffering from motion sickness. I was surprised I made it through without getting sick; but, it was air-conditioned and I think that helped. We saw some neat tropical species of fish and lots of coral colonies. The diver got in the water to feed the fish by hand and they just clustered around him in magnificent schools; they, obviously, know this boat really well. This was a fun experience.
Back on land, we crossed the Queen Juliana Bridge, which is 200 feet above the bay; our driver crawled across slowly so we could take in the magnificent views of the harbor and the oil refineries. When oil was discovered in Venezuela in the early 1900’s, prosperity was not far behind for Curacao. Today, banking, refinery facilities, and tourism are the pillars of the economy. Despite all the oil activity here and its proximity to Venezuela, our tour guide told us gasoline is still almost $4.00 / gallon.
Our next stop was for some sampling of the famous orange liqueur bearing the same name as the island. They had several different flavors although the traditional orange is the most popular. This is not really our favorite and we didn’t buy any since we rarely drink much other than wine these days.
Then, we were on our way back to the ship to cool off and have lunch. After lunch, we decided to walk to the shopping district, not to shop but to get a flavor of the island. From the pier, we had to cross the S. Annabaai from the Otrabanda (the other side) to Punda. There are two ways to do this; by free ferry or via the pontoon bridge. The Queen Emma Bridge is a local landmark, it is a floating, swinging pontoon bridge, and a man drives it to other side to open the channel to allow ships through. At the time we arrived, it was open so we took the ferry to Punda.
We walked by the old Fort Amsterdam, built in the 1700’s to protect the island; it’s now the Governor’s Palace. We passed the beautiful Synagogue Mikve Israel Emanuel, built in 1732. This is the oldest Jewish temple in the Americas. It was difficult to get a good photograph but it is a beautiful building.
The pontoon bridge was open for our return trip from the Punda side to the ship. It swings a little as people walk on it but it is a much nicer way than the ferry (packed in, standing room only) to cross the channel. We were ready for those cool wash cloths and cold lemonade the HAL staff greets us with at the end of the gangplank; it was very warm and humid today.
I took a nap while Joe did some computer stuff and we had an early dinner tonight. We were able to catch the early show, which was absolutely fantastic. The group was called “Island Magic” and, while it was not a ‘magic’ show, the four performers from Trinidad were indeed magical with their elegant tropical renditions of favorite melodies from Broadway, Classics, and Big Band tunes. Their instruments were quite interesting, including 55-gallon oil drums (Joe said it must have been interesting to get those through security), to produce an incredible steel band sound. We liked this show so much that Joe bought their CD.
Tomorrow is a day At Sea; translation…..a lazy day.
