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MTP Member Photos - Curacao
.JPG "Photo: by Jorge Sanchez: Curaçao, central market (by Jorge Sanchez)")
.JPG "Photo: by Jorge Sanchez: Curaçao, entrance to the Synagogue (by Jorge Sanchez)")
.JPG "Photo: by Jorge Sanchez: Curaçao, lovely houses (by Jorge Sanchez)")
MTP Member Posts - Curacao
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2010 Mar by J. Stephen Conn |
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My wife Karen and I visited the island of Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles, also called the Caribbean Netherlands, on March 18, 2010. We were on a cruise aboard Royal Caribbean\\\\\\\'s Enchantment of the Seas. We were totally captivated by this colorful island and were amazed to note how each of the neighboring ABC Islands, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, have their own distinct character and appeal. Of special interest was the row of colorful waterfront buildings which provides an iconic travel photo opportunity at Willemstad, the capital and largest city of the island. Not to be missed in Willemstad is the preserved historic RIF Fort, established in 1828.
We also took a tour around the island and found the interior equally fascinating for it\\\\\\\'s history, beaches, and quaint countryside there were everal points of interest, including a natural arch, salt flats, and the beautiful beach at Playa Kenepa Grandi. We also took a short but interesting hike at Shete Boka National Park, where we saw a churning rocky coast, numerous tropical birds, and lots of iguanas. | |
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2007 Apr by Michael Novins |
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April 2007 -- I flew from Aruba on Dutch Antilles Express (www.flydae.com) and stayed at Hotel Kura Hulanda (http://www.kurahulanda.com/) in Willemstad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/819). | |
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2006 Apr by Jesse Vista |
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A, B, C islands, well that is what the Dutch call them. Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, there are also three moreDutch islands in the Caribbean and they are called theS Islands and they are, Saba, St. Eustatius and St.Maarten so all together the Dutch control six islandsin the Caribbean.I have been to the first three islands, I started withCuracao.The first difference I noticed here is that I don'tget to use my Spanish so much, and off course it ispossible for me to find reasonable accommodationshere. I stayed in Willemstad, that is the capital andI stayed on the Otrabanda side of Willemstad. Thecapital has two sides with the sea in between and youget to cross from side to side by a free ferry thatleaves every few minutes and takes about five minutesto get you across to the other side.On the other side which was called Punda it had theoldest Synagogue in the western hemisphere. I wentthere for Passover service but had the dinner at theRabbis house of another Synagogue. The Capital is full of color, I mean the buildings areso colorful, that you can take a 100 pictures andstill want to take more.Here I would walk around every day. Also I sat at acafe and eat. Went out at night which was most of thetime, very quite there. You see otrabanda and Punda the other side ofWillemstad are mostly for tourist, so the locals goout mostly to bars or cafes inland. I went there too,but not my cup of tea. I guess its the people.I also checked out a beach or two but that was it.Since I travel with one way air tickets to get fromone island to another, I went with this small airlinecompany, that has small airplanes that holds ninepassengers, four rows with two passengers on each rowand one person must sit by the pilot either side ofhim, because both sides have the wheel and all of thecontrols, yes, you can guess where I sat? And once thepilot got the airplane up in the air guess who tookthe wheel and announced to the other passengers thatthe Co Pilot is now flying the plane? You are rightboth times.Bonaire, was my second stop and it is the smallest ofthe three islands. Here I was lucky enough to meet awomen who picked me up after watching a small paradethat they had in Rincon which was the town where theslaves use to live in the past and after talking withher a bit, she decided to show me her island. Shedropped off her Mom and picked up her kids and thendrove me around, we visited the solar salt works, morethen one lighthouse, the old slave huts, fort, thehighest mountain, and the windsurfing area. I stayedin the capital city that is called Kralendijk it wasfive minutes away from the airport and the heart wherethe tourist stay. Here I felt the white Dutch mastershad too much power and the kind black slaves were sogenerous. I stayed here the least time, and wanted tomove on.Last to Aruba, believe it or not but I could find ahotel with a reasonable price, $30 a night after sometalking and I did pay the first night $40 at anotherhotel. It had AC, cable TV and a private bathroom andall within fifteen minutes walk to the center of town.I guess the manager there so something special in meand and let me give her $150 in cash in advance for 5nights. Just kidding, but that is what happened. Butmy relationship with her grew and we would have a lotof talks about life and her plans. I either got real close to her or made her feel realguilty but she became my occasional ride from thehotel to some place, and also I had her volunteer togive me a tour of the Island. She took me to the oldDutch windmill, Hooiberg which is the tallest mountainwhich I hiked up for the view, Casibart rockformation, Bushiribana ruins, Natural bridge over thesea, the town of San Nicolas that had a huge refinery,and also a few beaches. Don't think that I did not seeanything on my own here, I visited the Californialighthouse which is on the most northern point andalso the Alto vista Chapel the oldest church on theIsland. I went to the Synagogue for Friday nightservices. I sat through two time share presentationsand got some gifts and went to one casino and gave itall back and more by playing Baccarat again. Butbecause I lost some money I could ask the CasinoManager for some tickets to the Cabaret dance show andon the last night there, I surprised my Hotel Managerwith tickets for her, her family and me. Now that isJesse style a little give and take. | |
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2002 Dec by Leslie Rutledge |
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I visited Curacao, whilst on a Caribbean cruise in 2002. Curacao was one of the six islands which made up the Dutch Antilles and the three ABC Island (others being Aruba and Bonaire). The ABC islands are situated off the northern coast of Venezuela and have been administered by the Dutch since about 1630. Curacao is the largest and most prosperous of the ABC Islands and as such is also the most populous and the main town of Wilhelmstad has a population of some 120000 inhabitants, a large city built around a large water inlet. Unlike her neighbours Aruba and Bonaire, Curacaos main income is not tourism but refining oil having a perfect natural harbour and being in close proximity to Venezuela, one of the worlds largest oil exporters. Wilhelmstad is a beautiful city with some very fine buildings in Dutch and Spanish style. and has plenty of historical places to visit including several museums and old forts. I took a half day trip around the island which included visiting the Hato caves and the natural history museum finishing with an afternoon of snorkeling on the beautiful Daaibooi beach. | |
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1997 Mar by Jorge Sanchez |
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The ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao), are less visited by the tourists than Leeward Islands, in the Caribean Sea. Out of these three islands, which still belong to Holland, the most interesting with much difference, is Curaçao. Furthermore, I would say that apart from Dominica, Saint Lucia and Grenada, (and maybe San Andres in Colombia and Corn Island in Nicaragua) is one of the most beautiful small islands in that area. First you feel the latin atmosphera in the language, the papiamento, which contains 90 per cent of spanish. Very few people speak dutch, but english is widely understood, and, of course, spanish because of the many venezuelan people living there, and the papiamento language. In Willemstad, the main city and capital of Curaçao, there is one of the oldest synagogues in America, and most of the buildings are made with Spanish tiles. It was erected before to Touro Synagogue in Rhode Island (USA). Entry fee is 5 US Dollars. It is worth Aruba is an island that is politically separated from Curaçao and Bonaire, although is still a dutch colony. The man at the entrance could speak spanish (as most of the population) and helped me with useful historical information about the site.............................................................................................. IN SPANISH: ZONA HISTÓRICA DE WILLEMSTAD, CENTRO DE LA CIUDAD Y PUERTO, ANTILLAS HOLANDESAS. UNESCO describe de la siguiente guisa este Patrimonio de la Humanidad: En 1634, los holandeses establecieron una factoría comercial en un hermoso puerto natural de la isla caribeña de Curazao. La ciudad de Willemstad, creada en torno a esa factoría, fue creciendo sin cesar en los siglos siguientes. El trazado de sus diferentes barrios históricos reproduce los esquemas europeos de planificación urbana, mientras que los estilos arquitectónicos de sus edificios son un reflejo de los imperantes en los Países Bajos y en las ciudades coloniales españolas y portuguesas con las que la ciudad comerciaba. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aterricé en Curaçao con el propósito de visitar de una tacada las islas ABC (Aruba, Bonaire y Curaçao). El aeropuerto estaba muy lejos, practiqué el autostop, pero sin mucho éxito, así que al final abordé un autobús local que casi tomó una hora en depositarme en la capital de las isla, Willemstad. Lo primero que me llamó agradablemente la atención fue comprobar que allí todo el mundo hablaba el español, desde el conductor del autobús hasta los peatones, bien fuera porque eran inmigrantes de la vecina Venezuela o porque conocían el Papiamento, la lengua abrumadoramente más hablada de Curaçao (el holandés sólo lo habla como lengua materna un 10 por ciento de la isla), pero como el papiamento contiene una gran proporción de palabras en español (aunque muchas deformadas) con préstamos del portugués y dialectos africanos, era muy divertido comunicarse en ella. Willemstad era una ciudad bella, muy bella y la arquitectura del centro histórico es de estilo colonial holandés. Sus casas estaban pintadas de colores “pastel” y se dividen en barrios bien determinados. Una zona está amurallada y alberga el Fort Amsterdam, otra estaba habitada por nativos ricos que vivían en grandes mansiones. Un barrio se llamaba Otrobanda (derivado del español “otra banda”) y estaba situado en la otra banda del centro. Y aún había otro barrio donde vivían los judíos, que eran banqueros y comerciantes. Los barcos, al entrar en el puerto por debajo del puente de la Reina Juliana, parecía que te iban a atropellar, pues bordeaban las calles del centro. Los mercados junto al puerto, con vendedores venezolanos, eran exóticos y la vida barata. Me contaron que al acabar de vender su pescado regresaban a Venezuela en barco, sin pasar ningún tipo de emigración, como Pedro por su casa. Me pareció que el atractivo principal cultural de Willemstad era su famosa sinagoga, que es la más antigua del continente americano. Fue fundada en los años 50 del siglo XVII por judíos descendientes de españoles y portugueses, que primero habían huido a Holanda y Brasil antes de emigrar a Curaçao. Entré en ella gracias a que el portero, que hablaba español perfectamente, me convenció. El billete de ingreso costaba en florines antillanos neerlandeses el equivalente a 5 euros (ver dos últimas fotos). Había diversos museos en la isla, pero preferí mezclarme con las gentes hablando español y recorrer sus barrios. Por la noche regresé en autostop al aeropuerto para dormir, pues llevaba poco dinero. Y al día siguiente proseguí mi viaje entre las islas ABC. | |
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1987 Jan by Veikko Huhtala* |
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We had Antillean Airlines flight from Kingston in Jamaica. Our meaning was only visit in Netherlands Antilles and we did not go to Bonaire and Aruba in this time. In Curacao we stayed one night before continued our journey to Venezuela. I liked Curacao and we had to go there again, because we are still missing Bonaire. | |
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