Curaçao 2005

To escape the never-ending rainy season in Bergen, I fled to the Caribbean for two weeks in December 2005. The trip went to the island Curaçao in the Dutch Antilles, one of the so-called ABC-islands in the southern parts of the Caribbean. The distance from Curaçao to the Venezuelan coast is only about 65 km.

It turned out Curaçao was an excellent place to relax. Swim, snorkel, dive, walk in the Christoffel National Park, and dine and spend some time in one of the many bars. I rented a car and was able to see most of the island. One day I bought a boat trip to Little Curaçao.

People in general were friendly. Interestingly, I was told Curaçao is one of the main routes used to smuggle gold and drugs from Colombia and Venezuela to North America. Except seeing one person chased after stealing some vegetables at a street market, I experienced the island to be safe for travellers.

Facts about Curaçao (from www.curacao-travelguide.com)

Curaçao is a long, arid, and generally flat island, stretching some 40 miles (64 km) from southeast to northwest, at much the same north-south angles as it's sister islands in the ABC group (Aruba to the west and Bonaire to the east). The island is about 10 miles (16 km) at it's widest point, and the area is about 180 square miles (472 square km), making it the largest island in the Netherlands Antilles group.

The coastline along the south is irregular, peppered with small bays and inlets, including the spectacular bays and beaches at the west end of the island. The largest bays are located along the central-east and east end of the island, where you'll find the capital and major port of Willemstad. Most of Curaçao's 170,000 residents live in and around this historic town.

The long north coast of the island, buffeted by constant northeast trade winds, is characterized by a rough coasthne, limestone cliff formations set on top of eons-old volcanic rock, and weather-beaten terrain. It is generally less inhabited than the south coast, but you will find smaller villages and many of the island's famous landhuis, or old plantation house, structures here.

The west end of the island is also characterized by expansive, hilly terrain, most of it encompassed by Christoffel Park. The 4,500-acre (1,820-hectare) park contains Mt. Christoffel, at 1,239 feet (377 meters) the highest elevation on Curaçao. The east end of the island comprises flat and mostly barren plain, with few settlements and some secondary roads weaving to and from its coastal inlets.

With an average 20 inches (510 mm) of rainfall yearly, Curaçao is generally a dry island. There are few standing bodies of water save some saline ponds, and most of the island's water is provided by a large desalinization plant found on the south coast.

Willemstad. View from my hotel room

Willemstad at night

Otrobanda Hotel where I stayed, Willemstad

Willemstad market

Willemstad street

Willemstad central area

Oceanfront restaurants

Willemstad cruise ship

Willemstad

One of many cruise ships in Willemstad

Replica of slave ship, Kura Hulanda Museum, Willemstad

Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Kura Hulanda Museum

Old weapons, Kura Hulanda Museum

Punishment torture chair, Kura Hulanda Museum

Mask, Kura Hulanda Museum

Mask, Kura Hulanda Museum

Curaçao beach - lots of nice places for a swim or snorkeling at Curaçao !

Curaçao cactus (Cereus repandus)

Curaçao landscape

Curaçao beach

Curaçao coastal landscape

Cacti field

American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber)

Snowy egret (Egretta thula)

Boat trip to Little Curaçao

Little Curaçao

Little Curaçao shipwreck

Little Curaçao barren land

Little Curaçao beach

IF you ain't Dutch, you ain't much !

Tree lichen, Christoffel National Park

Mount Christoffel is situated in Christoffel National Park

View from the top of Mount Christoffel

Rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis), Mount Christoffel

On the top of Mount Christoffel, at 372 meter, the highest point in Curaçao

View from the top of Mount Christoffel