The Cote d'Azur of Curacao!

Our last stop on this Caribbean journey was Curacao. This island was always going to to be the odd man out in our itinerary. Our other five islands have all been in one arc of islands separating the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean, but Curacao is in its own cluster of three (together with Aruba and Bonaire, collectively known as ABC) well inside the Caribbean Sea and really very close to Venezuela in South America. This distance is only about 60km.

As such, our route to get here was circuitous, a 2.5 hour flight from San Juan to Miami, followed by another more or less in the opposite direction, back to Curacao. Those sectors, together with a 3 hour layover in Miami, meant a long day's travelling. But Miami airport is very modern, very large, and quite interesting as airports go, what with its multitude of shops and the Skytrain between terminals. Both hops were with American Airways, and so (thankfully) we were able to check our luggage through.

A favourite spot for tourists' photos in Punda, Willemstad.

Curacao is the odd man out in other respects. It is hotter here than we experienced on the other islands, and drier too. Other islands were quite tropical, with a storm or two on most days, we have seen almost no rain here at all, and indeed the island is dry and dusty. No lush tropical vegetation, no rainforests. Instead (we discovered on our driving) the undeveloped countryside is rather desert-like. The soil looks poor, nothing is being grown except cactuses and other prickly desert plants.

Our brand new but mechanically weak BVD rental car posing in front of cactii, typical flora in the bush on the island of Curacao.

Curacao had no gold and not much water, and was therefore uninteresting to the Spanish, leaving the way open for the Dutch whose culture now predominates here. The architecture is Dutch, the language is Dutch, although English is widely spoken and there is a local brew called Papiamento, dating from the slave era. Driving is on the right, and the currency is a Nederlands Antilles Guilder. US$ are widely accepted, and indeed can be optionally dispensed from ATMs. Britain has occupied Curacao twice over the centuries (only for 10 years total), and there is nothing much British about this place. Today, the country is independent, but (since 2010) is part of an alliance called the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The iconic skyline of Punda as seen from Otrobanda is the image which appears on Curacao's registration plates.

Mural depicting the slave era, at the Kura Hulanda Hotel, Willemstad. The Dutch colonialists made Curacao one of the major slave trading centres of the Caribbean.

Our hotel is the Avila, and it seems to be a home away from home for Dutch tourists seeking warmer climes. Almost all guests here are Dutch - we were here days before we heard any other language being spoken. It seems that like the French gravitate to Martinique to be comfortable amongst their own, so do the Dutch to this island and this hotel. By our observations, many seem to never leave the grounds of the hotel, but we know why they come. Where in Holland can you spend dawn to dusk in your swimming togs, cop a lot of sunshine, and never get cold? The Dutch here are very enthusiastic sunbakers, and don't know anything about hats. When they get home, they will be envied for their tans.

View of Sint Anna Baai and Punda through a loop-hole in Fort Rif which has been redeveloped into a shopping and cafe mall by the Renaissance Hotel.

The Avila site contains a place of some historical significance. One of its buildings is the Octagon, once a refuge for Simon Bolivar when he was hiding after precipitating a failed independence movement in Venezuela. Bolivar was a pivotal diplomat and fighter in Latin America's struggle for independence from the Spanish empire in the early 1800's. The Octagon is now a museum.

The Octagon Museum at Hotel Avila was a refuge for Simon Bolivar.

Being hot, dry and dusty, and also windy, Curacao seems vulnerable to major litter problems. The only outdoor places free of litter are where there is intensive effort to clean up. We had breakfast one morning in an outdoor cafe in Punda. Litter was scattered everywhere, and then we noticed why. Plastic cups and paper wrappings stand no chance of staying where they are put, and they blow around everywhere. The people don't help - garbage bins are largely ignored. Guests in our hotel are no better - they leave litter everywhere, expecting the staff to pick it up. Are they this untidy at home?

Seawater just doesn't get any clearer or bluer than this. At Playa Forti, on the north-west coast.

Playa Lagun is a tiny but popular beach north-west of Willemstad. The water is perfectly clear, but the "sand" is broken coral and very hard underfoot.

Without doubt, the highlight of Curacao, and one of the reasons we included this out of the way island on our itinerary, is the Queen Emma Bridge in the capital, Willemstad. This is a humble pedestrian bridge maybe only 2m high, floating on pontoons. It connects the two CBD halves of Punda and Otrobanda across Sint Anna Baai. What makes this bridge unique is that it opens! The biggest oil tankers and cruise ships have to get past this bridge and enter Shotegatt, a large harbour which forms the basis of Curacao's economy, oil refining. The brige opens by pivoting at one end, with the other end dragged in an arc to the side of the waterway by a large outboard motor. When the Bridge is opened, pedestrians can still get across because two ferries start up. Watching the bridge open and close, watching the giant ships pass through, is an enduring pleasure - luckily there are several strategically positioned cafes, so this activity can be done at length and in comfort!

The pontoons of the Queen Emma Bridge, looking across to Otrobanda.

The infinity pool and artificial beach at the Renaissance Hotel has a fine view of Willemstad's Mega-Pier, usually occupied by cruise ships.

Tourists, including us, watching a departing cruise ship in comfort and lubricated by pina coladas and mojitos.

For the big ships, Queen Emma opens fully, and docks on the Otrobanda side of the waterway. However, more often, when a pilot boat or a yacht want to get through, the "captain" of the bridge only opens it a crack, and holds it in midstream. Whether its a full opening or a half opening, pedestrians can be trapped on the bridge for a while, contrary to the rules, no doubt. When it's a full opening, the wait may be half an hour or longer, so more care is taken to clear the bridge. Warnings of openings are by a system of bells, sirens and flags, but they seem to be in a state of partial disrepair.

Ferries get pedestrians across Sint Anna Baai when the pontoon bridge has been pulled aside.

After dark, the Queen Emma Bridge (shown here whilst closing) is illuminated.

Scuba diving is one of the main tourist attractions on Curacao, and we have discovered why. The water is the clearest we have seen on the entire Caribbean trip, and that is saying something! There are no big rivers here to wash sediment into the ocean, and the beaches are broken coral rather than sand. We think these two factors are contributing to the crystal clarity of the sea water. The water at the beaches is also extraordinarily clear and blue, but the approach is very hard on the feet, and most people wear reef shoes. The beach surface at Avila is the best we saw on the island, and we suspect that they have imported a lot of sand to create it. Probably the other major hotels and resorts have done the same.

Crystal clear blue waters as seen along the coast at Playa Grande near Westpunt.

Pier and rowboat in perfectly clear water at Playa Grande.

Private enterprise seems to have hijacked access to the best beach accesses, Avila being a prime example. There's nothing really to stop public access, but the whole layout discourages casual vistors. Other gated hotels and resorts appear to be the same. At one place we saw, at Westpunt, the water was so clear it was agonising, but the best access was via a ladder off a dive boat pier - only $5 required. There are totally public beaches, like Playa Lagun and Playa Bayo - the water is glorious, but the broken coral underfoot is offputting. That's only a problem for tourists coming from the land of perfect beaches like us - the locals are used to coping!

Crowds enjoying public Baya Beach on a sunny weekend. Every family appears to have a barbeque going, mostly chicken being grilled.

Young people making good use of a spare oil tanker's mooring at Baya Beach in Caracas Bay.

Up near Westpunt, the coast seems to be a series of tiny coves and coral beaches tucked into stretches of rocky cliffs. As you go towards the north-western tip of Curacao (we were looking for a lighthouse, but never found it), development disappears and we found several blowholes which, while not large, were quite spectacular, and made satisfying "whoosh" sounds. They were approachable across treacherous pumice-like rock platforms and you could bathe in the cooling spray to escape the almost opressive heat.

Getting soaked by the spray from a blowhole through rocky platforms at Westpunt.

Avila is a perfectly located hotel, being within walking distance of Punda, and near many very nice restaurants of which we sampled several. Our main problem was establishing whether and when they were open. Signage seemed to be inaccurate and irrelevant, but in our week here, we found the best approach was not to plan ahead, but to simply show up at a new place which was manifestly open for business. We found some great meals this way. We particularly liked Roozendaals, No. 5 and Ginger, and, such is the way good restaurants are run here, we met and talked to the boss at each one. Avila's restaurants have good food too, so all in all, Curacao was our best dining experience on this Caribbean tour.

Sunset view from Avila to downtown Willemstad.

The walk/drive into Punda is through the area called Pietermaai. It follows the rocky coast and the suburb seems to be in a state of metamorphosis. Many fine old properties are in a state of complete dereliction, others are in excellent condition and in use as boutique hotels, offices, restaurants etc. Signage suggests that the area was completely rundown only ablout 10-15 years ago (but the hotel has been running here for 60 years). The process of urban renewal seems to be moving at a glacial pace however. Many ambitious projects appear to have stalled.

A renovated building in Penstraat, Willemstad.

Revolutionary grafitti is used to decorated dilapidated housing in Pietermaai, Willemstad.

Our rental car on Curacao was a BVD F5 from Budget. They told us it was a Toyota, but the internet says BVD is a Chinese company, and they promote themselves as "Better Value Driving". The car is brand new, and equipped with all the latest electronic wizardry, but its drive train is very clunky, and at only 4000km, we think it needs some major attention. A long life is not forecast! The island is about 60km long, maybe 20km wide, and we have explored much of it. Lonely Planet warned us that signposting was rare and faded, but that is obsolete information. We could see three generations of route markings, and the latest is excellent. The roads are equal to the best we have seen in the Caribbean too.

A dive boat getting ready to go near Westpunt. Climb down that ladder into the clearest water imaginable.

Unusually colorful bird watching over us drinking two refreshing Quenchers at the Kura Hulanda Beach Club.

Curacao benefits from having industry as well as tourism. The country refines much of nearby Venzuela's oil. We don't know why Venezuela doesn't do its own refining, maybe poorer ports. maybe wanting to export the environmental hazards, but this industry has provided much wealth and employment for the locals. Refineries occupy most of the shore around Shotegatt, effectively a city within a city. With the passage of oil and gas tankers and daily cruise ships past the Queen Emma Bridge, there is neverending entertainment in Willemstad.

Oil tanker being assisted out of Schottgat through its narrow entrance, Sint Anna Baai.

Other much smaller vessels have to pass that bridge. Curacao doesn't seem to grow much (infertile soil, as mentioned), but there is a steady stream of little traders from Venezuela which sell fresh fruit and groceries directly from their boats at what is called the floating market. This is a busy scene, and we notice the vendors live and sleep on their tiny craft, using hammocks. The floating market is directly opposite the Willemstad customs office, and this particular trading environment seems to be a mutually beneficial situation for both countries.

Fresh fruit and vegies are sold right off the Venezuelan boats in Willemstad's floating market.

Boats in the floating market lined up against their stalls at the entrance to Waaigat.

Fresh fish transaction at the floating market in Willemstad.

A Venzuelan boat leaving the floating market and heading home, passing down Sint Anne Baai.

Curacao's cosmopolitan nature is most evident when in Willemstad. Here, many more languages than Dutch are overheard. Mainly, it's Spanish. Spanish is the language of the Venezuelan floating market. There are also a lot of tourists from South America, which is logical because it's so close. Cruise ships bring a lot of American and European visitors, and it occurs to us that one way a city is pushed to being multilingual is to receive a lot of visitors speaking foreign tongues. If you want to sell to them, speak their language!

The Glockenspiel in Punda plays different tunes on the hour.

We were fortunate to be in Curacao during Carnaval! We are familiar with this festval in Rio de Janiero, but smaller scale versions take place thoughout Latin America, and Curacao adopts it with great gusto. The annual Carnaval lasts months, but the two parades over three days while we were here constituted its grand finale. The parades are loud and colourful, featuring motorised floats (whose main purpose seems to be to carry huge generators and speakers), live or recorded music, and hundreds of themed dancers behind each float. It's just like Sydney's Mardi Gras, but without the political messages. Floats seem to be sponsored by alcohol or telecom companies. We watched from the Queen Emma Bridge.

Float with magic mushrooms in the Curacao Carvaval parade.

Making their way home over the pontoon bridge after the Carnaval parade.

What Carnival did seem to do was disrupt the already arcane opening times for businesses and restaurants, including in Avila (not to mention the fitness centre!), so we could never tell when a particular place or venue was going to be open or not. People would give us conflicting information, and so we just settled down to a routine of visiting businesses we could see were open. Not a single business put up temporary signs to indicate their holiday hours, you just had to guess.

A tugboat manoevering a large cruise ship nearby is no reason to interrupt a selfie straight into the setting sun.

Avila could have been the best hotel we have stayed at on this trip, what with its great facilities, rooms and restaurants. Unfortunately, the hotel has expanded progressively over the years, and it has now outgrown its two beaches and pool. At peak times, these areas are hust to crowded. Also, the hotel has let itself down by being excessively bureaucratic. Petty restrictions are posted on signs, and sometimes just discovered. Maybe worse, some rules are not enforced which reduces the hotel's overall credibility. A rule prohibiting hanging towels and wet clothing on balcony railings is widely ignored. The hotel could have helped this requirement by supplying good airers, as La Pagerie did in Martinique.

It's just too crowded on the Avila Hotel beach at busy times. Too many guests, not enough beach.

We saw this guy drinking the local liquor at the Avila bar, several afternoons.

Another eminently sensible but totally unenforced rule is that pool and beach lounges cannot be reserved. This rule is universally ignored - early in the morning towels and sometimes personal items are strategically placed, sometimes only to be returned to much later. Some folk were reserving multiple lounges in preparation for morning and afternoon sun. Because demand exceeds supply, this means that all lounges are spoken for by about 9am. These are clearly first world problems, but we were irritated by one couple who we saw, dressed in street clothes, reserving the two prime lounges on the beach. Later, we saw them shopping in town. So, 5 hours after they reserved the lounges, we decided to use them. We folded their towels and put them aside. They weren't too happy, when they eventually arrived, but their arguments were deflated when we told them they had been seen shopping in Punda! We won the day, but suspect that our failure to respect probably well-established European beach protocols is a serious infraction, and we have been reported to the King of Holland.

Avila Hotel, with Clare occupying the sole shady spot on the beach! We defied protocol and ignored the towels reserving the lounges for over 5 hours!

Curacao may be close to our favourite destination on this Caribbean trip. It is a tussle with Antigua, but Curacao is easy to be in, easy to get around, great restaurants and fabulously clear water. The sand on the beaches is a negative, but staying at Avila compensated for that problem. Our week here was a great pleasure!

A large cruise ship blots out the skyline of Punda in Willemstad. This ship will be towed backwards out of the strait by a tugboat.