Curacao is the largest of the three ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) islands, belonging to the Netherlands, although, now governs itself independently. The island is only 35 miles north of Venezuela, and 42 miles from Aruba. It has 38 beaches with many diving spots.
Willemstad, the capital, boasts the famous painted houses with gabled roofs that sit right on Santa Anna Bay, called Handelskade. The Dutch brought the red tiles we see on the roofs as ballast on their sailing ships. Resourceful, they put them to use. But the most famous icon has to be the floating pontoon bridge by the name of Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge. Nicknamed the "Swinging Old Lady", it is built on 16 pontoons and swings sideways when a boat or ship enters the harbor. This can occur 30 times a day. Built in 1888, it was moved three times and restored in 2005. By the way, it connects the districts of the Otrobanda, and the Punda.
The Queen Juliana Bridge was added in 1974 soaring 200 feet high and is 1625 feet long. It crosses over the Santa Anna Bay. The entire city has been listed in the book of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
We were docked by 8am, but not cleared. It was the same situation as yesterday, when the passengers had to be reminded not to go down to deck A until they announced clearance. That took 45 minutes. Why? We do not know.
After breakfast, Bill took advantage of his second hair trim, a birthday gift from the spa. They had an opening, and did a fine job. The $45 men's haircut was covered, but not the tip, even though the coupon was worth $75.
We left the ship by 10:45am, and walked to the nearby Renaissance Casino and Hotel. There are high end shops here, built around 2008, and one of the stores is Diamonds International. You can guess who went inside for the free crab charm. Yes, me. It's my fun for the day. Oh wait, there was another stop at Milano's for a silver tone turtle pendant.
Going through the Rif Fort, we saw a 4 man band entertaining the lunch crowd. Did we mention that the Celebrity Silhouette docked behind us? With these two ships in port, there were many more customers in this outdoor mall today. Were they wearing masks? We would say mostly – no. But we were. Don't care what kind of looks we get, we still have a test to pass in a few days. And besides, the local vendors and salespeople are all wearing masks.
Once out of the fort, we passed the row of tented vendors, and one of us spotted a nice pink visor. Will have to stop on the way back, and pick it up. There were many more people out and about this morning, because it was Saturday. Traditionally, that seems to be the busiest shopping day for the locals in most all of the islands. As opposed to Sunday, when the cities and towns about shut down. St. Lucia was one island that we never visited on a week day. Always on a Sunday, and most everything was closed.
Today there were crowds everywhere. But we were determined to find McDonald's because there were so many signs pointing to it. Like up the street, around the corner, close by. We began to think it was not here at all. But we did find it after all. Located on a corner off of the beaten path, we noticed that the signage was not typical to what we see at home. And the photos on the windows of their breakfast foods were also different from what we know. They are heavy into chicken instead of the beef. That's probably why we see more of the KFC fast food restaurants everywhere.
We zipped down the main street of Breedestraat, then down to Wilhelmina Park, where the Curacao and Dushi signs are located. Most of the official government buildings are located here at Ft. Amsterdam. The Governor's Palace is also here. Going down the side streets, we ended up at the Central Market. Having toured this three times, we felt the need to stay out this time. Way too many people in there, and more to come, judging by the long line of cars outside clogging the streets.
We walked along the Waaigat Canal, where the floating market is located. In the old days, fishing boats from Venezuela came here with their fresh catch and produce. We did see a few fish vendors cleaning some red snapper and mahi mahi, but they did not smell "fresh". So we didn't stick around very long. Locals were lined up to buy them. On our way back via the Handelstraat, we met Howard, our other President Club buddy. He will be staying on the ship after we leave, but will have to spend two nights at a hotel. The N.Statendam is going to be fixed, then resume a 9 day cruise in the Caribbean before heading trans-Atlantic.
Anyway, we had stopped on the pontoon bridge just as the flag went up to warn folks that the bridge was opening. Already on it, we stayed and rode the swinging lady to let a small boat inside the bay. Pretty neat. Then on the way back , we stopped at the tent with the Curacao visors and purchased one as a keepsake. They are getting harder and harder to find, as most vendors sell only baseball caps.
Back onboard by 2pm, we did our usual room lunch and enjoyed watching the traffic of passengers come and go from the two ships. Around 5:30pm, another small ship came through the opening into the bay. Hard to see the logo, we suspected it was a Seabourn vessel. Looking it up, we found it must be the Seabourn Odyssey, which we have seen in several ports on this long trip.
Dinner was in the dining room, which was only half full at most. The tomato bisque was good, but the fish cake had a bone. Yikes, my biggest fear….fish bones. Salads were fine, but the lamb shank was not quite as tasty as the last time we ordered it. Wish they served hamburgers one night. Sometimes they did on a world cruise. But then, this is not one of those. They stick to a 10 and 11 day menu with no exceptions. Since we only have a few more evenings left on the ship, we might consider going to the Tamarind and Pinnacle Grill one more time.
We found our pillow chocolates as well as two Delft tiles for this cruise. Guess they are wrapping up the last minute things early as we usually get these on the Mariner Recognition day. And that reminds us…..we need to begin packing. Another yikes!
One more port tomorrow…..Aruba, the happy island. Plan to enjoy it again.
Bill & Mary Ann
Sunday, April 3, 2022
Report #106 Willemstad, Curacao 8:30am-10:30 pm Saturday April 2,2022 Very Windy And Cloudy 85 Degrees
