Today we decided to go to Playa Porto Marie, a beach that was Pam’s favorite last year when we were in Curacao. Naturally, we missed the turn off – it’s marked for St. Willibordrus, so I guess we can be forgiven for that! We found a great beach called Cas Abao.

They have a small fee, just like Jan Thiel – three bucks a person. We got a beach lounger like before. There was a nice busy little restaurant, a souvenir shop, a dive shop – all things you usually see on a beach here in Curacao.

The snorkeling was simply phenomenal. I never thought we’d find a place like Caracas Bay, then we found Jan Thiel. And here Cas Abao – at least on a par with Jan Thiel, but perhaps better on this day, because the water was so crystal clear.

We saw some fish we had never seen before, one which we’ve tentatively identified as a Coney. It’s a beautiful fish, black with tiny gold polka dots on it, with flowing pectoral fins. We saw one taunting a golden moray eel. I’m uploading a movie of it doing that!

We saw lots of eels, four different kinds, but at least ten in total. It seemed they were all over the place. Pam said to me, “let’s go in” and then another moray would show up, and we’d stick around for a picture or two. “Ok time to go in…” Another moray!

We were the last people out of the ocean. When we left the beach, there was only one other car in the lot! We shut the joint down! It was quite an amazing sunset too. We would have stayed a while longer, but the bugs chased us away! The bugs have been the worst ever this year. I’m guessing it’s from all the rain.

We had dinner at the Wine Cellar. If you ever come to Curacao, or your cruise ship stops at Willemstad, you simply must come here. It’s a family run business, and truly impeccable in every detail. It’s strictly indoors, and air conditioned, and with all the bugs, that’s a good thing! The service is truly personable and professional. The food is amazing. I had a pumpkin and sweet potato soup with curry, and it was so good, I have no words to describe it. I told Pam that if this was a Gordon Ramsay blind taste test, I would not have been able to pick out one item, but it was truly a taste sensation. Pam started with the mushroom soup (her favorite) and it was creamy and delicious with big chunks of mushrooms.

For the entree, I had an Argentinean steak, and it was better than El Gaucho’s by a mile, which I would never have dreamed. Pam had a giant shrimp dish and it was spicy and herby and very good as well. Tiramisu for desert was not necessary, but really a special rendition done with amaretto. Truly a memorable meal.