Category Archives: Curacao

Visits to the island of Curacao

Friday at the Sea Aquarium Reef

November 22, 2010 Maurice 1 Comment

Snorkeling on Friday was the MOST AMAZING thing I have ever seen… I am still in shock about how magnificent it was. I’m still trying to find words to describe it – simply amazing. In all the times we’ve been in the water, in all the islands we’ve been to, I’ve NEVER seen anything like it, or even close to it.

I tell you – the snorkeling in Curacao is so much better than Aruba – Pam and I have already decided if we do the 4 week thing again, we’ll do more time in Curacao — it is more expensive there – the car rental was more, food is more, but the ocean is totally superior. We stayed at a place called the Royal Sea Aquarium, and they’ve talked about their private reef and how wonderful it is, and we’ve snorkeled around 4 or 5 times there, and never really saw what they were bragging about – I mean it’s nice but…

Well on Friday we actually found the “coral forest” – coral 30 feet high, 20 feet wide, and it goes on for acres – thousands and thousands of fish – think of the most crowded area we saw, and multiply it by about 500 per cent, and you’re starting to get the idea…. even when we went out to the Cayman Islands and took a boat out to a coral forest, it was NOTHING compared to this… and THIS was within 10 minutes swimming of our condo!

This movie is kind of a compilation of lots of things we saw. From the towering coral, to the black durgons, to the smaller fish – it was really a great swim today!

We were so in awe of what we saw, we really didn’t take enough pictures to give you a clear idea of what we saw. I feel bad about that, because it really was something amazing. I honestly never dreamed there was something like this to see in the ocean. I thought we’d seen it all – and then this – I tell you – I wish I had the words to tell you what we saw.

We even had an awesome sunset to complete the day! What a treat this day was.

Here is another brief movie of the coral forest. It’s like nothing we have ever seen. I do hope these movies have given you a sense of what we saw… I wish we’d done better, but we were really in awe. We kept saying to each other, “Do you believe what we just saw??” then we’d swim another hundred feet and then we’d say “Do you believe what we just saw??”

Curacao, Vacations

Playa Porto Marie

November 20, 2010 Maurice Leave a comment

Thursday we tried to get to Playa Porto Marie again. Armed with the right street to turn on to, we were pretty sure we’d get it. After turning off the highway, it was a long road to the beach, but we found it! It’s a picturesque little place, with a dive shop, restaurant, and lots of umbrellas and beach lounge chairs.

There is a long wooden walkway down the middle of the hot sand, and you just grab a chair and umbrella. It costs two dollars to just use the beach, an extra three bucks if you want a lounge chair.

It’s not much different than we remember it. It’s a pretty little bay, with a double reef. However, we found the snorkeling less than stellar. It simply didn’t measure up to the other places we’ve been to in Curacao. There seems to be a lot of damage to the reef, but divers told us that further out, it’s pretty remarkable.

We never did get to the second reef, staying inside the first one. We saw lots of fish, don’t get me wrong, even some we’d never seen before! But overall, the coral was pretty mono-chromatic, and the sandy bottom made for a lack of color overall.

If you go, stay to the right side as you enter. There are a lot more things to see. On the left side, close to the cliffs, there were some interesting things, gold morays, spanish hogfish, box fish, lots of stuff, really. But the right side was more colorful, with lots more fish. There were lots of eels, lots of colorful fish.

We took a break for lunch and it started to rain. A tropical rain, warm, but tons of rain! Most people packed up and got the heck outta Dodge. We had a leisurely lunch under the umbrellas, but it was clear that it wasn’t going to clear! So we just packed up and headed home.

I’m adding a movie of a spotted eel. I know I put one in yesterday’s post, but this one is a little longer, and little better quality. It will also show you what I mean about the place being very monochromatic. The white sand, white coral, and white rocks – lets the fish stand out though!

This part of Curacao is famous for the salt plains that has a colony of pink flamingos. They are certainly are a strange bird. They stick their heads in the water, and then walk forward with their heads still in the water, to feed. Their knees bend backwards, so it’s quite a strange site to see them do it. I’ve added a movie at the end of this post. It’s not a very good movie, but it will give you an idea of what I’m talking about!

We had a nice dinner at Augusto’s again. Very well prepared, very good service. Desert was fantastic – a ponche crema cake – a Curacoan traditional desert. Ponche cream is a desert liquour, kind of a cross between Bailey’s and bananas, although I don’t think there are any bananas in it. The desert was awesome. Pam had a passion fruit mousse which was also outstanding.

We have done no shopping in Curacao at all. Not even an hawaiian shirt! (I know people will be shocked to learn I have not bought one…) Pam hasn’t even bought a postcard! How weird is that??

A word about the rental car – amazing gas mileage! It’s a Toyota Yaris, and we didn’t have to fill the tank the whole week, even though we’ve driven all over this island. The fact that it is new, and in good mechanical shape obviously makes a difference. On Aruba, a much smaller island, we filled the car twice. Curacoan’s are much better drivers, and much more polite drivers than the drivers on Aruba. Think of the worst driver you’ve ever encountered, and they would rank near the top of Aruban drivers. Completely loco!

Curacao, Vacations

Cas Abao

November 18, 2010 Maurice 2 Comments

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.

Curacao, Vacations

Jan Thiel Bay

November 18, 2010 Maurice Leave a comment

Tuesday we went to a beach we had not visited the last time we were here on Curacao. Jan Thiel Bay is a large bay, with ten acres of coral reef and underwater park. It’s close to the condo, so it was a nice easy drive – only about 15 minutes or so. There is a small charge of three dollars to get in to the beach. This included supervised parking – always a good thing in the Caribbean – and it included beach loungers for both of us. There are a couple of restaurants, a dive shop, souvenir shop, showers, bathrooms, etc. In other words, everything you need out of the water…

In the water, well that was an even better story! The range of fish and coral here is truly stunning. We saw every kind of fish we have ever seen in all of our dives put together, in this one site! We saw four kinds of moray eel, more trumpetfish than you can shake a stick at, damsel fish, angel fish, butterfly fish, scorpion fish, crabs, lobsters, lionfish… the list goes on and on.

And the parrot fish! So many in so many colors – the stoplight parrotfish were so beautiful and large! We even saw a blue parrot fish! Previously, we have seen blue parrot fish at only one other location, and that was on DePalm Island on Aruba. This was a huge guy too, easily as big as the biggest we saw on Aruba. A very pretty fish indeed.

The only drawback to Curacao has been the weather. Curacao has gotten more rain this year than any other year. And there are rain showers every day. They don’t last long, but they have impacted the clarity of the water. Usually you can see for up to two hundred feet in Curacao. But the visibility is only fifty feet or so, even less close to the shore. It’s made taking pictures really hit and miss, which is too bad, because there are really some amazing things to see here.

I’m going to add another movie of blue tangs, doctorfish and surgeonfish. I know I just posted one, but this school was twice as large as the other one! Thing is, you can’t really tell, but the last half of this video shows a brilliant green stoplight parrotfish. It will give you an idea of how large they are compared to the tangs and even the juvenile parrotfish. The orangey/brown/white colored fish you also see in the video grows into the brilliant green fish.

We saw a lionfish, which is too bad! We don’t want to see this voracious predator. It is not native to the Caribbean and it has moved remarkably fast, destroying the other fish as it goes. It probably came into the Caribbean from someone in Florida dumping their aquarium fish. All the dive shops are asking you to mark the area, and report all sightings so they can go destroy them. Makes me want to get a spear gun to take ’em out! Rambo and Pambo of the ocean!

Curacao, Vacations

Monday at Caracasbaii

November 16, 2010 Maurice 1 Comment

Monday started with a one hour cruise from our condo up to the capital of Curacao called Willemsted. It is a UNESCO protected World Heritage Site. It has centuries old architecture, with uniquely painted buildings. The story goes that the wife of the governor suffered from migraines, and the stark white homes, with the glaring sun reflecting off of them triggered her migraines. So the governor decreed that all the homes must be painted. So the people took it to heart, and created a dynamic, vibrant palette. The result is that, the islanders were forced to develop quality paint, given the harsh sunlight, tropical rain storms, and high humidity. Consequently, their expertise in manufacturing paint has made them a world leader in paint technology, even to this day.

It was a nice cruise and we went right into the harbor, up to within a few feet of the swinging bridge. The island is also a center for many nations to practice their search and rescue operations. The US Navy, the British, Canadians, Dutch and Russians all train their teams on Curacao. It’s another source of income for Curacao, so they are not as dependent on tourism as other Caribbean islands.

After the cruise, we headed to Caracasbaii – or Caracas Bay – and we had intended to head out to the tugboat wreck. But the road was full of potholes, and we were worried about taking our rental on it. (Did I mention we got a NEW car from the rental place? It’s a brand new Yaris, so new it still has that new car smell! It only has 260 kms on the odometer!) So we stayed at the main beach, and boy are we glad we did!

This was definitely the best snorkeling we’ve had this year. There was abundant coral, and just tons and tons of fish. There were lots of fish we had never seen before, and lots of fish we’d seen of course. We saw a type of moray eel we’d never seen before, a golden moray. We saw some damselfish with unique coloring we had not seen. We saw a new fish called a blackbar soldierfish, which was bright red, with a black bar down it’s head, that hung in big schools.

There were a number of schools of glassy sweepers, an unusual copper colored fish, with a prominent belly. There were tons of trumpetfish, a long thin fish, that often swims with his head pointing down. He can change color at will, and tries to hide among long stemmed coral.

There were many types of damselfish, from little bitty ones no bigger than the nail on your little finger, up to a couple of inches long. Colors ranged from a brilliant blue, with bright blue polka dots, to half black, half white, to yellow with blue, yellow with purple – you name it, it was there.

We will definitely be back there, that’s for sure!

There are too many pictures to post here in the messages, so do check out the Curacao 2010 gallery for more pictures. (You can get to the gallery by clicking on the Galleries link at the top of the page.)

Curacao, Vacations

Arriving in Curacao

November 14, 2010 Maurice Leave a comment

It’s been a busy couple of days here in Curacao. We arrived late on Saturday – we were supposed to be here at 1:20 pm, but the flight was delayed and didn’t take off til nearly 3:30. Ah well – stuff happens. It was a fun flight, quite short, about 25 minutes. It was funny to see the reaction of a couple of Dutch women to the size of the plane! Since we’d flown this route last year, we knew what to expect. But they were getting restless in the terminal, and when I saw the plane land, I pointed it out to them and said “Shouldn’t be long now, they’ll refuel and we’ll be off.” She looked at the plane, her fave visibly paled and she said, “You’re kidding?? That’s soooo small!” She turned to her friends and they gave me this sick little look… Priceless!

We didn’t get in the ocean, but we took a nice swim in the pool and spent some time in the hot tub. We had dinner at Augusto’s, even though we had not particularly enjoyed eating there last year. But this year was very good. I had the chicken parmigiana and Pam had the seafood pasta, and both were very good. Service was excellent, and it was a nice ending to the day.

Saturday we snorkeled out front of the Sea Aquarium but it was a little cloudy. There has been a lot of rain here this year, more than Aruba. There were a lot of fish, of course, but we didn’t get many good photos. We did see a spotted drum, and some interesting fish, including a couple of barracuda. The shoreline opposite us, which is a five minute swim across the water, had some of the largest surgeonfish and tangs I have ever seen, anywhere. HUGE! Shockingly big…

In the afternoon we toured the Sea Aquarium. They have added some new attractions, and some new fish tanks. Pam got to feed some sharks, and actually petted a few nurse sharks. There were some lobsters that we soooo big, they must have been seventy years old or more. Just humongous.

We had a nice relaxing dinner at El Gauchos, and Argentine steak house. We’d had dinner there last year, and they had the same impeccable food. Really glorious. They are in a lovely elevated location, so we had a nice view of some of the island. The service was not as good as we remembered, but it didn’t detract from the quality of the food. A recommended place to eat, for sure.

Tomorrow we have scheduled a cruise up the coast to the main town of Willemsted, which is a World Heritage sight. Curacao is not as dependent on tourism as Aruba is… they say 90% of the economy of Aruba is dependent on tourism, but Curacao has only a 25% reliance. They are big in communications, housing a lot of the sports betting websites on the internet. They are also a world leader in supplying paint! When you see how boldly the homes are painted, it’s not much of stretch to believe it!

Here is a small movie Pam took in the Sea Aquarium of a Cubera snapper.

Curacao

Flamingos in Curacao

July 24, 2009 Maurice Leave a comment

The other day a friend from work mentioned that her mother just loves flamingos, and I said, well, you just have to take her to Curacao and she can see them in the wild!

The shot to the left (click the thumbnail to get bigger pictures) was taken while coming back from Playa Kenepa. They were hanging around the marshy edges of the water, stepping gingerly through the water. They were there the next day as well, when we headed back to Porto Mari.

We stayed in the Royal Sea Aquarium while in Curacao, and they had a bunch of flamingos hanging around the restaurant, with a bunch of turtles. They were often noisy buggers, and had certain interactions that were um – unique – to say the least. Watch the movie to see what I mean.

Here is a movie of the flamingos in the Royal Sea Aquarium enclosure. We were having lunch in the restaurant when the flamingos got rather noisy, so this is what transpired.