Curacao
Back in Curacao!
This post comes a year late. But, as one saying goes, Better Late than Never! It was this time last year when Marc and I went on our 7th cruise and our 6th to the Caribbean. For that trip we sailed on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line for the very first time. We decided to give RCCL a try since we had not sailed with them before and likewise, it sailed to two islands we had not been to either, to Labadee, Haiti as well as to Kralendijk, Bonaire.
Goodness, so much has changed in the cruising industry in the last month and a half. To be honest, I would be scared going on one too today given what has happened to several ships and its passengers because of the Corona virus. Cruise ships are like what some people call them: floating petri dishes. I do hope things get better for the cruise line industry in no time. I still dream of sailing once everything has calmed down. While I may have been to most of the islands in the Caribbean, I still dream of visiting the remaining ones I have yet to explore like the British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, and Dominica. Plus, there are the other islands which I've seen and explored but would love to visit once again. After all, Martinique, St. Martin, Grenada, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas are pretty spectacular countries and territories.
Anyway, the pictures I take every time I travel keep the memories alive. I hope you enjoy them as much I do. Watch out for the second part of my Curacao blog very shortly.
Our ship docked at the very same spot we arrived in the very first time we went there.
We had lunch in KFC! Of course we tried the local fare, food that we don't get and cannot get back home in the US.
We visited this Jewish Synagogue on our first visit. We didn't go in this time around.
A quiet cafe in the center of the city
The Postal Museum. It was a small museum and we decided to go in. Admission was minimal and if I am not mistaken it was no more than $2 per person. I don't recommend visiting it though. I found the exhibits and collections very underwhelming.
Dushi was one word we learned on this visit. It seemed to mean many things from enjoyable, sweet, delicious, tasty and dear (like honey).
This was one beach we thought of swimming in. We saw a number of locals swimming there and the water was clear and inviting.
This statue sat in the in the middle of a small square. We saw it before. It is dedicated to Netherland Antilles's first Prime Minister, Dr. Moises Frumencio da Costa Gomez.
I found walking on the pontoon bridge so enjoyable.
The waterfront. Many of these buildings used to be duty free shops catering to cruise ship passengers. In fact, I bought my two Tissot watches here. Sadly, many of the stores had already closed and the buildings had been left empty and vacant.
This is the Penha Building, the oldest building in the entire island. It is now a department store selling mostly international brand name clothes and perfumes. We window shopped here twice. I actually eyed the Gucci cologne here and thought of buying it. Luckily for us, the store down the block sold the same merchandise a bit lower and so we bought it there instead.