After three months spent living on the small Caribbean island of Curaçao, Jürgen and I came away with some unforgettable memories. We've now collected our experiences into an e-book, with all of our articles and over 200 full-color photographs.
Klein Curaçao, a small, uninhabited island found a few miles southeast of Curaçao, has become a popular destination for day trips, thanks to its pristine beach, excellent snorkeling, and atmosphere of forsaken solitude. We booked an excursion which brought us to the island on a catamaran, and spent the day checking it out.
A large, full-service beach between Playa Porto Mari and the beaches of San Juan, Playa Cas Abou is not a recommended destination when you feel like getting away from it all. But if you want an easy day on the sand, with food and drinks readily available, you could certainly do worse.
This year, we celebrated Jürgen's birthday at Playa Forti. I wouldn't be so crass as to reveal how old he was turning, but please let me reiterate that this birthday celebration was at Playa Forti. It was a wonderful spot to spend the morning, swim, snorkel... and to mourn the loss of fleeting youth.
In the rolling, undeveloped hills to the west of St. Martha's Bay, we completed a long hike through the woods to a few isolated coves, including Boka Pos Spanjo and Boka Hulu. This same trail passes by both the Blue Room and Santu Pretu, but unless you're prepared for a very long day, you'll have to pick and choose which beaches you stop at.
A popular walking path connects the neighborhood of Otrobanda to Piscadera, up the coast to the north. We regularly drive by this path, and always see people walking their dogs or jogging on it. So we decided to join them on an otherwise lazy Saturday afternoon, for a much-needed spot of exercise.
Mambo Beach is the exactly kind of place which Jürgen and I normally avoid. Not only is it over-developed and crowded, it's also attached to a shopping complex. But Mambo Beach isn't necessarily just for tourists; Curaçaoans come here in droves, especially for the Sunday evening happy hour specials.
We carefully made our way along an overgrown path, which, according to my calculations, had last been used by the Arwak Indians sometime in the late 1400s. Our mission was to find the legendary Playa Hunku, a place rumored about in whispered conversations across the island, but which no living man or woman had yet laid eyes upon. Our expedition was fraught with danger (cacti! mosquitoes!) but after a wearying trek of twenty entire minutes, we saw it: the fabled beach of Playa Hunku. And it was ours... all ours!!
Just past the Landhuis Santa Martha, near the town of Soto, is a hilly, forested patch of Curaçao which hasn't yet been developed. More accurately, I should say that it's no longer developed. We followed the road until reaching its end at Sunset Waters, a former resort which has been abandoned for years.
Crystal blue waters, soft white sand, a laid-back atmosphere in a gorgeous natural environment... you know, it feels like I've been using this description a lot, doesn't it? It's getting boring. Come on, Curaçao! Why don't you surprise us with an ugly beach?! Actually, on second thought, scratch that. Just keep the beauty coming and we'll try not to complain. Next up: Playa Jeremi.
