St. Joris Bay
After having visited the Curaçao Ostrich Farm, we left our car in the parking lot and walked over to nearby St. Joris Bay. With its calm waters and steady breeze, St. Joris is a popular spot to practice wind-surfing and kite-surfing.
On weekends, you’ll be able to locate St. Joris Bay by the kites in the sky, before you can see the water itself. Curaçao is almost always windy, and since the natural inlet of St. Joris Bay is protected from the raging waves of the east coast, kite surfers flock here to practice their sport. The bay is large, about two and a half kilometers from one end to the other, and we found it full of athletes skipping across the water, holding onto their kites for dear life.
A small, non-profit called Fundashon Sint Joris Baai is based on the west side of the bay. Its mission is to help local kids learn how to windsurf, for free. Children who might otherwise not have the chance can come here to practice with a group of volunteers who have donated equipment and time.
We found a path which leads along the southern side of the bay, and provides a nice view of St. Joris. This is a quiet, undeveloped side of Curaçao, and the bay is beautiful. However, there was an unfortunate amount of plastic trash lining the shore, which I’m assuming washes in from the sea. And since not many people live on St. Joris nor use the paths on which we were walking, it never gets cleaned. But as long as you keep your eyes focused on the water, it’s hard to be disappointed.
