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.
Coming on the heels of one of the most difficult years we've ever endured, Jürgen and I had been desperate for a relaxing and stress-free 91 days. With its chilled-out atmosphere, low-adrenaline activities, friendly people, comforting cuisine, and an infectiously fun culture and all packed into one, small, easily manageable island, Curaçao was exactly what we needed. We couldn't have made a better choice.
Drag racing is a phenomenon across the Caribbean, and Curaçao is no exception. When the races are on, hundreds of people cram into the stands to watch tuned-up cars and tricked-out motorcycles squeal down the track. Our last Sunday on the island coincided with the first day of the season, so we decided to check it out.
An almost entirely submerged cave found in the cliffs of the western coast, the Blue Room is one of the island's most famous snorkeling spots, second perhaps only to the Tugboat. We visited it during our last week on Curaçao, and found it to be just as beautiful as advertised.
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.
Between the town of Barber and the eastern coast of Curaçao lies a swath of land known as Patrick, named after a plantation house which used to sit roughly in its center. Rugged, isolated and mostly flat, this is a popular area for ATV tours, but you can also hike and easily reach the coast where there are a couple of impressive inlets.
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.
Without a doubt, Curaçao's most popular hike is to the top of the Christoffelsberg. Practically speaking, it's the island's only popular hike. But as we've learned, there are plenty of other trails which merit attention. One of the best is also within the National Christoffelpark: a rarely-used path which leads through a region called the Zevenbergen (Seven Peaks) and to the summit of Seru Bientu, where a unique type of palm tree grows.
Four beaches can be accessed from a single entry point near the northern town of Soto. At the former Landhuis of San Juan, you'll be asked to pay a small entry fee before continuing along a set of dirt paths that lead to the sea. It's up to you which path you take.
Laying along the side of the Koraalspechtweg road, near the Jan Thiel Salt Flats, is the rotting carcass of an abandoned airplane. We had driven by it a number of times, always imagining how much fun it would be to explore the wreckage. And then we realized, there was nothing preventing us from doing exactly that.
