Christina’s Journey Journal

Category: Curaçao

  • Curacao 🇨🇼 …I’m back!

    Curacao 🇨🇼 …I’m back!

    I can’t get enough of this amazing island in the Caribbean, where sunshine☀️ is the best daily vitamin. A quick trip gave me the opportunity to explore some of their famous beaches this time around…and let’s just say there wasn’t a beach I didn’t like!

    Blue Bay Beach💙🩵 – this is an easy one because it’s where we stay. The Brass Boer rents Palapas for the day (make a reservation) and it’s a treat worth splurging on.

    Looking at the Palapas…the ones to the right have hammocks over the water.🦎
    View from the Palapas where it poured down rain 🌧️ for about 15 minutes and then was sunny for the remainder of the day.
    What a way to end the day at Blue Bay Beach!
    First on the day’s agenda—
    Grote Knip Beach 🏝️…
    I am not sure I have ever seen water this turquoise and clear! No entrance fee, but a $15 charge for two chairs and an umbrella. You can bring in your own food/drinks. There’s a yummy smoothie place right by the parking lot.
    Beaches are the best with friends!
    🩷🩵
    From the lookout point (which serves as a jumping off point for some brave divers), you then walk down a couple flights of stars to the beach below.
    On to Playa Lagun 🏝️ for a quick peek. The fishing boats make a great backdrop.
    Next up – Cas Abao Beach!🏖️
    We paid $6 a car (and you then travel via a gravel road for 5 minutes). You also pay for chairs. They have a snack bar/bar, and your chair ticket gets you a token for the shower.

    The next day we drove about 10 minutes from Blue Bay, passed a Flamingo preserve, and went where The Beach Boys sang it best… “There’s a place called Kokomo, that’s where you wanna go to get away from it all. Bodies in the sand, tropical drink🍹melting in your hand, we’ll be falling in love🩵 to the rhythm of a steel drum 🥁 band, down in Kokomo…”

    Kokomo Beach, Curacao🧡

    Kokomo Beach has swings! Careful getting out there as it’s a bit slippery. Then there’s a short pier and a floating deck we swam out to as well. This beach was one of my favorites. I felt like I really could get away from it all!

    In addition, there’s a dive shop with finds from the USS Erie, a ship that was torpedoed and beached off Curacao during WWII on November 12, 1942.

    And we finish the trip with pina coladas mixed with the famous Blue Curacao liquor. Until next time!🩵

  • Curacao for the Holidays!

    Curacao for the Holidays!

    Bon Bini (Welcome in Papiamento) to Curacao as we spent the holidays with family on this beautiful island. We rented a lovely home called Villa Hundu. I would highly recommend for larger families who want privacy and to get away from it all! There is a small tram that takes you down to the bottom where you will find a secluded rocky beach.

    The private tram headed back up from the beach
    Playa Hundu

    We got off to a rough start with 9 of the 10 of us getting the stomach bug. There appears to be a surge in Norovirus across the US. Luckily we were isolated and enjoyed the views as we recovered.

    New Year’s Eve …
    Ushering out 2024 with the most stunning sunset
    The sky was on fire 🔥

    We did venture out some —snorkeling trip to Klein Curacao, exploring Willemstad, Playa Forti…but most of the trip was spent chilling by the pool, trying to feel better, family game nights, and the obligatory family pictures lol (we had a photographer come to the house).

    Willemstad was decorated for the holiday
    Standing on the Queen Emma Bridge with the Handelskade behind us—the harbor front street lined with 18th century candy-colored Dutch colonial architecture. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The bridge connects the two neighborhoods — Punda and Otrobanda.
    Dushi — in the island’s language of Papiamentu it means sweet, nice or good, treasure, sweetheart, darling, and even sexy.  It is said that the word is like a “hug”!
    Dinner for some of us at one of our favorites, The Gouveneur
    Rif Fort – built in 1828 to protect the entrance of the St. Anna Bay and the outer part of the Otrabanda neighborhood. It’s now a mall/eatery.
    Celebrating the new year at Restaurant Playa Forti
    Fireworks over the Handelskade!
    A rainy day at the Palapas at Blue Bay Beach
    A view from the pool at Villa Hundu
    Dal Toro Restaurant was divine!
    Until next time! Ayo!
  • Curaçao 🇨🇼 – Willemstad

    Curaçao 🇨🇼 – Willemstad

    What a view!

    Taken from the ferry looking back at the city centre, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site 🌎
    That water 💦!
    Bon Nochi!🧡
  • Curaçao 🇨🇼 – Sunday Funday!

    Curaçao 🇨🇼 – Sunday Funday!

    The beach and atmosphere at Blue Bay are incredible. After a lot of exploring, we sat in some pretty comfy beach chairs, enjoyed a Pornstar Martini, and ate dinner while watching yet another breathtaking sunset.

    Ohhh and ahhh!
    Winding down the day
    Pornstar Martini – vanilla flavored vodka, Passoã, passion fruit juice, lime juice, and Prosecco. Kind of looks like a sunset in a martini glass, doesn’t it??
    Cheers from Curaçao!
  • Curacao 🇨🇼 – Days 1 & 2

    Curacao 🇨🇼 – Days 1 & 2

    A quick getaway with my sister for some tropical fun-in-the-sun in this southern Caribbean island.

    We’re here! This Dutch Caribbean Island is home to 151k+ people, coral reefs, beautiful beaches, and an official language called Papiamentu, a Creole language based primarily in Portuguese & Spanish. It is also spoken on their sister islands, Aruba and Bonaire
    (aka The ABC Islands)
    Lots of “blue”💙 in the drinks! Of course! Curaçao is the home to Curacao liqueur, created when a local figured out how to use the rinds of the citrus fruit known as laraha (similar to an orange)
    Preparing a mid afternoon snack
    Crazy for coconuts! 🥥 🌴
    Sunset from our balcony Day 1
    Sunset from our balcony Day 2
    Incredible dinner at Gouverneur de Rouville. We started with spicy banana soup and then shared the Caribbean Chicken and the Keshi Yena. The latter is a traditional Curacao dish – cheese stuffed with chicken, onions, olives and prunes.
    It was out-of-this-world delicious!
    Walking through a rainbow 🌈
    Queen Emma Bridge, Willemstad, Curacao
    This pontoon bridge was originally built in 1888. It’s been renovated 4 times and the lighting arches were added in 1955
    🔒 ❤️All the locks of love!❤️ 🔒
    Such a great word.
    Dushi in Papiamentu means sweet, nice or good.
    When there are roses, you stop and smell them. When there’s this on your walking path, you stop and swing!