Friday, Day 125 - May 11 - 8am to 11pm, Willemstad, Curaçao

Willemstad has a touch of old Amsterdam transported to the island paradise. The former capital of Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010 Willemstad’s historic center consist of two quarters, Punda and Otrobanda, separated by St. Anna Bay, an inlet, that leads into the large natural harbor Schottegat.

Punda was established in 1634 when the Dutch captured the island from Spain.  Otrobanda was founded in 1707 and means the other side and is considered the cultural side of the city.  A World Heritage site, the Punda district is known for the pastel-hued buildings that decorate the waterfront of this very Dutch Caribbean island. There is a colorful floating market, just a short walk from the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge. Punda preserves hundreds of buildings as national monuments including Fort Amsterdam, the Governor’s Palace, Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, one of the first synagogue’s in the New World, and the waterfront’s colorful Penha building.

We were here in 2011 and docked near the floating bridge in the channel. We  picked up a local tour in Punda for about $15pp and toured the Punda side and some of the East and South side of the Island and then just explored downtown on our own. Today we planned on doing a free ship’s tour, Sea and See Island Tour, at 8:30am for 2-1/2 hours. It is a trip to the "Seaworld Explorer," a state-of-the-art semi-submarine that remains above sea level at all times, but comfortably accommodates passengers below in an air-conditioned viewing hull, which sits 5 feet below the water's surface. Everyone has their own window for under water viewing. A diver swims alongside the semi-submarine with food for the fish to provide photo opportunities. Then there is a drive across the Queen Juliana Bridge, one of the highest bridges in the world at 185 feet above sea level, for panoramic views of the city and harbor and on to Chobolobo, the Dutch colonial country estate where the famous Curacao liqueur is distilled. Sound s like a good short tour, but the sea is really rough and we decide we don’t want to bounce around for 50 minutes in rough water so we cancel.

We are docked at the new Mega Ship Terminal which at first is disappointing since the sail in up St. Anna Bay is so colorful. We were scheduled to dock in the channel across from Punda like before. Not sure why we didn’t as we are the only ship in port today. Actually though, it worked out OK and the Mega Terminal is a nice cruise ship facility. There is an Avis rental shop on the pier so Dick makes a computer reservation for a car pick up at 10AM and we go to breakfast then stop by the Destinations Deck for a map and some ideas on places to go.

We get off about 9:45AM only to find the Avis shop closed! After some help with a telephone call to the main Avis office we get the car situation fixed and our car arrives at the pier about 10:15am. We head out toward the West and North end of this long thin Island, about 40km away. The roads are good, fairly well marked as to the next town and have very little traffic. We are surprised by how arid it is. Looks almost like our desert Southwest except for the brightly colored cottages with a strong Dutch influence especially the older buildings. One of the most interesting things we see are the cemeteries. They are as colorful as the houses and almost look like small walled villages. We see two large cemeteries as we drive along the West side and will see several more in town on the Punda side.

Our goal is Westpund and Noordpund. The northern and western tips are hilly and dotted with small beaches, dive and snorkeling sites and lots of older resorts that seem to be full. We stop at and walk along one of the beaches, Playa Piskado and stop at an overlook for Westpunt Baai . There is a ramp for dive boats with several groups getting ready for a dive. There are lots of people snorkeling in the beautiful turquoise water. It is calm in this protected cove, but there is lots of wave action along most of the coast. It is very windy!

On around to the northern point there are numerous large private homes on the cliffs. There is a lighthouse on this point and we try to find it, but the road turns to gravel and is not too well maintained so we give up after a kilometer or two, We do see some interesting birds though and two iguanas.

We are navigating with a very rudimentary island map, but decide we will try to go across the Queen Juliana Bridge and then we drive around the Punda town side before we turn the car in. Dick’s knees and feet are really bothering him today. Surprisingly, with no wrong turns we get across the bridge with its expansive view and on through Punda seeing many of the wonderful old Dutch buildings of this World Heritage Site. There is also a lot of restoration taking place especially along the waterfront near the Amsterdam Fort.

After gassing up the car with 12 liters of fuel for $11US we make our way back to the dock just like we knew where we were going!!! There is no one there to take the car so Dick locks the keys in the glove compartment as instructed and we go back to the ship for a late lunch on the pool deck.

They are setting up for a big, on-deck Caribbean BBQ tonight. Ivan (one of our head waiters in Compass Rose) tells us they are setting up for ~ 350 people. These deck dinners always look really nice, but are so much work for the staff. However we do not like to stand in line nor eat in the heat and/or humidity. They don’t start serving until 7PM so the sun will be down but it will still be muggy.


Carolyn goes up to Deck 11 for some pictures. The whole area around the terminal and the Riff Fort have been improved with a hotel, shopping and cafes. Plus, there is now a nice foreshore walk around to the floating bridge. She decides to get off the ship again and see how far she can walk. Armed with Dick’s good camera she leaves about 4:30PM. There is plenty of time as we do not sail until11PM. Once outside the terminal gate there is a nice walkway along the seawall. There are several small open air bars and cafes with seating overlooking the water and backing up to a nicely landscaped park. The walk leads into the Riff Fort that once guarded the Otrobanda side of St. Anna Bay. The fort now is home to a nice collection of shops and restaurants. She continues along the walkway along St. Anna Bay, there is a daily, craft market in full swing and wonderful views across the water to the colorful buildings on the Punda side. The sun is low in the sky so the colors are sparkling!

The bells for the Pontoon Bridge start ringing signaling it is opening for boat traffic. According to the signal it will be open for 45 minutes and the ferry will be running free. After getting some pictures of the opening, Carolyn boards the ferry and rides to the Punda side just for the hell of it. She gets a seat and enjoys the round trip ride and watches a huge car carrier sail from the harbor out to sea. It is time to head back to the ship, but she makes one last stop and walks a little ways onto the Pontoon Bridge before heading “home.”

It turned out to be a nice easy two hour walk, but now it is time to get cleaned up and enjoy some cocktails and dinner. There are maybe 50 people in the Compass Rose tonight and they are only serving in the side sections. Tegu says there are about 200 upstairs, but there are many, many room service orders. Since there are some nice eating places very close to the ship we bet that some people opted to eat off the ship also.

It has been a wonderful day. It is really nice just to do our own thing on our schedule sometimes!! We don’t last long enough to even read before we are both sound asleep!