We left Miami on Friday, May 13, 2011 at 4.30 pm on American Airlines. The agent at the counter did give us a hassle about one of our suitcases being too heavy and when I mentioned that there should be an extra allowance for sporting gear he looked at me as if I came from a different planet. No worries, we took a wetsuit out of one bag and put it into the other and everything was A OK, go figure
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Landed at Hato International about 7.30pm, got our little car from National Car Rental and drove straight to Westpunt, no map, no GPS just remembering the directions that had been posted on prior threads here on SB.
Found our home for the next 5 days without a problem. Marazul Dive Resort. Tommy, the manager showed up, just as arranged per email. Good old German reliability! He gave us the keys and showed us around. We stayed in townhouse G1, right next to the stairs down to the ocean. And thanks to Tommy, our fridge was stocked with Sodas, Milk and Wine! The unit had Cable TV and Internet, was comfortable and clean. The only problem for me where the stairs to the bedroom upstairs. I have two bad knees and the stairs where too small and too steep.
Now, of course we were starving after we arrived and Tommy told us to follow him to the restaurant that was still open. And guess what? He lead us straight to Sol Food. We had a great meal and enjoyed Sunshines hospitality.
After a good nights sleep, we drove to Ocean Encounters West and checked out the place where we had booked boat dives for Sunday and Monday. Nice folks and very accommodating. We decided to do the beach dive at Alice in Wonderland and it was easy for me to get in, I got my tank delivered right to the dock J. Dive was GREAT! After the dive, we were invited to a Barbeque at Daai Booi Baai Beach by a fellow from Curacao that we do business with. It was great to meet the locals, hang out and talk to them about life on the island. We got back home and after a short siesta, it was back to Sol Food for some delicious pizza and steak.
The next morning, we dove with Ocean Encounters West. The first dive site was about 20 minutes from the dock, for the life of me, I cant remember the name. But it was fabulous. Vis was unlimited and sealife was awesome. The boat was packed, but they split us up into two groups and it didnt appear crowded down there at all. All dives lasted about an hour and I came up with over 1000 psi every single time. We saw Turtles, Seahorses, Squid, lots and lots of fish, healthy corals, it was so much different than the Florida Keys. Next dive was Watamula, wow, nothing less than spectacular. The coral formations, the marine life and the visibility, just unbelievable! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
After the dives, we met our new local friends right next door to Marazul for lunch at Rancho El Sobrino for some local cuisine. I had stewed goat with fungee and it was good. Afterwards we drove to Shete Boca National Park and looked at the sights there. After that we went for drinks at Playa Kalki and watched some crazy Dutch boys jump off the cliff. Whats for dinner? My boyfriend wanted to go straight to Sol Food, but cmon .3 days in a row? So I decided for us. Kula Huranda Lodge it was. And they had a barbecue on Sunday nights. Yeah, right .I ordered fish and he ordered steak. His steak was raw and my fish was so full of bones, it was not edible. What did we get as a response? A shrug and a fat bill! Oh well, lessons learned, we should not have passed the green house!
Monday morning and back on the boat with Ocean Encounters West. First dive was Redhio. Boat was packed with same group as the day before, but diving was awesome again. Barely any current and the vis was spectacular. Second dive was Playa Jeremi. Its just mindblowing, the boat is parked barely 50 yards off shore and the reef is right there hard coral, soft coral and in pristine condition.
After diving we went into town for the first time and stocked up at Central Supermarket (should have done that much sooner), I just loved to see the variety including lots of European products in there. So we had a meal at home on the Barbie with Salad, Steak and Baked Potato.
Tuesday was our land day and my birthday. So we explored Willemstad, did a little shopping, walked across Queen Emma bridge, took the ferry back and lunched at Seaside Terrace. We had originally planned to do the Quad Ride at Erics ATV adventures but evaluating our already burned skins, we opted not to. Next time! On the way back we stopped and saw the Pink Flamingos,
Dinner was a treat at Landhuis Misje. It was a great ending to a great trip! Well, almost. Shortly after we got back to the townhouse, all the power suddenly went off. Luckily I had Tommys cell phone number and he came right over and reprogrammed the power consumption meter and got us back in business.
Our flight back to Miami left at 7.30 am the next morning. What a horrible awakening, to oversleep and leave paradise in a hurry .
I have been to about 85% of the islands in the Caribbean, including living in Jamaica for a few years. And Curacao definitely ranks amongst my favorites.
Landed at Hato International about 7.30pm, got our little car from National Car Rental and drove straight to Westpunt, no map, no GPS just remembering the directions that had been posted on prior threads here on SB.
Found our home for the next 5 days without a problem. Marazul Dive Resort. Tommy, the manager showed up, just as arranged per email. Good old German reliability! He gave us the keys and showed us around. We stayed in townhouse G1, right next to the stairs down to the ocean. And thanks to Tommy, our fridge was stocked with Sodas, Milk and Wine! The unit had Cable TV and Internet, was comfortable and clean. The only problem for me where the stairs to the bedroom upstairs. I have two bad knees and the stairs where too small and too steep.
Now, of course we were starving after we arrived and Tommy told us to follow him to the restaurant that was still open. And guess what? He lead us straight to Sol Food. We had a great meal and enjoyed Sunshines hospitality.
After a good nights sleep, we drove to Ocean Encounters West and checked out the place where we had booked boat dives for Sunday and Monday. Nice folks and very accommodating. We decided to do the beach dive at Alice in Wonderland and it was easy for me to get in, I got my tank delivered right to the dock J. Dive was GREAT! After the dive, we were invited to a Barbeque at Daai Booi Baai Beach by a fellow from Curacao that we do business with. It was great to meet the locals, hang out and talk to them about life on the island. We got back home and after a short siesta, it was back to Sol Food for some delicious pizza and steak.
The next morning, we dove with Ocean Encounters West. The first dive site was about 20 minutes from the dock, for the life of me, I cant remember the name. But it was fabulous. Vis was unlimited and sealife was awesome. The boat was packed, but they split us up into two groups and it didnt appear crowded down there at all. All dives lasted about an hour and I came up with over 1000 psi every single time. We saw Turtles, Seahorses, Squid, lots and lots of fish, healthy corals, it was so much different than the Florida Keys. Next dive was Watamula, wow, nothing less than spectacular. The coral formations, the marine life and the visibility, just unbelievable! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
After the dives, we met our new local friends right next door to Marazul for lunch at Rancho El Sobrino for some local cuisine. I had stewed goat with fungee and it was good. Afterwards we drove to Shete Boca National Park and looked at the sights there. After that we went for drinks at Playa Kalki and watched some crazy Dutch boys jump off the cliff. Whats for dinner? My boyfriend wanted to go straight to Sol Food, but cmon .3 days in a row? So I decided for us. Kula Huranda Lodge it was. And they had a barbecue on Sunday nights. Yeah, right .I ordered fish and he ordered steak. His steak was raw and my fish was so full of bones, it was not edible. What did we get as a response? A shrug and a fat bill! Oh well, lessons learned, we should not have passed the green house!
Monday morning and back on the boat with Ocean Encounters West. First dive was Redhio. Boat was packed with same group as the day before, but diving was awesome again. Barely any current and the vis was spectacular. Second dive was Playa Jeremi. Its just mindblowing, the boat is parked barely 50 yards off shore and the reef is right there hard coral, soft coral and in pristine condition.
After diving we went into town for the first time and stocked up at Central Supermarket (should have done that much sooner), I just loved to see the variety including lots of European products in there. So we had a meal at home on the Barbie with Salad, Steak and Baked Potato.
Tuesday was our land day and my birthday. So we explored Willemstad, did a little shopping, walked across Queen Emma bridge, took the ferry back and lunched at Seaside Terrace. We had originally planned to do the Quad Ride at Erics ATV adventures but evaluating our already burned skins, we opted not to. Next time! On the way back we stopped and saw the Pink Flamingos,
Dinner was a treat at Landhuis Misje. It was a great ending to a great trip! Well, almost. Shortly after we got back to the townhouse, all the power suddenly went off. Luckily I had Tommys cell phone number and he came right over and reprogrammed the power consumption meter and got us back in business.
Our flight back to Miami left at 7.30 am the next morning. What a horrible awakening, to oversleep and leave paradise in a hurry .
I have been to about 85% of the islands in the Caribbean, including living in Jamaica for a few years. And Curacao definitely ranks amongst my favorites.
