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Pam & Sara amuse the Caribbean (a.k.a. our trip
to Curaçao, April 7-12 2005)
Alright, so here's the background: We had an all-hands
meeting at work in February, and afterward, had a quiz (presumably made
up of answers from the presentations). I didn't know all the answers (don't
think hey were all included), but gave it a shot. 5 or 6 others who gave
it a shot got the same number as me, so they drew a name - mine! My prize
was a pair of airline tickets to anywhere in the 48 contiguous States,
Mexico, or the Caribbean. As I haven't got a beau just now, I e-mailed
my longtime best friend, Sara, and asked if she wanted to go somewhere.
Her reply, when she called me about 10 minutes later, was "You betcher
sweet ass I wanna go somewhere!" That's a "Yes", then.....?
We did quite a lot of research, browsed a buncha books,
had more than one cup of coffee while discussing, and eventually decided
on Curaçao,
Netherlands Antilles. And based on the reactions we've had when talking
to friends, family and co-workers about this, you're saying "Where?"
Get yourself to Florida, fly towards Venezuela, then stop a few miles
before you get there. It's bentwen Aruba and Bonaire.
By the way, I'll spare you the long drawn-out story, but
suffice it to say that we love American Airlines,
as they were kind enough to allow us to use our tickets on a very full
flight, when they really didn't have to. We love our friends at American
-- they really do know why we fly. ;)
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The first day or two....
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You can't get from Denver to Curaçao all in one
day, so we spent a night in Miami, at the Homewood
Suites. They have a shuttle to and from the airport. When we'd waited
longer than anticipated, the front desk clerk (I'm sorry I don't recall
his name) grabbed a set of keys, and whisked us away.
And talk about close to the airport --
there it is, as we're taxiing past it!
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It's just so cool to see the islands
from the sky -- this is Haiti, I believe.
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Our first glimpse of Curaçao!
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Wind farms -- and with the breezes that
the island has, this is a natural fit!
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Not since I went to Mexico have I walked
off the plane directly -- maybe it's a tropical thing?
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"Bon bini" means "Welcome"
in Dutch (the primary language is Dutch, but everyone has at least a basic
knowledge of English and Spanish as well -- a very diverse island!)
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Ta-da!
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While the island isn't the tropical rain
forest you might picture with "Caribbean island", there is some
really pretty vegetation. This was a gorgeous plant just below our room
balcony. Oh, wait....room...there's a story....
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So, we had booked the Lions
Dive & Beach Resort, and were very excited about staying there (look
at the site -- how could you not be?) We checked in, and were told that
they were overbooked, so they'd bumped us to the Sea
Aquarium Royal Resort next door. The clerk didn't offer up any details
about this place, so we weren't entirely certain if this was a good thing,
an even swap, or a big ol' bummer. They gave us a free dinner at Nemo's,
the restaurant at Lion's Dive, so that was a nice thing (we'd heard it was
a good place, if a little pricey). We walked the very short way to the resort,
and were pleasantly surprised. It's a timeshare, so it's not really a hotel
(fewer amenities, no room service, etc), but it was very clean, the staff
was great (Ramona Carolina was especially accomodating), and it turned out
to be maybe even a slightly better location. All in all, it was a great
place to stay. Now, back to our feature presentation....
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Seeing as how the only reason most people have ever
heard the word "Curaçao" is because of the blue liqueur
(BTW, it's pronounced "cure-a-sow"), we figured a blue drink
had better be the first order of business.
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Sara, enjoying the first of many refreshing
fruity beverages throughout the trip.
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We decided to wander the 50 yards to
the Sea Aquarium (entrance is free when you're a guest at either the Royal
Resort or the Lions Dive). This "broken ship" is the Sea Aquarium
office.
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I suspect this pretty guy was a "kept"
bird, but you never know....
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The touch tank was full of conchs like
this guys (see his little eyes hangin' out?), starfish, and sea cucumbers.
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We arrived at the Lions Dive bar in time
to catch some of the solar eclipse. Rather than looking at it directly,
did the old pinhole-in-a-piece-of-paper trick. See, just below the "R"
in "BEER".....
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This is the view from my barstool, off
to the west at sunset. Gorgeous.
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Sara, looking content at dinner (that's
the free dinner...the best kind). I don't know that the photo truly
captures the vibrant colours on the walls...
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And you know, the taste was every bit
as marvelous as the presentation!
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The Lions Dive, from just in front of
Nemo's restaurant (where we had dinner, and a few refreshing beverages)
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