Curacao
Jan 20, 2020
The storm we met upon exiting the Panama Canal persisted and even intensified. The ship, headed for Aruba, was heading directly into the storm. Winds up to 50 mph impeded our progress and the ship could only make ten knots.
It became quickly clear that we would not be able to get to Aruba.
We instead diverted very slightly for Curacao and arrived there on schedule.
We had signed up for a Holland America tour to an ostrich farm and aloe farm.
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| By the time we got topside, the ship had already entered the harbor, passed the famous swinging bridge, and were in the process of coming about in the basin beyond the Queen Juliana Bridge and Santa Anna Bay |
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| We were soon tied up in Santa Anna Bay just short of the Queen Emma "Swinging" Bridge |
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| Across the Bay were two luxury yachts tied up and "buttoned" up with no sign of life aboard. Note the helicopter on the aft deck |
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| Rotterdam from the other side of the bay |
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| The swinging bridge with Rotterdam beyond |
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| From the TV in the cabin |
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| Our tour to the ostrich farm began with a driving tour of the city. Wall murals were abundant and quite excellent! |
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| The "Wedding Cake" house |
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| The US Consulate |
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| Huge oil refinery visible from the main traffic bridge |
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| Sacred Heart Catholic Church |
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| The ostrich farm had many variety of birds and other animals |
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| Plus many inanimate "animals" carved in wood . . . |
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| . . . or mummified |
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| Our driver and guide . . . |
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| . . . and the official photographer |
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| Our main driver and guide |
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| Ostriches |
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| Emu |
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| Ostrich ears |
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| Our guide told us the hogs clean up after the ostriches |
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| These kids were very young and cute as can be! |
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| We got to feed the ostriches |
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| They are extremely messy eaters! |
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| This is an actual ostrich egg. They can tell if they are capable of sustaining a chick. Those that are not, are used for display, cooking, etc. |
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| We were invited to stand on the egg! |
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| Our next stop was an aloe farm |
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| We were given a demonstration how to filet an aloe plant! |
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| The day was still young when we arrived back at the ship, so we decided on a walkabout. |
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| You can see the pontoons of the swinging bridge |
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| No two buildings sitting side by side were painted the same color! |
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| We passed some very clever bridges |
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| More former US surplus school buses doing duty here |
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| This lovely statue is in front of the government building . . . |
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| . . . the large yellow building trimmed in white to the right of the bridge |
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| As we walked, we saw many interesting statues . . . |
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| . . . some trying to sell a product |
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| The flag of Curacao - The blue symbolizes the sea and sky, and the yellow the sun. The two stars are for Curacao and Klein Curacao, but also stand for 'Love and Happiness. |
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| This heart is made of locks on a wire frame |
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| Queen Wilhelmina Park |
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| 'Dushi' is a common word in Papiamento/Papiamentu, the native language of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.Calling someone 'dushi' means "sweetheart." It is used to describe good things in life. |
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| This large gecko was available in the playground |
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| This tiki bar has a fabulous view of the Caribbean |
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| More mural art! |
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| This is as close as we came to the Cathedral! By the time we figured out where it was, it was too late! |
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| This large church was also out of reach |
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| This is how the swinging bridge swings! The end pontoon has a pretty good size engine and propeller |
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| Mike barely makes it across before the bridge swings out! (Actually, the operator watched him coming and held up a little!) |
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| The bridge swings over to a mooring on the other side but when there, the engine runs as a double check to make sure it doesn't break loose! |
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| This is a local beer and was pretty good! |
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| The "nice" thing about a cruise is that, regardless of what they charge for a beer "on the beach" its almost certainly cheaper than buying it on the ship! |
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| The last day in the last port comes to an end! |
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| As Curcao recedes in the distance and we head home . . . |
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| We are actually a little eager to get back to Florida and resuming our "regular" lives! |
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| This evening, we booked seats for the Cellar Master's special five course dinner with wine pairings in the Pinnacle Grill |
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| We invited Msgr Paul, our Catholic priest, to join us as a way to show our love and gratitude for him bringing us the Holy Mass every day. (Plus, he's very interesting and fun) |
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| This fantastic crystal decanter was used for the Beaulieu Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon |
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| This is the spinach tart that Theresa and Janet had as their main course. Mike, Msgr and I all went for the filet of beef! |
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