Feb. 22 - 25, 2018

We struggled with the idea that we wanted to visit Curaçao, the other Lesser Antilles island to the east of Bonaire, but travelling there with our boat had two key downsides; we would give up our mooring in Bonaire and might not get one when we return, plus the trip back is kown to be quite challenging with high seas, currents and winds against us.  So we looked into the cost of a return flight from Bonaire to Curaçao and it turned out to be quite reasonable (CAD$166/pp), plus we found a cute little boutique hotel for 3 nights for less than U.S.$200 (CAD$253).  So it was decided that we would fly, but we definitely needed to make sure that our boat would be ok while we were away.  So we talked to our friend David on S/Y Motu Iti and asked him if he would keep an eye on our boat for the 4 days we would be away, and he agreed.

After checking in, we spend the rest of our first day touring the main city of Williemstaad.  The houses along the street next to our hotel were brightly coloured in a variety of pastels.  We found this colour scheme continued into the downtown area next to the Queen Emma pontoon bridge that is lit up at night with a variety of neon colours.  It is definitely a different atmosphere from its sister island, Bonaire.  Much busier and commercialized, it definitely had that big city feel.  Curaçao and Aruba receive much larger cruise ships than Bonaire, making the experience here very different.  It was a nice place to visit, but we do like the unspoiled feel of Bonaire.

On our second day in Curaçao, we made our way over to Mambo Beach.  The weather wasn’t the best for being at the beach, as it rained on and off throughout the day, but as the evening approached the clouds cleared and people started coming out of hiding. 

We were hoping to find a tour company that could take us to some of the more interesting attractions, but with our last minute idea to travel here we found that they were all booked up.  Must have been a lot of cruise ships in port this week.  As luck would have it, our hotel manager, a very friendly young girl offered to take us and another girl who was also staying at the hotel, in her car for the day to tour a couple of key attractions.  1st we visited the Indian Trail and Hato Caves tour, but our favorite stop was at the Ostrich Farm, where we got up close and personal with these amazing birds.  Don’t miss our video of me feeding them, it’s hilarious!  We spent the bulk of our day here, it was well worth the visit.

We flew back to Bonaire the next day, happy with our mini vacation from the boat, but at the same time glad to be back on board and finding her safe and sound.  We invited Dave over for dinner to thank him for keeping a watch on her while we were away.