Curaçao

9/2/21

After work, we packed up and headed to the Phoenix airport for an overnight flight to freezing Miami airport. Getting started on this trip was a bit stressful and challenging. Curaçao required a negative covid test (PCR test) taken no earlier than 3 days before the flight. But due to me being in the field and the delay in getting test results due to issues at that time in the US and the difficulty in getting a test appointment, it was stressful to make sure we could get the test. Not to mention the stress of wondering if we had Covid.

9/3/21

Caught an early morning flight from Miami to Curaçao.  Flying over the Bahamas was beautiful! We arrived to the small, seaside airport in Curaçao and hopped in a taxi to head to our resort (Sunscape). It was a pretty fancy place (all-inclusive) and we grabbed a late lunch by the ocean and then explored the area and the beautiful beach and lagoon area. There were lots of cool green iguanas running around the property. We of course grabbed some cocktails from the bar and had our first infamous Blue Curaçao drink as we walked along the beach. Our room was very nice, and even had an ocean view!

For the evening they had a special buffet meal out on the beach, lit up by tiki torches. It was very delicious. And there was special dancing and performances from a stage set up on the beach.

9/4/21

We took a local bus into Willemstad the capitol. We walked all around the capitol exploring its streets and neighborhoods. As Curaçao was a Dutch colony (it is now an individual country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands), the city has a distinct Dutch character with very colorful pastel buildings. There is a famous swinging bridge that we crossed as well as watched operate. The city also has some giant building murals, which were fun to seek out. And there are also some fun narrow streets full of color and plants

One of the things we really got a kick out of today was the word "Dushi". You'd see it all over--"Dushi life" "Curaçao the Dushi Island" "Dushi Vibes" "Have a Dushi Day" "Dushi Punda (the narrow-street neighborhood)"--on t-shirts, signs, shop windows. It's funny because it's a negative slang word where we come from, and one of my dad's favorite crude words. But in the local language it means sweetheart or love. Or as a mural in Punda noted " 'Dushi' is a common word in Papiamentu. The word has a variety of meanings.; calling someone 'dushi' means 'sweetheart', 'babe,' or even 'sexy.' You also use it for tasty food and to describe the good things in life. "

When we got back to the hotel, we had cocktails from beach chairs, then we headed over to the beachside restaurant for sunset hors d'oeuvres. We then moved from the beachside restaurant to another restaurant that is on the sand with ocean views and is specifically the sea food restaurant. We ordered the fish smorgasbord, so we got to try lots of different tasty fish. There was some entertainment thing tonight, but we just stayed at the seafood restaurant as we were enjoying it.

9/5/21

As part of our package we had a champagne breakfast delivered to our room. So we sat on our ocean view balcony and ate our fancy breakfast. We then hung out around the resort, swimming in some of the pools, having some cocktails by the beach, and joining in a trivia game and then a 'Simon Says' game. In the afternoon we went and did some of the recreation activities including climbing the outdoor climbing wall and shooting some rifles. Elisha was good. I was no good! We also played some beach volleyball.

We went to the Italian restaurant for dinner. They were doing a couples competition for the evening show. Elisha wasn't interested in it b/c of the potential embarrassing questions, so we just watched.  

9/6/21

We spent the day at the beach enjoying the white sands and super beautiful turquoise water. Did some reading, and I chased some green iguanas around, and we both went snorkeling. The coral wasn't the best, but the tropical fish were really great. We also made a point to go swimming in every pool at the resort, which was quite a lot. In the evening we played volleyball in the foreground of a dramatic sunset. 

For dinner we went to the Japanese restaurant that featured sushi and Teppanyaki grilling (where they cook in front of you). After hanging out a bit, we then went to get some more food at the seafood restaurant. For the evening entertainment, we played a fun trivia game that the recreation leaders led. In the evening we walked to Mambo Beach, which is a famous beach that also has a cool nightlife scene (though very quiet right now b/c of covid, since it was so difficult to get access to travel to Curaçao)

9/7/21

Our last day in Curaçao (sad!). We spent the morning reading by the beautiful water and reading. I did some more snorkeling. Then we did some more of the rec activities. They have what they call a "euro bungee" which is a big trampoline that you are bungeed into using a harness so that you can do back and front flips. 

We headed to the airport, and in our rush of getting organized at the airport, Elisha and I switched passports. But no problem! We both made it through border control using the other person's passport. I guess we really do look alike!