Such a relaxing time. |
Sunset, last night in Curacao |
Dinner one night. Outside. |
Playa Kalki beach, known for good snorkeling and beauty. |
As for the shopping, we did tour the downtown shopping area on Sunday when most everything was closed. Downtown Willemstad reminded me of a cross between New York City and New Orleans. Just like that. I'm not sorry we didn't shop, though. Relaxation and beautiful views met my needs.
I was somewhat obsessed with the cat-sized iguanas all over the Marriott resort. |
View from a restaurant of the Renaissance Hotel's beach side. |
We always stay at Marriott's when we travel because Dorsey gathers so many frequent stay points through his travels that we end up staying on points wherever we go. (Job perk!)
Like other islands we've visited, tourism is Curacao's life force. Otherwise, poverty abounds on the island. Driving is a nightmare for those of us who have learned to rely on Siri. The streets are not marked!!! So when Siri says to turn left or right on such-and-such street (in Dutch, by the way), we have no idea what that street is. No signs! Who does that?
Dutch is the predominant language, although most locals also speak English. We just couldn't read many signs or directions. Oh, well. We're still alive, right? And we managed to eat the food we intended. :-)
This one came to visit me and stayed awhile one morning. |
OK, wait. I noticed that if we said "hello" first, we received a friendly "hello" in return. Another thing we noticed is the lack of haste to eat and run. The meal experience usually took about two hours. Waitstaff didn't care to hurry us or anyone else out of our seats, no matter what type of restaurant. That was a strange experience! So unAmerican!!
This was our vantage point. |
DEAD BODY!
Yep, he wasn't even covered yet. So we and everyone else watched the hotel staff scramble to put barriers around his body with lounge chairs and a couple of towels. This lasted about two hours as staff guarded the body and waited for "CSI: Curacao" to show up. Finally, the poor guy's body was removed.
I found out later from the massage therapist — who was super nice and good, but still not as good as Amarillo man Larry Brooks at Relaxation Station — that the man was a local, and cause of death was uncertain. Drowning is the predominant theory, although the man was 78 years old. I'm assuming it wasn't foul play, based on the way things played out that morning. Sad.
Overall, the vacation provided much-needed downtime for Dorsey and me after the year of constant change and loss we've had. It was really the first time either of us relaxed, I think.
Dorsey and I like to compare the islands we've been to — he's visited more — and we still say St. Kitt's is our favorite so far. That trip with Kim and Vince over my birthday in 2008 was epic. As for Curacao, we will check this one off the list and relish the fun memories we've been blessed with.
(But soon we will be searching for the next Caribbean island to visit — although I've demanded that the next major vacation is Italy ... and there are beaches there, so Dorsey should be just fine.)
Stay tuned for part 2 ... the bad that attempted to ruin vacation and all the philosophizing that goes with it ...
Sorry about the dead body, I'm sure the tour books/guides will tell you that hardly ever happens here. What did Dorsey see or find on his dives? Wrecks? or water life? Glad you had a nice, relaxing time. By the way, I like to dine in the lingering style, so I am also unAmerican!
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