Curacao

     The morning of April 2 found us docked in Willemstad, the capital of Curacao.  We have visited Willemstad previously several times, so if you want to read more background about Curacao you can go there:

https://baderjournal.com/2014/05/01/southern-caribbean-part-2-oranjestad-aruba-willemstad-curacao/

https://baderjournal.com/2019/12/30/willemstad-curacao-2019/

We had spent our previous visits entirely in the town of Willemstad, which is a fine approach because this is a very interesting and enjoyable city.  But we decided on this visit to spend some time seeing the rest of the island, which we were able to do on an excursion.  Our first stop was a “Kunuku House,” a slave house from an old plantation.  It is a small structure with white walls and thatch roof and only a door and two small windows in front.  As in Bonaire, there was a cactus fence around the property.  Our guide on the property gave us an extraordinarily detailed and interesting tour, demonstrating just how people used the items on display in their daily lives.  A bit of a downside was that most of the lengthy presentation involved standing outside and it was very hot.  During the presentation a nice little bird with an orange head sat in a bush listening.

     In 1795 more than 60% of the population of Curacao were enslaved.  A slave named Tula led a revolt that continued for months before finally being defeated.  Tula and others were executed but later the slaves were granted some additional rights in an effort to stave off another revolt.  We saw several modest monuments to this revolt consisting of a raised fist on top of a column a few feet tall.  A broken chain was hanging from the fist on the one at the location where the revolt began.  Slavery was not finally abolished in Curacao until 1863.

     Shete Boka (Seven Inlets) National Park stretches some 7 miles along the seashore.  It was established in 1994 to protect these inlets that are nesting areas for sea turtles.  We didn’t see any turtles but the surf pounding the rocky shore was quite a sight.  There was some interesting small flora eking out a living in the dry, hot and rocky area behind the seashore and also some cacti.  And a monument to the island’s ubiquitous iguanas.

      On the way back to Willemstad we stopped to look at Playa Kenepa Grandi beach, which the guide said is the most beautiful on the island.  We also saw flamingoes in a salt lake.

     It was still lunch time when we got back to the dock so we decided to walk to our favorite restaurant, which is built over the water in a large inlet (you can see it in the previous visit postings).  We crossed the Queen Emma Bridge, a 130 year old pontoon bridge that is moved aside for ship traffic in and out of the bay, and walked along the colorful streets of the city to the site of the restaurant.  Sadly, when we got there it turned out to be permanently closed.  The lack of tourism during the pandemic has undoubtedly taken a toll on stores and restaurants on these islands so this wasn’t a shock, but definitely a disappointment.  Hopefully someone will buy it and open a new restaurant here. 

     The Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue in Willemstad is reputedly the oldest surviving synagogue in the Western Hemisphere (not sure how it compares to the one we visited in Barbados).  As in Barbados, the first Jews here came from Brazil and the Netherlands in the mid-17th century and this synagogue opened in 1730.  We had seen the building before but this time we wanted to tour the inside and see the museum.  Unfortunately for us it was closed to the public on this day.  Foiled again!

     We did find a nice place for lunch on our way back.  I think it was called the Iguana Café and we were seated under a canopy right on the edge of the bay on the Punda side.  We had a great view of the bay, the Queen Emma Bridge and the Otrabanda waterfront across the water.  A cruise passenger at a nearby table spent the whole time talking with friends and family at home in England.  From what we could hear it sounded like most of them didn’t know where Curacao is and didn’t know that this woman was away from home.  She was trying to impress them with her exotic Caribbean locale and I think she was rather disappointed.  She told them she was sitting near the world’s oldest bridge, but I would wager that there are older bridges where she lives in England.  The lunch was good and the ambience pleasant and the day was warm, so following lunch we walked back to the ship after a very full day in Curacao.

Aruba

    We spent April 3 in Aruba, the last of the Dutch ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) and our last port on this voyage.  We have been here several times before:

     https://baderjournal.com/2014/05/01/southern-caribbean-part-2-oranjestad-aruba-willemstad-curacao/ 

     https://baderjournal.com/2020/01/02/oranjestad-aruba-2019/

As with Curacao we had never ventured beyond Oranjestad on our previous visits, so we decided on an excursion around the island.  Our first stop was at the Casibari Rock Formations, a hill made of huge boulders in the middle of the island.  The origin of this striking rock formation in a desert setting is unknown, and apparently the indigenous people who lived here considered it sacred.  The rocks are surrounded by attractive garden areas.  On the way there we passed an interesting cemetery with rows of above ground tombs. Behind it was Mount Hooiberg, a volcanic cone mountain rising straight up out of the desert, known locally as The Haystack

     You may have noticed in one of the pictures above that people were on top of the large hill of boulders.  In fact, two routes have been built for climbing to the top.  Mary stayed below but Rick climbed to the top.  The path on the side we were on went up through the rocks.  At one point it seemed to come to an end well below the top & I (Rick) was about to go back down in defeat.  Then I saw two teenage boys disappear into what looked like a cave in the rocks about ten feet before the end of the path.  Following their lead, I found the path branched into the rocks.  Climbing on some rocks was required and there wasn’t always sufficient head room to stand up, but ultimately this branch of the path emerged on the top of the hill.  This provided panoramic views in every direction, including the Nieuw Statendam all the way back at the dock.

     The climb up had been steep and twisty but not too exhausting.  However there was a lot of wind at the top which made me feel unsteady unless holding on to the railing.  And it seemed that going back down through the hill was going to be tricky to say the least.  Then I saw that on the other side of the hill a very steep staircase had been built all the way down, complete with hand rails.  So that’s where I went, holding tight to the hand rails the whole way.

     Leaving Casibari we drove on to our next stop, on the Atlantic coastline.  On the way we passed several old farmhouses surrounded by cacti.

    Arikok National Park encompasses a stretch of dramatic sea coast that includes a natural bridge.  There was originally a large bridge, 100 feet long and more than 20 feet above the water, but it collapsed in 2005.  Still standing near it is the Baby Natural Bridge, measuring 25 feet long and about 3 feet above the water.  Still beautiful though.  There is a sign reading “Caution. Possible Collapse” and who could doubt that after what happened to its big brother.  But some people still walked out on it.  The surf on the nearby shore line & what is probably the remains of the larger bridge is pretty spectacular.

     We drove through more cactus country to the Alto Vista Chapel.  The first Catholic Church in Aruba, it was originally built in 1750.  After a plague devastated the area the church was abandoned in 1816.  The current building was opened in 1952 on the same spot as the original church.

     The California Lighthouse is situated above a cliff at the northwest corner of the island.  I had the idea that perhaps it was called this because it is the closest spot on Aruba to the state of California.  But actually it was named for the SS California, a British steamship that went down here in 1891. Opened in 1916, the lighthouse was intended to ensure that this wouldn’t happen again.

     While we were there we saw cactus flowers, birds and lizards.  And there was a nice view across the bay of some of the resort hotels on Palm Beach (which we later drove through).

     We drove along the beach hotels back to the pier.  It was still early enough for lunch so we took a chance and walked to our favorite beach restaurant (which can be seen in posts of previous visits).  To our delight, unlike in Curacao, this restaurant was still open and fully operational!  We enjoyed grouper sandwiches and french fries along with local Balashi beer.

     After lunch we walked back to Nieuw Statendam, a fairly long walk on a hot day (especially after a beer).  On the way we stopped in Queen Wilhelmina Park, a popular hangout for iguanas.  So here are pictures of a few of them because, who doesn’t love iguana pictures?

     After boarding the ship we sailed back to Ft Lauderdale, retrieved our car and drove home.  We were glad to get home, still in good health, but we did enjoy the ports we visited.  Originally envisioned primarily as a pandemic get away the trip turned out to have many interesting and engaging moments.  The ship and its management could have stood some improvements in our view, as you may have read in the previous episodes, but all in all we are glad we went on this voyage, particularly since it had been three full years since the last time we were at sea.  We are still keeping our fingers crossed that it will be a much shorter time until our next adventure, because in the time of Covid you just never know.

Half Moon Cay

     After a relaxing day at sea we dropped anchor off Half Moon Cay on March 26.  During the sea day the ship held a Mariner event (Mariner Society is HAL’s loyalty program, giving credits for time at sea and onboard purchases).  They award medals for number of days on board HAL ships and we received gold medals this time.  They look like you won an Olympics event, but actually they represent being one of HAL’s best customers.  Our picture was taken with the Captain (left) and Hotel Manager.

     Located about 100 miles from Nassau, Holland America purchased Half Moon Cay, then called Little San Salvador Island, for $6 million in 1996.  It has developed just 50 acres into a cruiser’s playground with the remainder of its almost 4 square miles left as wildlife habitat.  The current name of the island comes from its 2.5 mile long soft white sand beach.

     There is no deep water dock here, at least so far, so we had to tender ashore.  We waited for the early rush to subside while having a leisurely breakfast, then boarded the local tender (not one of the ship’s lifeboats) which dropped us off at the pier (on the right side in the picture above).  We walked through the facility, mostly shops, and down to take a look at the beach.  There are cabanas at the beach that can be rented for the day, but at a very high price in our opinion.

     We walked down the beach for a while, beyond the cabanas to the paddock where the riding horses live.  A platform was set up on the beach to help cruise passengers mount the horses and a donkey was wandering around the paddock.

     We returned along the inland path surrounded by many flowers, palm trees and other fauna.

     On the way back to the pier we passed a small white wooden church that is used for weddings and a conch shell fountain in the vendor court. The children’s playground had an impressive pirate ship to climb on.

     We were back on board in time for a late lunch and spent the afternoon reading before the ship set out to sea toward Florida.

Ft Lauderdale, Florida

     The first leg of our voyage ended in Ft Lauderdale on March 27 and we sailed again that evening to begin the second leg.   More than 200 passengers were staying on for the next leg but everyone had to leave the ship and be re-identified before reboarding. This process has been known to take up to a couple of hours so we decided that rather than waiting around for that we would take an excursion to the Everglades, where we had never been.

     The Everglades ecosystem covers much of southern Florida up to Lake Okeechobee, basically a slow moving river 60 miles wide and 100 miles long.  Florida has been inhabited for 15,000 years by indigenous people, who were driven into a much smaller area of southern Florida during the Seminole Wars of the 19th century.  European settlers wanted to drain the area for plantations and in 1882 construction of canals began, continuing through the first half of the 20th century.  In 1934 the Everglades became a National Park. A flood control project established by Congress in 1948 led to more than 1000 miles of canals and other water control measures being built, much of the water being diverted to the booming metropolis of Miami and to support the farming of sugarcane.

     We were bussed across the metropolitan area to a place called Everglades Holiday Park.  Located on the edge of one of the Everglades canals, they provide rides in large airboats throughout the nearby canals.  An airboat is a flat bottomed boat with one or two large fans or propellers mounted on the back.  These fans blow air back from the boat, which propels the boat forward at speeds up to about 60 miles per hour.  Mounting the propulsion system above the water ensures that it will not get tangled in the grass and other things growing below it.

     As we were waiting in line to board an airboat (this works much like a Disney World line to board a continuous ride) we spotted some birds relaxing on a float and a fellow out fishing in the canal in a small boat.

     We cruised through several canals lined with saw grass and what appeared to be some sort of water lilies.  This marshy area is natural but the canals are man made.  Everglades means “river of grass” and there was plenty of grass in the water and on the marshy shores to explain why.

     We went down a side canal that was lined with grass and very pretty trees growing in clumps with above ground roots reaching into the water, which we think are mangroves.

    The Everglades is famously home to alligators, among other indigenous species.  In the 21st century, however, Burmese Pythons began appearing here.  It is speculated that some young ones were purchased as pets (exotic pets being popular in Florida) and were released by their owners when they became more difficult to control.  Accurate assessment of their numbers is almost impossible for a number of reasons but it is estimated that there are between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands living in the Everglades today, eating indigenous animals and causing many to become endangered.  We did not see any pythons (they hide and are tough to spot) but we did see alligators along the edge of one canal.

     The  airboat ride was a lot of fun, but that wasn’t the end.  We have never seen the TV show Animal Planet but apparently they have featured an alligator rescue group called Gator Boys.  This rescue facility is located in this park so I guess those TV shows were filmed here.  Anyway, after the ride we were ushered into a small amphitheater where a bunch of alligators were on the stage with a guy who kept up a running patter about how dangerous these alligators were and how brave he was to be there with them.  The alligators actually were mostly lying all over each other and looked like they were having trouble staying awake.  It was all in fun, though, as he performed some tricks with them amid the humorous monologue.  There were also some large turtles in this facility.

     We returned to the ship and when I took off my glasses to download the pictures to my computer, this happened.  These glasses are about 20 years old and fortunately I brought a backup pair, because you never know.  But it still was a pretty distressing end to an otherwise fun day.  We sailed away from Ft Lauderdale with a mostly new (and somewhat smaller) passenger complement to begin the second leg of our cruise.

Grand Turk Island, Turks & Caicos

     On March 29 we visited Grand Turk Island, part of the Turks & Caicos archipelago.  We had stopped at Half Moon Cay again on March 28 but unless you were planning a day at the beach there was no reason to go ashore here for the second time in three days.  So we didn’t, staying on board and treating it as a sea day.

    The passengers continuing on the second leg were required to have a new COVID 19 test, which was administered before we reached Ft Lauderdale.  But that same day they apparently discovered they had a lot of positive people on board (not us, thankfully), because they suddenly re-imposed a mask mandate for most indoor venues and set up a quarantine section of the ship.  We don’t know why they didn’t anticipate needing this and set it up at the beginning of the cruise because quite a few passengers had been quarantined over the previous month or two & there were quite a lot of unused cabins on our cruise.  So with a minimum of planning they could easily have had a quarantine section prepared just in case.  Instead, to create a separate quarantine section now  they required a number of passengers to change staterooms to other areas of the ship . . . for one night before reaching Ft Lauderdale.  We talked to one couple in this situation who were, to put it mildly, not pleased.  Anyway, once most of the old passengers left in Ft Lauderdale the Captain eliminated the mandatory masking order and made masking only “recommended.”  You can imagine, I am sure, the low percentage of people who followed this recommendation (we did).  Then, on our first morning out of Ft Lauderdale it was announced that continuing passengers would have to get yet another Covid test; it was unclear why, but apparently something had been wrong with how the tests were administered on the way to Ft Lauderdale.  We duly lined up, took the test and were negative again.  We don’t know if anyone tested positive and was quarantined . . . they don’t release that kind of information to mere passengers. 

     So that brings us, finally, to Grand Turk.  We had never been to Grand Turk before, but it turned out to be essentially another beach stop similar to Half Moon Cay.  The island’s population is only about 5,000 and we had read that there really wasn’t much to see here that would make an excursion worthwhile.  The island is named after the Turk’s Cap Cactus found there.  Some experts believe this was the island where Columbus first stopped during his first voyage of 1492 but apparently that is not the majority opinion. 

     We were docked at a long pier which we walked down to reach the port.  We walked through the usual collection of vendors’ shops, the central feature of which was a Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville bar & restaurant complete with crowded swimming pool, and took a look at the very nice beach.

     It seemed a lot more people were in the water here than in Half Moon Cay, perhaps because of the weather (hot) and because two ships were here at once.  But we spent the rest of the day on the ship relaxing until the ship left for the Dominican Republic.