Curacao and heading West

Red skies at night....a sailor's delight appeared the night before our departure from Bonaire to Curacao ensuring a delightful downwind sail. All company has gone, dive gear is stowed away and water and fuel topped off for the next leg of our journey west. Our good friend Mike has joined us as crew for the passage around Cabo Vela to Colombia and all are anxious to get underway once again. Bonaire has been a fantastic stop and the diving incredible but Don and I are ready for new horizons. 

Curacao, also a Dutch Island, is part of the ABC island chain made up of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao which are known as the stepping stones from the Eastern to the Western Caribbean. This passage along the top of Venezuela is notorious for heavy winds and seas and Don is monitoring the weather daily, hourly. We jumped on the early morning open window with 15 knots of wind at our back and gentle following seas and arrived in Spanish Waters well before the afternoon winds set in. A twenty minute bus ride into town, Duone and Immigration duties taken care of and a walk about the capitol city of Willemstad was in order as well as a recon on groceries, beer, and the all important ice bags.

Curacao has been an important trading port for centuries with its natural harbor and ideal tradewind position. Although lacking many amenities necessary for colonization, because of its location, Curacao became the center of the slave trade for the Dutch East India Company as well as a hotspot for commerce and piracy. Hence the city was fortified with large stone walls and cannons, some of which can still be seen today. Now a major cruise ship and tourist draw, the waterfront has been renovated and renewed, and the traditional Dutch prevalence for color is everywhere.

Curacao architecture blends Dutch and Spanish influences and Willemstad is on the UNESCO world heritage list due to its many historic buildings. The Dutch have a penchant for yellow/orange for government and other important buildings, a nod to William of Orange. Duty-free shopping, sidewalk cafes, colorful alleyways and murals all made for great walking and exploring.

Being a tourist mecca there were street musicians, trinket hawkers, and many places to stop for the all important rehydration with water, we are at 12 degrees and the sun is almost directly overhead.
Overheating is very easy in town as the concrete seems to radiate as much as the sun, and despite hats and a full bottle of sunscreen it is HOT!

Curacao is very close to the Venezuelan oil basins of Maracaibo and a large oil refinery is located here. On any given night there are numerous tankers anchored off shore, their twinkling light marking a visual pathway all the way to the Venezuelan coast. This also makes for excellent fruit and veggie shopping as everything comes in fresh on the colorful Venezuelan trading boats to the famed floating market. So here we wait for another weather window to continue on to Aruba, but it is blowing 20-25 knots and gusting higher, time to read another book!