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Back Again!
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Welcome
to Curaçao! Our ship is docked in Willemstad and we are ready to get off and
enjoy a day on the hard, especially following a sea day and a couple of past
days where Capt. Larry felt a little under the weather. It’s about a 1 mile
walk to the downtown area, so we followed the pathway through the RIF Fort and
onto the swinging footbridge.
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The Swing Bridge Closing
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The bridge was just closing to river traffic as
we arrived, so we are able to immediately walk across into the downtown area.
At the foot of the bridge Jane made a left-hand turn and acted like she was
hell-bent on getting someplace in particular. Sure enough, about two blocks
from the bridge she arrived at one of her favorite linen shops, Mr. Tablecloth. She
had purchased some tablecloths and napkins from this store the last time we
visited Curaçao. Capt. Larry found a chair to rest in while Jane made her selections.
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RIF Fort
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We
left Mr. Tablecloth and followed an alleyway to an adjacent street with lots more
shops, but found nothing that really appealed to us.
We decided to head back out
to a café on the riverbank and have a beer. The last time we were here beers cost
around $2 a bottle, but now started at $4 and went up from there. We had a
leisurely break before heading back to the ship. On our way back we encountered
a new site at the foot of the bridge—The Punda Love Hearts, an outdoor sculpture
comprised of three large heart-shaped forms to which numerous padlocks and been
attached.  |
Enlarge Pic to Read Plaque
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The plaque at the base of the sculpture states that this is in
partnership with four retail outlets and the Iguana Café and that this is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now who would’ve thought that a local taqueria
could be so preeminent as to be a contributing sponsor to such a prestigious project!
Across the bridge and back to the ship.
Fast-forward
one day, and now we are in Oranjestad, Aruba.  |
Downtown Oranjestad
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Like Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba
is one of three Dutch Caribbean islands discovered in 1499. Aruba, whose motto
is “One Happy Island,” is Capt. Larry’s favorite although Jane prefers Curaçao
(probably because there’s no Mr. Tablecloth in Aruba).
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The Magic Bus!
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From
the ship to the downtown area the walking distance just a little over ½ mile. Oranjestad has a very colorful downtown district with ornately decorated
buildings and many sidewalk animal sculptures that provide great photo
opportunities. Both sides of the main drag of Oranjestad’s tourist district are
thickly populated with shops of all manner. |
An American Original
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And the vendors of the shops,
unlike those in Curaçao, were actively courting customers with various
discounts and deals trying to entice them into their stores.  |
Jane and Friend
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As we made our way
through this gauntlet we came upon the famous landmark watering hole— Lucy’s
Retired Surfers Bar and Restaurant. Originating on the upper West Side of
Manhattan in the 1980s, this legendary restaurant chain has expanded to several
tourist meccas by offering coastal cuisine, creative cocktails, and fun. |
At the Marketplace
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It was
here that Jane had her photo made with a bovine sidewalk statue. We continued
on until we came to a marketplace flagged by two giant flamingo statues. It was
an open-air market and when it started to rain we found a bench and people
watched until the rain eased. With not much happening we decided to make our
way back towards the ship.  |
Enlarge for Bottle Opener
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Out in the parking lot we spotted a chopped
motorcycle named Lucky Bastard which would likely be
considered the ultimate chopper as it came with an attached Balashi Beer bottle
opener! It doesn’t get more authentic than that!! We made our way back to the
ship and finished our day with dinner and a nightcap before turning in for
tomorrow’s sea day.
Our next day at sea was uneventful. Capt. Larry worked
on organizing the photos we had so far taken and worked on the blog. Jane went
to a talk on how to improve your memory, but she missed a good chunk of it
because she couldn’t remember what time it was held (Capt. Larry has no
comment!). It was a night for dressy attire, so we got spiffed up and went to
the chef’s gala dinner. We went back to our room and watched a movie before
calling it a night.
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