Bon bini!

The last two weeks we (my girl and I) have been on a holiday on Curacao. It was the first time that we visited an island of the Netherlands Antilles. We enjoyed our stay but were disappointed about the hotel, size of the island and the nature, the beaches however are gorgeous. We stayed at the Plaza Hotel and OMG what is this hotel poorly maintained. There was fungus in the bathroom, no windows could open, you may not turn off the air conditioning and they were “renovating”. There are holes in the walls through which the piping goes and those were leaking as hell….  The last day we spoke to someone and he told us that there was an architectural report that says the hotel is unfit to stay at….

During our stay we have experienced a bit of the celabration of carnaval and the crime statistics show that the risks are the highest during this period, we haven’t encountered any problems at all. Like every other country or city, don’t wave your money, wear your expensive jewelry or have your camera with you and go on the streets at night. We were advised not to go into Scharloo at all or go far into Otrobanda at night. Use your common sense and everything will be ok! I had my camera with me and made night shots of Willemstad and even made streetphoto’s, however I didn’t take it with me out of Willemstad at night.

Naturally, Curacao also has its beautiful places, like the beaches, Blue Bay, Porte Marie, Mambo Beach, Kura Hullanda, Jan Thiel and lots more. I can tell, it gives you a ‘bounty’ feeling, on some places the most beautifull fishes are swimming all around you. It feels like your in an aquarium.
Other places you should have seen while your stay, are off course Willemstad itself, the pontjesbrug,  the Westpunt, the many huge and beautifull cruiseships, a visit to ostrich farm, the markets (although its tiny, its nice to experience) and for a local bite you should lunch at Plasa Bieu. Also it’s fun to rent a vehicle to explore the (small) island.

Carnaval was celibrated during our stay, we were invited to stay with a few locals and stay with their stand, so we did and really experienced the local life and friendly inhabitants. You’ll have the best time and view if you don’t just stay in the tourist areas, off course, like every place on earth make sure you trust them!