Designers of Curacao

Island Tour of Curacao

 

The Fort atvSpanish Water

Hello, Hop&Jaunt fans! As you dedicated readers are well aware, Alyson and I are currently in Curacao (pronounced Curacao). Though we have been here for quite some time, we have been extremely busy. Over the past few weeks, we have had few spare dates available on our social calendar. Our growing network of friends and acquaintances have kept us well entertained and occupied. This has left us with plenty more stories to tell, but unfortunately less and less time to write to you. But to quote Steve Martin…”Hey! What do you think I do? Write letters all day?”

Being anchored in Curacao for so long has definitely been great! If you saw the photos from our last blog post, you can see that the scenery here is very much different from our excursions through Venezuela’s outlying islands. Big colorful buildings, outdoor cafes, and hundreds of restaurants and shops make living here long term much more convenient. Although, without a car of our own, maneuvering about the island requires long periods of waiting at various bus stops. And while we haven’t had any major Jaunts in a while, Hopping from bus to bus has helped keep us true to our name.

As we’ve probably written before, the boat is anchored in a protected little bay known as Spanish Waters. It is located on the southwest side of the island. Basically, it is very much like a large salt water lake with only one narrow channel that leads out to the sea. Large, rocky hills covered with green shrubbery and cactus surround the bay on all sides, and of course interspersed along the landscape sit several water front homes. The anchorages here have been filling up steadily over the past few weeks with transiting sailboats and motor trawlers. Sailors on their voyages west to Central America stop here to wait out the hurricane season and look for decent weather windows before continuing on to Aruba, Columbia or Panama. Naturally, this is our reason for remaining here, as well.

Being in this holding pattern has its benefits. We’ve been able to see much more of the island and meet more of the people; however, with Spanish Waters being remotely located on the southwestern side it can sometimes be difficult to maneuver about. Most businesses, restaurants, bars, cafes, theaters, and public services are located in downtown Wilemstad, which is about a 30 minute bus ride away. Other attractions, beaches and points of interest can be spread across the island and tucked away in hard to reach places. To visit just one beach or plantation house in the north by bus could literally be an all day event. Fortunately for us…we have the time…and friends with cars.In our interest to find work doing freelance graphic design, we have been making an effort to meet the local designers of Curacao. A few internet searches and casual introductory emails to various people were met with quite a positive response. One particularly friendly and hospitable designer named Evert Jan Boon or Ejpeg invited Alyson and I along to an industry wide, social gathering at a hip, upscale bar called Omundo. People in general may be hesitant about driving out of their way to pick up two strangers they’ve only just met on the internet and take them out to a business association meeting; however, Evert is an exceptionally welcoming person. He also told us that he read our blog before hand and we seemed like good, legitimate people. (Having a travel blog has its advantages sometimes!) We were so lucky to have met Evert because in our efforts to meet some designers from around Curacao, he took us right to the one event where they all gather together each year.

New friends we made at the Marketers/Designers meeting.

This was a great opportunity for us and we had a blast. It was refreshing to step away from sailing and travel for a night, and just talk with other graphic designers, marketers, and advertisers over beers and cocktails. It has really opened a lot of new doors for us here in Curacao. We met some many people that night that our networking goals were accomplished within just a few short hours. Plus, we made a ton of new friends which has led to several more nights out and about over the past several weeks. A few friends we met that night, Ervina,  Marijn, and Joost (pronounced yoast…trust us, it took a month for us to get that one right!) have been so kind as to regularly invite us on Friday nights to the popular hangouts at Mambo and Cabana Beach.

Cabana Beach is a large, outdoor beach club and it is the Friday night hotspot for people on the island. Since the public buses stop running at 9:30pm, its definitely a place we never would have been able to visit without a friend with a car. Alyson loves the night life, socializing and dancing. Also I think she enjoys the time spent talking with other girls about…you know…girl stuff (like clothes and ribbons and hand bags?) I’m not a big club or disco person myself, but I have to admit that I was overly impressed by Cabana Beach. I’ve never been any place like it. I wanted to take a ton of pictures, but Alyson convinced me that it wouldn’t be cool, so I’ll try to explain the scene. The club is all outdoors and right on the beach complete with crashing waves and swaying palms. On the center stage sits a baby grand piano where a man and woman duo perform all the popular songs of the 80s, and they are actually really good. Around the stage is the crowded dance floor, and enclosing this area lounge groups of socialites on plush wicker couches, arm chairs, and day beds. Scurrying about the place are waiters and waitress carrying large buckets of iced champagne with lit sparklers spouting from the cork and giant plate glass trays of fresh sushi and sashimi. Its definitely a posh, ritzy place so Alyson and I require a little preparation before going out. The past few months of cruising has left me a little, rough looking. Even our cleanest clothes are stained with traces of boat paint, engine oil, and rust. But, hey! we are sailors now.

On our nights out, Ervina and Marijn have introduced us to several people from around the island. One night at the Cabana we met Michel, a young local guy who had done some extensive backpacking through South America. Since Alyson and I both hope to continue on our travels backpacking, we immediately began questioning him on his experiences. Michel had a lot to tell us about how he backpacked, which places he visited, and where he stayed. We are always trying to gather information about new places by talking with people who have actually been there. We told Michel that we interested in seeing more of the island, but had trouble getting around by bus. He kindly offered to drive us around the island that Sunday as a favor from one traveler to another. Below are the pictures from our private island tour.

Riding around Curacao in Michel's car.

Curacao Landscape Inland. Its very dry here.

St. Christoffel Mountain, the highest point in Curacao.

Aly & Michel

a church on a hill

Michel took us to some of the popular beaches on the northwest side of Curacao.

Dive shop at Playa Grandi

Roses, Rig, & Water

Rig, Tug, & Cliff

Groete Knip Beach

These boys were jumping from the cliffs and into the water below.

We weren't brave enough to try.

Michel & John

Michel took us to a look out point over Santa Marthabay.  It looks a lot like Spanish Waters without the boats and houses.

Santa Martha Bay

Santa Martha Bay

Later that afternoon we headed for the beach at PortoMari.  We had some lunch and did some snorkeling.  We were impressed at how much coral and fish there was.  It reminded us a lot of the waters in Bonaire.

Playa PortoMari

Sunset at Playa PortoMari