82) Curacao

Spanish Water, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles 12° 04.639 N 68° 51.485 W

Let Up, Dimples. (Speed bumps) 

Bushalte (bus stop)

                                  

                  

Willemstad

Since we only had one full day here we decided to take the bus and go into the main town, Willemstad.  We anchored at Spanish Bay because we thought the bridge in town was going to be difficult to deal with and did not want to anchor in the dark.  We took the safest approach and anchored here in the waning light.  It was still unnerving traveling up the small inlet that leads to the anchorage.  It turns out that the bridge that spans the water in town was a floating bridge and was removed for renovations.  It swings on a pivot on one side and releases on the other side to clear the waterway for vessels.  This inlet is so deep and the bay so large that it can handle military and large cargo vessels.  This is said to be the safest harbor in the world and protected from all winds. 

We had a little trouble finding the bus stop.  Hell, we had trouble finding the courtesy dock.  The local language is Papiamento and is a mixture of Spanish and?  John speaks Spanish and even he had a hard time understanding them.  Even their English can be difficult to understand.  We flagged down a bus that was passing us and it was the right bus to downtown.  At about $1 USD each it was a very cheap ride. 

 

  

We were dropped right in the heart of downtown and the hustle & bustle was intriguing.  There was a lot of activity around the small boats loading and unloading fresh produce and the small produce market on the street.  Our first item to take care of was customs and immigration.  It turned out to be a song and dance and we gave up on it.  We were here but never checked in.  Nobody will know we were here and nobody seems to care.

  

  

The museum had a bar!

There were a lot of damaged buildings and I think it might be from some riots that happened many years ago.  While walking through the waterfront where small boats were dealing with cargo we came upon the maritime museum.  This island and their ancestors are steeped in history.  This port played a major part in the development of shipping and trade starting hundreds of years ago.  Nations fought over this island and the surrounding territories and kept on fighting.  This museum was one of the best of its type regarding local maritime history with some more encompassing historical displays.

Hispaniola, The Year Of The Lord 1515

For the King’s silvermines on Hispaniola we have obtained new slaves on Giant Island, also known as Curacao two thousand heathens, healthy and strong of limb have been captured and shipped over.  We have liquidated the superfluous remainder of the population. 

 

  

  

We found a waterfront café and had a bite to eat and watched the world go by.  We were able to see 2 large cargo ships transit the river and that was a spectacle.  The ships seem so large in this little waterway.  Since the bridge was out and people still needed to cross the river two free ferries were in constant motion.  We took the ferry across and stumbled upon a museum of African history and slavery.  The artifacts were donated and the museum created by one individual that collected all of it.  The displays were well done, the artifacts magnificent and the museum architecture was very creative.  It was upsetting to read the information and see the shackles and such related to slavery.  It is unfortunate that our history is overshadowed by the slave trade.  When you walk the streets and look around you see the direct descendents of slavery in the faces of the locals.  Our history is really only in its infancy and I can almost see and feel the scars.