Curacao

On one of the days we spent in Bonaire, the roads near the courthouse were closed for a big criminal trial. It wasn't a big enough trial to yield any Google results but big enough for all the locals to know about it. A cab driver told us that it involved people from Curacao that were accused of murdering a third person from Curacao a little while back. Apparently, people from Bonaire don't do murder; it's those bad seeds from Curacao bringing down the hood. We had also heard rumors that people in Curacao aren't as friendly as in Bonaire.

When we got to Curacao, it did seem true that the local people in Willemstad weren't quite as friendly as in Kralendijk (Bonaire). But Willemstad is a huge metropolis next to Kralendijk. It's an almost universal truth that people who live in big cities aren't as friendly as those who don't. It's self-preservation--otherwise  you would spend all your time greeting everyone. Curacao has  industry and business that isn't just tourism. Of course, the population of the whole island is still less than 150,000 people, so it's all relative.

 

 

We anchored in Spanish (Spaanse) Water, which is a 15-minute bus ride to Willemstad, the capital. Nearby are miles of trails surrounding lagoons with flamingos and green parrots. We got to see up close the pink shrimp that give the flamingos their signature color. Mark and Conrad chased lizards all over the place, trying unsuccessfully to capture them temporarily (lucky lizards).

 

Willemstad is a diverse and colorful city. The biggest bridge in the Caribbean lives here and there is a floating pontoon bridge for pedestrians that swings aside when boats need to pass. When the bridge is open, free ferries take passengers across.

Flamingo food