After a few days of doing almost nothing in Mambo Beach, we decided to make a plan for the rest of the days while visiting Curacao. Since we don’t have a driving license and we weren’t able to have a private driver, we’ve booked a day tour in order to visit the West of the island. After our tour we concluded that this part is the most beautiful of the island so I truly recommend you to stay there or at least to visit it.
Our tour started early in the morning when we were picked up from our hotel by our guide. The official start of the tour is near the cruise terminal as a lot of cruise tourists are booking this kind of day trips. We traveled in a bus without windows, which was perfect: there was no need for AC and you could take pictures/videos easily. In the back of the bus there was a big cooling box with water, soda and beer for everyone to enjoy. We were 8 people on the tour so we had enough space in the bus to move around for pictures.
I have to say that we didn’t follow exactly the itinerary as describes on the website, but, even so, the places we’ve visited are amazing and still fresh in my mind after 4 months. Out first stop was at St. Willibrodus salt lake in order to admire the flamingos. We were lucky to see the pink birds resting on their foot.
After a half an hour of admiring the flamingos we were back on the road. Reggae and Bob Marley were in our ears, everyone singing “Don’t worry” on a hot “summer” day in November. Our next stop was at National Park Shete Boka where we’ve visited one cage and watched fascinated the waves hitting the shore. It is an impressive sight, which we first experienced in Portugal; a sight which can keep you on the same spot forever.
Hit the road, Jack, and we are on the first West side beach in our tour: Playa Piscado, where fishermen are catching and selling fish. A huge sardines group (I think) was wondering around, close to the shore. The beach is known for the turtles which are visiting the area in search for easy food. Here we had time for snorkeling: the sea was full with the air tube of a snorkeling mask, everyone in search of the turtle. A huge turtle was swimming around the shore, maybe a small fish will enter accidentally into his mouth. The entire tour decided to replace Playa Forti with this one as there were no cliff jumping enthusiasts in the bus.
Next stop of around 1h was at Playa Kenepa Grandi (Grote Knip), considered one of the most beautiful beaches on the island. There is also a small cliff for jumpers and the view is breathtaking. Here we’ve seen the color we were expecting to see. It’s not even necessary to mention the white, soft sand, the multicolored fishes swimming around you.
Last stop was at Playa Cas Abao as the guide told us it’s his favorite one. Here we had enough time to eat (there’s a fast food on the beach, prices OK), swim and snorkel. The water was perfect and swimming with fishes around me was making me laugh at each moment.
Other objectives we visited/saw on the tour:
From the cruise terminal we were drove back to our hotel. Overall, it was a pleasant experience; only one thing bothered us: when we booked the tour we discussed that we are going to pay in Euro and an offer was made (the 65$ exchanged in euro). While paying we were told we need to pay 65euro, but in the end everything was fixed and we’ve paid the correct equivalent in euro. A really small thing, but many times happened to feel that people are trying to trick us. So be careful with your calculations and enjoy the beautiful island of Curacao!
Petra is Gone - wondering and wandering 