Industry Information

Curacao better choice for Caribbean culture experience by Travel Smart BUDGET TRAVEL/BY ARTHUR FROMMER

During the years when I operated a hotel on the island of Curacao, it used to pain me that the public quite obviously preferred the beaches of nearby Aruba to those of Curacao.

They still do. Because vacationers from North America are greatly attracted to Aruba’s expansive, sugary-soft, white sands (and their adjoining, high-rise hotels), Aruba receives far more visitors than Curacao (a few miles away) does.
But when it comes to experiencing the culture of the Caribbean — its political history, its art and architecture, its religious development, its maritime science, its cuisine — Curacao has it all over Aruba. If all those non-beachy features are part of what you’re seeking on a visit to the tropics, then you’ll choose the more heavily populated Curacao, with its big capital city of Willemstad.

The colonial section of that city is a brightly colored urban scene that has won designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, made up of curlicued, townhouse facades identical to those of 17th-century Amsterdam. Willemstad is in two parts, divided by the sea and connected to one another by a famous pontoon bridge.

On the main side called “Punda” is superb shopping (some of the world’s best-known brands), top-notch dining, and a half-dozen remarkable structures or areas: The 18th Century Mikve Israel-Emmanuel Synagogue, oldest in the Western Hemisphere, a must to visit; the Octagon Museum, a period townhouse with an exhibit on Latin American independence hero Simon Bolivar, who at one point took refuge on Curacao; the “Waterfort,” the island’s main fortress now housing shops and restaurants; a harborside “floating market” conducted by Venezuelan fishermen on boats of varying size (the coast of Venezuela occasionally can be seen over the horizon); and the renovated wedding-cake residences of the Scharloo district.

Across the water is the “Otrobanda” district, with its Kura Hulanda complex restored and transformed into an exquisitely upscale resort that includes a museum of African cultures and slavery (open to the public) that surely is one of the most informative and moving institutions of its kind in the Caribbean.

There’s plenty to see and do outside Willemstad, too. Start by touring some of the “landhuizen” (landowner estates). One of them, Chobolobo, houses the Curacao Liqueur Distillery (makers of Blue Curacao and other tipples); another, Landhuis Daniel, is a fine restaurant and budget hotel (from US $60 a night); still others, like Groot Santa Martha, have been converted into museums, art galleries and shops.

Other highlights: A Seaquarium with natural (not re-created) marine environments (you can swim with dolphins and sea lions here); the Hato Caves, complete with stalactites, stalagmites, an underground lake and Indian petroglyphs; Den Paradera, a fascinating botanical garden devoted to herbs and medicinal plants; and an ostrich farm that’s one of the largest outside Africa.

And there are beaches, too — some 40 of them — alongside fine opportunities for scuba diving and snorkeling; the island has some two dozen outfitters.

My last tip: Don’t pass up the national dish — keshi yena — gouda cheese rinds stuffed with meat filling. It’s a fitting metaphor for Curacao itself — savory and substantive.

(c) 2010 by Arthur Frommer/Distributed by King Features Syndicate