They, whoever “they” are, say that it’s not about the destination but about the journey. Of course, that is partial rot or we’d never get there, but it’s true how one goes about things is important too.
So with such high ideals in mind I set a course for Hato Caves vía a ridiculous route around Willemstad, Curaçao the wrong way. We wander around town a little, or at least the redeveloped port and castellation, before crossing the swing bridge and starting our walk proper. This is a bit avant-guard even for me, it’s basically an M25esque circumnavigation of the city, with a pointy bit for the caves later on.
Unlike yesterday in Bonaire, Curaçao is quite different. Although less that twice the size there are nearly eight times the population. Other differences are that whilst Bonaire is like a Netherlands county, say like the Isle of Wight, Curaçao, since 2010, is a separate country, analogous to Wales or Northern Ireland. Both remain part of the Kingdom of Netherlands with the monarch King Willem-Alexander as head of state.
Back to our walk, we’re passing the ‘Gucci’ shops on the fancy pedestrianised town centre, and smart bijou hotels and dive centres on the coast. Predominantly white Dutch speakers are seen and heard. We make a turn and suddenly we’re into a very different area where the housing and services are heavily barred, skin colour has changed and yet the people are so much more friendly. We get people saying hello or offering thumbs up and car drivers actually stop to let you pass, so very different.
It’s a long slog but we see many neighbourhoods during the walk. Eventually we hit the runway of the international airport, and then turn off towards the caves. They are around 300,000 years old, when the sea level was some 60m higher than presently.
It’s fair to say these cave are not the most exciting we’ve ever been to, and certainly not the largest, but they are the warmest - no cooling waters here, and they have an excellent bat population too.
Only in a couple of places is it allowed to take photos, but the whole experience is lovely. We move on to the nearby nature trail with an alarming number of poisonous trees, and some more innocent attractions too.
We return a more direct route, surprised by the flooded roads we come across, but later hear that most people got a serious soaking during the afternoon, which we missed.
Returning to the ship we hit the pool and jacuzzi later than usual but still manage to catch up with Debby and the other usual chronies!
We return to Tamarind tonight, enjoying tempura prawns, pot stickers and sticky ribs to start, then barbecue lamb and barramundi curry as mains. Mango and cheesecake finish off our wonderful evening.
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