DAY NINE

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Curacao

Met Bill and Diana at the gangway and walked to the Avis office to pick up our car. Soon we were on our way. The roads were quite good and the signage excellent. Once we got off the main roads the pot holes got worse.

We found a flock of flamingos and I stopped so I could take a picture. Caution, watch where you are stepping, always!! I managed to step on a red anthill feasting on goat dodo. They were not happy and soon I wasn’t either. But I got my pictures.

Today’s plan was beach hopping and we were soon at Playa Marie and quickly picked out our spot in the shade. Bill was first in the clear calm water. The sandy bottom was littered with pieces of coral. This was not the living reef of Bonaire but there were still lots of fish. Bill spotted a juvenile puffer and there were schools of fish hanging out at a pile of coral. I just hung around and soon all the usual suspects swam by. I saw dozens of fairy basslets (sp). These tiny fish are deep purple with a bright yellow tail. On shore we dried out a bit and chatted with a couple from Long Island who were heading home the next day. They recommended a funky local eatery that featured such delicacies as iguana and goat. Bill insisted we take a pass. Thank you Bill.

We packed up and headed to Cas Abo. We found a table and decided to grab a bite. I tried the Bitterballen, a Dutch favorite. They or a sort of meatball but soft fairly soft that are breaded and then deep-fried and are very tasty. Diana and Bill headed to the water while I enjoyed the show the local birds were putting on. Its obviously mating season and the oriels were very active. They are black and bright orange with white accents on the wings. They are very handsome and know it. The little yellow bannaquits were also doing their mating thing. They do a dramatic and intricate aerial ballet. A male dove strutted around puffing out his pink chest feathers and pursued a female. She ignored him. He tried again with another female. Same result. Soon his feathers were not so puffed as he tried and tried again with the same result. I felt sorry for the little fellow.

Diana and Bill reported that the snorkeling was not too good so were off to Knip. There is a small beach with lounges and chairs for rent. Tall cliffs bracket the narrow bay and it looked like an ideal spot. Just as we were getting into the water we were advised that those guys out in the bay in their boats were fishermen and that they get very, very irate if snorkelers get into the net that was strung across the mouth. We watched for while as they pulled the net closer to shore and decided to move on. I really didn’t want to see my friends the fish tangled in a net gasping for air.

Our next stop was a large beach. The access was from the parking lot path down the cliff to the beach below. While deciding whether we wanted to do that we watched a couple of crazy guys dive from the cliff. Totally CRAZY! We decided to move on as the snorkeling spot was directly under the diving rock.

Off we went passing goats grazing along the road. Suddenly the skies opened up and we were in one of those intense tropical showers that can easily wash out the sandy gravel beach access roads. We decided to make our way back to the ship and took the scenic route enjoying the rich vegetation and spotting a pair of Caribbean green parrots. Anyone looking for a business opportunity in the Caribbean might want to consider a tire and alignment shop. The pothole damage could set you up for life.

The rest of the day was predictable. A dip in the pool, short nap, Alaskan king crab for dinner, a set at the Piano Bar and a few hands of poker. Have I mentioned that life is good?

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