Saturday, August 12, 1995 - Curaco

By dawn, we were approaching Willemstad, the capital of Cura‡ao. The entrance to the harbor is guarded by a pontoon footbridge. We called Harbor Control on the VHF, and they opened it for us. Then they even sent out a pilot boat to guide us in. It was a nice calm morning -- quite a contrast to our arrival in Aruba. We had no problem tying to the dock as indicated. Roy talked to an official who had driven up. The official gave him a form to fill out and told him to come to his office at noon. When Roy went there at noon, he was able to clear immigration, so we can go anywhere we want to, but the boat has to stay tied here until Monday, when we can clear customs. There's no charge for staying here! Our kind of price. Willemstad is divided into two sections by the channel leading into the large, well-protected commercial harbor. The original city is called Punda, which means "point". The newer city, on the other side of the channel, is called Otrobanda, which means "other side". Makes sense. To get from one side to the other, pedestrians cross the pontoon bridge, which was originally built in 1888 by a man from Maine, who charged two cents for each pedestrian wearing shoes. Those who were barefoot didn't have to pay. Now the bridge is completely free. When boats need to go in or out, the entire bridge swivels open on a track at one end. It's really remarkable. We've never seen anything like it. While the bridge is open, small ferries provide transportation across the channel at no charge. There is also a 200-foot high vehicular bridge. Roy and I had fun exploring. Unfortunately, many of the old, picturesque buildings are abandoned and going to wrack and ruin. Some are being razed. This is the part of town we have to go through to get from the dock to the downtown area. It's full of trash, crumbling buildings, and trashy, crumbling people. But after we cross a little bridge, things improve. The bridge is an old, hand-operated drawbridge that is no longer opened. We quickly found a McDonald's and ate lunch. Then we rode a free ferry to Otrobanda and walked around. Explored an old fort. Got on the first bus we saw and rode it wherever it went and back. The fare was only one guilder. In Aruba, it was 1.75. I was even able to get a copy of the bus schedule. Cura‡ao is a lot greener than Aruba. There are many more trees, and the trees are much taller. Nevertheless, so far I like the Aruba countryside better. Went in a couple of stores, looking for a net shirt for Roy. The only one he found was big enough for Roy, his brother and sister, and two or three friends all at the same time. But the store did have a very nice, cool, comfortable pair of shorts for me that fit perfectly, so I bought them. We crossed the pontoon bridge back to Punda and walked around some more. Found an ATM, the Post Office, the Tourist Information Center (closed, of course), and the bus terminal. Tomorrow, we're going to take a bus to Spanish Water, where the yacht clubs and marinas are.