We are at the "C" island of the ABC Chain today. We docked in Willemstad, Curacao around 7:00 am. This is another Spanish discovery that ended up a Dutch island with history going back to 1499. I hate to say it but, one island is a lot like the others as far as history and culture go so I don't have much new to add for Curacao. One thing that makes this island unique is the oil refinery on the island. Oil from Venezuela is refined here although the refinery is small, aging and under fire for environmental reasons.
As always, we took the island tour via bus. This was a nice bus. Some of the others to come will not be so nice.
An interesting use of cactus to make a fence that is painful to climb over.
On the limestone/corral islands, there is very little soil and it is very difficult to dig holes so most of what we would bury is kept above ground. This includes water supply pipes, electrical wires, and cemeteries.
Walking to the shore.
Not a pretty place.
An old plantation house now serves as a museum. They have clothing and artifacts from the days of slavery on display as well as African style art works.
Our tour guide gave a a great glimpse into life on the plantation in the early 1800's including details on child birth and medical practices of the time......very interesting.
Former slave houses. the white post with a fist holding a broken chain celebrates the liberation of the slaves in 1863. Of course, once liberated, they had no where to go so they kept working for their former owners in many cases.
More Flamingos.
Once back to the ship, the skies cleared and the city looked very colorful and welcoming. The Dutch islands often have very colorful buildings on the waterfront.
Tomorrow is the "A" island of Aruba.
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