With introducing Face Blog, I had hoped to shorten the time between experience and blogging and that I would be more motivated to blog. But I gotta admit, I miss blogging the traditional way, so I decided to combine Face Blog for quick shares with longer blogs, from which a link will be shared through my Facebook page The Taster.
I remember the first time that I went to Curacao, which was last year. I gotta admit, I was a bit skeptical about the place. I mean,...many friends of mine went already, but I didn't hear things that would make me want to go there. But then I won a 3-nights stay at Renaissance Curacao Resort & Casino and we still had to do our honeymoon (Oh yeah, I got married in the meantime), so why not have it all together, right?
Through a friend, I got linked up with the Curacao Tourism Board(CTB) and I gotta admit; It's awesome to be connected!! We got VIP treatment at arrival and got picked up by Charla Nieveld from CTB. She gave us a quick tour about Curacao and where we had to be for the Pietermaai Proeft event, where she also dropped us off later on.
My first impression of Curacao is that it gave me mix vibes of Miami, Aruba and even a bit of French Guyana. And it's so much bigger than I had envisioned it would be.
For our first night, we already planned Pietermaai Proeft. For more on this event, please check it here.
It was a great first night in Curacao, where we finished it with the NBA finals game and a beer at the Sopranos.
The 2nd and 3rd day we were shown around by Rignald Tokaay. That guy is 65 years old, but looks like 40. And he's not the only one!! I think I need to move to Curacao. People just don't seem to age there. Anyone hiring there??
Tokaay is such a wonderful guide. He's the best!! He loves his country, he knows the history, its heritage and all the baai's and everybody seems to know him. And you know why I like him? Of course he'll try to beautify everything, but he gives his honest opinion about things and that's what I appreciate. If you ever want a guide in Curacao...look him up!! Or leave me your e-mail address, so that he can contact you. You know how most of my travels are culinary-based, but this one... I was shown the heritage sites of Curacao. So if you ask me what's to do in Curacao, here is a list:
Tokaay is such a wonderful guide. He's the best!! He loves his country, he knows the history, its heritage and all the baai's and everybody seems to know him. And you know why I like him? Of course he'll try to beautify everything, but he gives his honest opinion about things and that's what I appreciate. If you ever want a guide in Curacao...look him up!! Or leave me your e-mail address, so that he can contact you. You know how most of my travels are culinary-based, but this one... I was shown the heritage sites of Curacao. So if you ask me what's to do in Curacao, here is a list:
- Kura Hulanda. A place filled with history and all those buildings renovated and maintained to such an extent that I wonder how come Suriname can't do the same with its monumental heritage.
- the Culinary Walk. We were shown the market, where Venezuelans dock to sell its fish and fresh produce. The market, where different nationalities have been selling their products for years. And having our lunch at Zus Di Plaza, where you can still enjoy the traditional Curacao cuisine as it is. Nothing fancy, but great food. And especially the Repa de Pompoena, the pumpkin pancake, is heavenly!!! It's sooo good I had to finish it even though I was already full.
- Landhuis Jan Kok and the Nena Sanchez Gallery
You can still see many antique tools and furniture next to the artwork of Ms. Nena Sanchez.
- The several Baai's including the Grote Knip and Kleine Knip. And also Porto Mari Baai, which is kept very environment-friendly. No open fire allowed, recycled water, use recycled products are only some of the things they do to keep it GREEN.
- Aquafari. However I love the sea, the sea doesn't love me back. I have issues of getting sea sick easily, so I was already worried that this might not be a good idea. I endured half the excursion and couldn't keep it in anymore. But Emelton & Andy are great!! This is a great example of making your hobby your job. However I stopped, but my hubby went through the full tour. He mentioned about how he could touch and feed the sea creatures. He even held a sea urchin in his hand. Lucky him for being able to do all those things, but in my own way I did feed the fishes.
- lunch at Jaanchie's restaurant. I will have a separate blog about this one though. The owner is such a charmer. I believe that his special ingredient L (=love) makes people go back and of course the food is good or else I wouldn't even recommend it.
It's a real advantage staying in Renaisssance Curacao. They serve a great breakfast buffet and there's so much to do in the vicinity.
Within walking distance, there's Riffort, where you can visit several small shops, eateries and even go to the top to see and even feel the waves.
- The Sopranos. The place for pizza's or drinks, catch a game or even have a go on salsa.
- The Cheesery. I didn't expect it to be so interesting, but I ended up buying truffle cheese.
- Steaks & Ribs. They do have great steaks!! Enjoyed my T-bone
- Ema-Tei. Where we had an extensive sushi dinner.
- Burger Bar. Create your own burger. Nice juicy burgers.
If you walk through Riffort, the Queen Emma Bridge is a 5 minutes walk away. The bridge connecting Otra banda and Punda. If you walk out of the Resort complex, there's a cinema at the corner next to Starbucks. All in all, I'm happy I remained from renting a car. And since it's only a 5 days, 4 nights' stay, a car was not that much needed since there was so much going on in the neighborhood already.
And if you don't want to go anywhere, you can sit back and relax at the Infinity beach or try your luck in the Casino. I don't know who came up with the idea of the Infinity Beach, but it's so out of this world! It's a created beach on the 2nd floor of the Renaissance. It's such an optical illusion as if you can swim out to the open sea, but there's a glass wall keeping you safe.
All in all, Curacao exceeded my expectations. So much to do, so much to eat and initially I thought I would have seen it all in the 4-5 days. But after this trip, I believe Curacao has more to be explored. So next time, I'll surely rent a car to see other parts of this gem.
