The Dream Isle of Curacao

Flying a few feet above the otherworldly terrain, I spot seven small, monochrome-mauve toucans perched in a row on a slanted tree limb.

When I veer right to get a better look, it becomes obvious that their beaks are considerably longer than their bodies.  And their bills are not rigid mandibles necessary for eating fruit but instead sway slowly like limp egg noodles hanging from their small, roundish heads.

It finally registers that these toucans aren't sitting on a tree branch at all, because their is no tree.  They're hovering without flapping their wings, suspended mid-air in their self-directed formation, like Blue Angels fighter jets I remember seeing perform at an Orange County airfield to which Laurie Penasa's parents brought me when I was five.

Getting within arm's reach, however, I realize these strange birds actually are flapping their wings, but instead of the long, thick wings of a toucan, these birds have rows of multiple translucent-lavender butterfly wings on each side of their bodies.  Like bumble bees, there seems to be no way these little wings could possibly allow them to fly through the air.

What kind of weird dream is this?

It's Curacao.

These "birds" weren't flying in air but floating a foot below the surface of the flawless aquamarine sea, and I was not dreaming but snorkeling.

I had seen a larger version of the same exotic species the day before in Aruba, and I thought it might be a Caribbean Reef Squid, although it certainly didn't strike terror like squid encountered by Captain Nemo in Jules Verne's classic "20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," much less the transformed sea witch Ursula in Disney's version of "The Little Mermaid."

When I tried to get a little closer, all seven simultaneously squirted out purple ink and darted off rapidly, staying in formation very much like the Blue Angels.

We had arrived as part of a school ourselves, though this human school scattered in our own directions as soon as our ship reached the welcoming port in Willemstad.  A walkway through its harborside park leads to historic Rif Fort and the Renaissance Mall, where you can find great live music, inexpensive beer bars, all sorts of restaurants and lounges, and upscale shops.

Free internet may wield the strongest hook into Willemstad for Celebrity Eclipse crew members and passengers, who thumb through the internet on smartphones, seemingly oblivious to their attractive surroundings, but eventually they look up and get involved in real life in this great city.

Following the lead of their small ship sister line Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity has begun adding overnights in a few ports to allow passengers to enjoy the nightlife.

With such wonderful creature comforts a short walk from the ship, Willemstad makes the perfect Caribbean port for an overnight.

There's a larger, bustling downtown a short walk away, with more choices for nightclubs, restaurants and stores.

Across the sparkling bay is a traditional Dutch city with lovely pastel buildings lined up neatly.  Whether at night or in the day time, it makes an alluring sight, and walking across the floating Queen Juliana bridge makes it easy to reach, as long as the bridge isn't pivoting to allow boats to pass.

At night, multi-colored illuminated arches add to the magic.

By the way, Willemstad doesn't only look like a Dutch city.  It is a Dutch city.  Curacao, as well as the islands of Aruba, the Dutch part of St. Maarten (which we would be visiting later in the cruise) and a three Caribbean island cities are outposts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

These Caribbean island citizens are Europeans and travel internationally on European passports, even if they've never been to Holland, as humorously described in this video:

While we couldn't walk to snorkeling as easily as to this lovely Dutch city, the inexpensive 9A City Bus took us straight to Playa Kalki...well, not exactly straight there, but after an hour or so on a winding road with occasional stops to transport the attractive, well-dressed locals to their jobs, we arrived at our stop about a mile from the beach.




We hiked toward the coast, not sure when or which way we'd need to turn, but we asked some locals we encountered, and they smilingly directed us on the right path.

The large iguana who seemed to own the beach had no problem with us hanging out in his sand.

We rented a lounge chair for $7 from some people whom I assumed must work for Boss Iguana at the shorefront Kula Hulandia Lodge.

In the water, I discovered one of the strangest fish I've ever seen.


He resembled a swimming relative of Boss Iguana, with fins instead of legs and highly defined green turtle-shell-like design on his sides.  I called him Michelangelo, named for the Teen Aged Mutant Turtle rather than the Italian artist.  Naming him after the Sistine Chapel ceiling's painter would have been silly.

"What do you mean normal, Mr. Biped Snorkel-face?"

And then I saw a Spotted Scorpionfish, which made Boss Iguana's cousin Michelangelo look normal.  The Scorpionfish looks like a swimming fossilized rock, although he seems to like sitting on the ocean floor better than exerting himself to move much.

After several hours taking turns with Julie lounging on the beach and snorkeling through the dreamlike environs among its strange denizens, we caught the bus back to town where we tried to find a little bottle of Blue Curacao for our friend Karen, who had put in a special request.

Unfortunately, all the small bottles at the kiosks we passed were filled with alternative flavors and colors other than that distinctive blue color we sought, and the large bottles wouldn't fit in our luggage, which had been efficiently packed to the gills by Julie.

After a fantastic dinner on the ship, we walked back into the beautiful city after dark.  The mall and downtown were jumping, with excellent live music and delicious aromas wafting through the air.

We crossed the floating bridge to the Dutch Village, where diners seemed to be enjoying their meals and beverages at sidewalk cafes.

Needless to say, our first day in Curacao had been great, and we were thrilled to awaken to second day in the dream isle of Curacao.