Discovering Curacao
In 2007 my wife and I traveled from our home in Richmond, to the island of Curacao in the Greater Netherlands Antilles Islands. Curacao joins Aruba and Bonaire to form the so-called “ABC islands,” which lie a few miles north of Venezuela. Aside from choosing the resort where we would be staying, we did not spend much time researching before our trip. We learned a few helpful phrases in the local language of Papiamento, and briefly considered the Dutch influence on the island, but for the most part we went into our experience blindly.
We left Richmond with visions of white sand and frozen drinks in our heads. Upon our return, however, we had replaced the false fantasies of a homogeneous island vacation with the irreplaceable memories of a place that we did not imagine we would find. An island of hidden beaches in unexpected deserts, a colonial history of more than just colorful buildings, and complex human dynamics playing out over the centuries.