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Caribbean Cruise--2013: << Part 1 << Part 2 << Part 3 << Part 4 << Part 5 << Part 6 << Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 >>  

 

We commune with the toy soldiers outside of the Crow's Nest, the forward lounge with the best view of where we are headed. We enjoy our early morning tea and coffee nearly alone up on this deck on the days when we are headed into a port.

We are planning a busy day: first a walk around town and then maybe a bus ride out to other parts of the island. We have a long day in port: from 6am to 11pm.  Most other ports on this trip were 8am to 5pm. 

There are a lot of photos to see for this port, so get your own cup of coffee before you start.

 

 

    
A Royal Caribbean ship is at the other major dock in town--Willemstad.  It is docked in the inlet to St. Anna Bay.  Note the high bridge--it is the highest bridge in all of the Caribbean Islands.


Here's a Google map to give you an idea of the amount of boat traffic through this strait.


We enjoy a nice sunrise from the Noordam while we are docking.  Wait...


... this sunrise has been interrupted by pelicans.


There are a lot of refineries here because nearby Venezuela is an oil-rich country.

   
There is a baseball or softball field right behind the port terminal welcome center.  We needed boats to handle our lines, it's windy, and the sea is rough, so it took a while to dock.


Finally we are ashore.

   

 
Tuk-tuks await the day...

 
Rif Fort has been transformed into a high-end shopping area next to our dock.

 
On our side of the river, there are colorful buildings and a Christmas tree made of spheres.

 
To get to the other side of the river where the historic and main town is located, there is a pontoon pedestrian bridge informally known as the 'Swinging Old Lady.' It is the Queen Emma Bridge, originally build in 1888 and restored in 2005 & 2006.  It swings out of the way for boat traffic. More on this below.


This is the pilot house for the bridge.  The Royal Caribbean Vista is docked past the bridge in the inlet.


The bridge swung open for this boat, which looks like it will be joining the floating market here in town.


Here comes the bridge swinging back into place.

 

 
An interesting dark bronze sculpture

  
The sundial located in the center of this compass rose with Dutch abbreviations for the directions says 8:15am. 


Looking back toward the Rif Fort (and the Noordam) from the fort on this side of the river.

 

 
The floating market takes place in a docked space perpendicular to the inlet and is populated by boats from Venezuela. Little or no food is grown on the ABC islands--there is not enough rainfall.

 
In 2007 the pedestrian bridge across the inlet where the floating market is located was named the Leonard B. Smith Bridge

 
Some of the stalls are built on the sidewalk area next to the boats.

 

 
The boats add character to the waterfront and from the looks of many of them--they haven't been to their home country in a while.  Metal art is available in many forms.

 
There is a circular market space where vendors are just setting up next to the floating market.  The meat vendors are behind glass and we guessed by the pig snouts prominently displayed that you can get most any cut you need.

 
We crossed the water where the floating market is over this bridge.  We'd never seen a sculpture made from car bumpers before.

  

 
Various architecture styles including Art Deco--the white and blue building is called the Miami Building.  Someone has spent some time restoring it, but it looks vacant.

 

 
The Maritime Museum is well maintained, but many buildings in the neighborhood are not.

 

 
We crossed back on this foot drawbridge with the yellow ball counter-weights.

 

 
These bells play a tune on the hour.  One hour when when we heard them, a dog howled with the bells until they stopped.  This alleyway has 3-D sculptures--some part are built around a drainpipe. 

 
Built in 1708, like many buildings in town it favored the Dutch style building any way you look at it.

 

 


Dushi means love, so...


these two signs (on opposite sides of a small park) mean "Love Curacao."

   
This former church is now the public prosecutor's building.

 

  
The government seal for Curaçao.

 
We go through this tunnel to get to the quadrangle of government buildings.

 
The abstract sculpture next to this decorated doorway has a hammer and two types of nails--this was puzzling to us.

 
After walking through this complex we make our way back to the main plaza where the sundial now reads 9:30am.

 
We head back to ship and at this hour the Rif Fort with its fancy fountain area is open.  The security officer was roaming the area on his electric vehicle.  We grabbed a map of the island and headed out to the bus station.


The bus station...

   
In looking at the map, we decide to head out to West End, but we had just missed that bus. Lagun is almost to the west end and the bus will leave in 15 minutes so we go there instead.  Judging from the size of the print on the map, it looks like there is a good sized town there on the water.

On to Curaçao part 2 ... >>

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