Bill and Jackie's Curacao Trip

We loved this place!

Jackie and I went to the island of Curacao in February, 2006. After many trips to high traffic tourist areas in Mexico and Jamaica, this time we ventured off the beaten path to a far away and isolated spot. It was beautiful, it was secluded, it was quiet, and we had a wonderful time.

Curacao is one of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) that are about 40 miles north of the Venezuelan coast. It's a small island, with a narrow shape (only a couple miles wide) running from the northwest to the southeast. It's a former Dutch colony that has recently voted to become an autonomous region like Aruba. The languages spoken there are English, Dutch, and an island patois, and the local currency is in guilders, although we had no problems using US dollars.

The trip down from Burlington was uneventful. We've gotten used to the long flights over water to the Caribbean, and I always enjoy watching out the airplane window as we pass different islands. We when we arrived, the plane parked a long way from the terminal as major construction was being done at the airport. It was hot, which felt really good after leaving winter behind in Vermont, but it was a long walk across the steaming tarmac to the terminal. Our bags arrived, we met our representative from the resort, and we're soon on our way. We had about a 30-minute drive to the resort, which gave us plenty of time to check out the scenery. The island flora is mainly desert island vegetation, but since we arrived just after the rainy season, it was more green than brown.

Sunset Waters

We spent the week at the Sunset Waters Beach Resort (see TripAdvisor page for Sunset Waters Beach Resort). Most of the resorts on Curacao are concentrated on the southeast coast, but Sunset Waters sits by itself along the northwest coast of the island. There is nothing near it and it's very secluded. There's a small village nearby, but you're not going to wander off the resort on foot in hopes of finding a place to buy anything. Fortunately, the island capital, Willemstad, is just a half hour away, and the resort runs free trips there daily.

Sunset Waters is a beautiful place. If you've read my other trip reports, you know that we love the sea. Since Sunset Waters is a small resort (only about 60 rooms) in a secluded place, not only do you get the wonderful views, but it's quiet enough to hear the waves and the birds. Check-in was the easiest process I've ever had anywhere. They were ready and waiting for us. We entered the lobby, they greeted us at the desk, they gave us an envelope with room keys, towel cards, and some information, and took us to our room. Our room was large with a king size bed, furniture, table, television and plenty of room left over. It had a small bathroom with a shower (no tub). The best part of the room was the balcony. It was late afternoon by the time we made it to the room, and we took our first photo of the trip. It's the photo at the top of this page, showing the sun shining through the balcony doors. It was a warm, wonderful greeting. We opened the doors and stepped out on the balcony and immediately felt like we never wanted to leave.

There are rooms at many resorts that claim to have an ocean view. If you're lucky enough not to have to crane your neck or stand on your toes to actually see the water, it's usually far enough way to lose some of its luster. Our balcony at Sunset Waters looked straight down over a small cliff to the shoreline. We were right at the water's edge looking out at the sea, feeling the warm breeze, and hearing the surf roll in gently just below us. The surf, though, sounded different from anything I'd heard before. You'd hear the wave roll, "whoosh," and then it would be followed by a tinkling sound, "tinkle, tinkle, tinkle." It was calming, almost musical, the "whoosh tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, whoosh tinkle, tinkle, tinkle." We had to figure this out, so we quickly changed and headed for the beach. The shoreline is full of broken coral pieces, and as the waves recede, they roll through bits of coral making them clink against each other. I'm sure for years to come, I'll be able to close my eyes and feel the sea breeze on my face and the sound of the waves rolling through the pieces of coral.

Sunset Waters was built to take advantage of the coral reef right outside the small bay where it's located. Most of the people who come here are divers and they rave about diving the reef. We met people who have been coming to the resort for years on end, just because they love it so much. The snorkeling just off the beach is supposed to be pretty good too. We're not divers, or even snorkelers for that matter, but we love the beach. The best part about going to a resort that caters to the diving crowd is that while they're out diving the reef, the beach is mostly empty.

The Beach

From what I understand, the beach at Sunset Waters is a man-made beach. It's not soft, white sand, but it's hard-packed. That makes it easier to walk across, but it feels a bit weird under your feet. The main beach is long with palapas scattered about. There's a small wading/swimming area there, but it has enough coral pieces that water shoes are necessary. The far northern end of the beach ended at a river or inlet, which is where the dive boats were moored. With the length of the beach and with most of the other guests off diving, anyone looking for a private area of the beach can usually find one. We never used the main beach, but instead spent most of our days on the nude beach. It's at the southern end of the main beach, separated by a short wall, and it has many more pieces of dead coral on it than the main beach. It's a small area with a palapa and an awning area for shade, but it never had more than eight people at any one time, and most of the time the only other people there with us was just a Dutch couple.

Behind the nude beach are some trees and shrubs that lead up a hillside toward one of the buildings and just past the beach is the cliffside that is below our room. This added to the coziness of the beach with the sound of birds in the bushes behind us. It was very relaxing. Walking along the beach here or down along the shoreline below the cliffs definitely required sandals or water shoes because the coral pieces are in large piles where the waves deposit them. It makes for interesting beachcombing, though. Going into the water also requires some type of footwear. The sea there is full of rocks and bits of coral. Swimming is not a problem, trying to find some place to put your feet can be. I got used to it rather quickly, though, floating face down to explore the rocks, coral, and the few fish, and then carefully choosing a place to aim my feet as I tried to stand, and hope the incoming wave didn't push me off course.

That was how we spent most of the week, just enjoying the nude beach. Between the view, the surf (with the "tinkle tinkle tinkle"), the birds, and the breeze off the water, it was easy to relax and not want to do anything during the day. Being farther south in the Caribbean, the sun was also quite hot and intense. Instead of trying to stay in the sun and try to feel its direct heat through layers of sunscreen, we often had to pull our beach chairs back into the shade. We had time just to enjoy the two of us - conversations without the kids interrupting us. Waiters wandered down to the beach often enough to keep our drinks refilled. We read our books, explored along the beach, explored the water, and made sure we got our three square meals a day.

The rest of the resort

Since we had an all-inclusive package and there really wasn't any other place to eat, all our meals were eaten at the resort. Fortunately, the food was really good. Sometimes it was a buffet, and sometimes it was a la carte. There was a lot of fresh fruit, which we really enjoy when we travel. There was plenty to eat without feeling stuffed. It's an open-air restaurant that sits on a hill above the main beach, so we had unhurried meals looking out over the beach and sea.

One thing I should mention is the resort staff. Everyone was friendly, laid back, and eager to make our stay as pleasant as possible. The restaurant staff never rushed us through any meal, was quick to get us drink refills, and were fun to talk to. Since it is a small resort, I think this helps keep the staff from being overburdened. I think one of the reasons people come back to Sunset Waters over and over again is the friendly staff.

Two other areas of the resort I haven't mentioned are the dive shop and the pool. Since we're not divers, we didn't have much interaction with the dive shop. A couple times during the week, though, they took the dive boats out for sunset cruises. They'd load the boat with people, bring on a cooler full of drinks, and head out of the bay and along the coastline away from the resort. Watching the sunset from our balcony was a wonderful thing to do most nights. Watching it from the sunset cruise was even better.

The pool is far from the beach. It's on the other side of the guest rooms from the beach. The few families with kids usually stayed near the pool, but it also had a nice bar. When we'd come off the beach late in the afternoon, the pool bar was a popular hang out place to have another drink and chat with the other guests.

There was no night club or evening entertainment at Sunset Waters. It's not the resort to go to if you're expecting a party atmosphere or wild and crazy nights. It's a peaceful, secluded place and it attracts the guests who are expecting just that.

Willemstad

The resort offers a daily shuttle into Willemstad, and so we spent one afternoon in the city. The shuttle was one of those skinny Toyota vans, and it dropped us off one side of the Santa Annabaal River which divides the city. The old town is on the other side of the river, in a section called Punda. There's usually a floating bridge across the river to Punda, but it was being repaired, so they were running ferries back and forth. Looking across the river to the multicolored buildings was a pretty site (see the photo to the left). Someone remarked that Willemstad reminded them of Amsterdam, but since we've never been to Amsterdam, I couldn't tell you how true that is.

We had a fine afternoon poking through the shops for souvenir gifts for the kids and a few mementos for ourselves. We had a snack and a drink from one of the outdoor cafes, we wandered through the narrow streets and alleys, then crossed back across the river and explored the waterfront. When the van came back to pick us up, I got in the sliding door on the side of the van, and stood up too soon, smashing my head violently on the top of the doorway. While everyone else cringed, I fell back out onto the sidewalk. I did a number on my scalp. While I didn't bleed much, I scraped off enough skin to leave an open wound there. I had a nice headache that night and found it best to stay out of the water the next few days, since the salt water in the open wound was not an enjoyable combination.

Going home

It was really difficult leaving Sunset Waters. It was such a wonderful week, so relaxing, and so warm. Returning to winter in New England after a week on the beach is never something we long for. We spent the last morning on the beach, caught a late breakfast, and headed for the airport. We've been to Mexico and the Caribbean enough to know to expect to have our checked bags hand-searched before even getting to the ticket counter to check in. As slow as security checkpoints can be in the States, it goes surprisingly smooth in the Caribbean and the security personnel are usually friendly. We were soon on the plane and on our way home without a problem.

Well, almost. We arrived in Newark on our way back from Antigua, about the same time 3 or 4 other international flights did. We had 90 minutes to make our connection, which you'd think would have been plenty of time. We had to wait in a long line to clear immigration, retrieve our bags, clear customs, check our bags, clear security, and then find the gate on our boarding passes was wrong, find a departures screen, find the right gate for Burlington, and make it to the plane just as they were giving away standby seats. And they wonder why people hate to fly.

We made it home safe and sound, though, to find 15 inches of new snow had fallen a few days beforehand. I'd rather be sitting on the beach in Curacao, listening to the surf and the birds, and feeling the warmth of the sun and the breeze in my face. Jackie and I have been many places in our now six years of being together, and there have many places we thought would be cool to visit again, and some that weren't. Sunset Waters is the one place I'd be most likely to return to. It's such an idyllic setting and perfect for that relaxation vacation. We had a wonderful, wonderful time. I'm not surprised at the number of repeat visitors they get.