To quote Peggy Croes, Chief Marketing Officer at Curacao Airport Partners – she is a successful Aruban transplant, many things have changed for the better in Curacao.
And she is right. People are super nice. Curacao now treats its visitors with courtesy and consideration, people wanted to please us everywhere we went, not a surly, pouty face around.
The Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival: The concerts were professionally orchestrated for the 10th time, with at least two hitches, going into the WTC took more than 20 minutes with people pressed up against each other at the bottle-neck entrance. The token system is antiquated and they’d better take a page out of the Aruba Open Beach Tennis Tournament, and engage CXEvents, cashless event solutions for next year, with wristbands that can be topped up with money, ready to be spent, before and during the concerts, and QR based tickets on our phones, instead of the old fashioned paper tickets that were flown here from Curacao, for local pick up.
The FRIDAY edition with 12,000 people felt a bit tight, but the other two nights with 6,000 & 9,000 party-goers offered a bit more breathing room. Our shuttle bus driver reported the numbers, he might have been wrong, but the shuttle bus system worked like clockwork. (Exact numbers are to be published by the organizer.)
The music was amazing, great sound, colossal talent, and that is what we come back for.
I was told that Curacao’s current, YTD passenger movement, is at 1,350,000 for August 2024, up +22% vs. August 2023, and thus at the current pace the island is expecting ending 2024 close to the 2M mark – its best traffic year EVER. The island’s route network is balanced between Europe a 38% market share, USA 22%: South America 18%, the Dutch Caribbean 14% and Canada 4%. (The numbers reported by the airport must be divided in two, to find out how many passengers arrived, since passengers use the airport coming and going.)
Peggy, you already met her, above, reports that hopefully they will be able to contain the growth in a sustainable manner.
Walking tour of Otrabanda with Step-by-Step Curacao: We opted for a walking tour, as an option to the successful kick bike tours offered by that company twice daily. We spent delightful two hours crawling through backstreet and listening to the stories the walls tell, about revolutionary heroes and houses of ill repute. Curt, our truly knowledgeable guide, a self-declared ADHD weaver of fact and fiction, introduced us to the Kaya Kaya murals past and present, and to the people in the neighborhoods, who are all remarkably familiar with his slim frame, zipping around on kick bikes, visitors in tow. Many old houses in Otrabanda sport an excellent snapshot of their interiors, nailed to their façade, so I did not have to stick my head into the door, I just looked at the picture to see what is inside. It is a nice art project, and while residents give some of their privacy up, most of it is protected.
Food in Curacao
The restaurants are surprisingly delicious and affordable. Food prices feel like Aruba ten years ago. I am going to mention some, for the shock value, you will be amazed how reasonable it seems. Which is a selling point for Curacao.
Lunch: A creole meal at Plasa Bieu is a unique experience. The iconic soul-food market is an al fresco dining-hall lined with food stalls offering traditional island cuisine. While renovated, it still looks the same. Zus di Plaza, had too many people in line, we tried the competitor to the left. Her goat stew was excellent, so was the chicken soup.
Light dinner, the evening of arrival plus lunch: Restaurant & Café Gouverneur de Rouville, is blessed with a spectacular view of the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge and world famous Handelskade, the pastel-colored row of colonial merchant houses on the waterfront. The food is great too, the courtyard adorable. The delicious Carpaccio was Nfls 31.75.
Lunch @Number 10: Flawless breakfasts and lunches are served here at Landhuis Bloemhof also the home of the Cathedral of Thorns, a one-of-a-kind monumental artwork/museum, which was closed when we arrived, and we were shoed away by a stern gate keeper. The restaurant is owned by a young husband and wife team, in a perfect garden, terrace environment. They cakes are jaw-breaking multi-tiered and worth sharing.
Brunch @Kome is a tasty experience: Eggs Benedict Nfls 30 Denver Omelet Nfls 28, Smoked brisket Hash Nfls 34, Salty Dog, a colossal Dessert Nfls 26, Glass of Prosecco Nfls 18
Dinner @Bario Urban Food: When you stay at Kura Botanica on the BB plan, you enjoy your breakfast at Bario. We went for light supper and enjoyed Ceviche Nfls 35 and Tuna Balls Nfls 19.50. Our waiter had an enjoyable sense of humor!
Dinner @BijBlauw in Pietermaai: BijBlauw was a discovery, since a few places are shut on Mondays, we decided to try something new to us and we loved every bite, the place has a million-dollar view and ambiance. Brisket appetizer Nfls 31.5, Seabass in Beurre Blanc Nfls 51.50
Lunch @Ceviche at the Rif Fort: Another terrace with a million-dollar view and particularly tasty food. Peruvian Grilled Octopus & potatoes Nfls 52, Ceviche three-way Nfls 56.
Best of all, Capuchinos at Kura Botanica are Nfls 6 or 7, and we had a many.
Taxi transportation: They have an app, you call a taxi, it shows, you get to your destination, you pay the driver, and the app sends you a receipt by email, and a thank you note.
Peggy is right, many things have changed for the better in Curacao.
