Curious Curaçao...

Last week I did a quick visit to Curaçao to visit my aunt who lives there.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  I knew it was a Caribbean island and had some connection to Holland but that was it.

I was right about the Caribbean island (hot, sun and sea) but to my surprise, when I got there it was much more Dutch than I'd anticipated.  At the airport the signs are in 4 languages (Dutch, Papiamento - Antillean creole language, Spanish, English).  In town I heard mostly Papiamento and Dutch.

sea from the plane upon landing

On the first day we drove around some desolate landscape adjoining the sea where there was plenty of wind for wind turbines.

art made from trash

turtle

We also did a driving tour of the main town (Willemstad) with its colourful houses.

houses in Punda

Amanda & Pien

Whilst enjoying a coffee by the water at St Anna Bay we overlooked Otrobanda (from Punda) and the Queen Emma floating bridge.

We were also lucky enough to see it open.

At the entrance of the bridge there was a heart-shaped padlock tree which was popular with people taking photos.

We enjoyed plenty of lovely meals.  Like fresh fish (sushi style yellow fin tuna) and chips at De Visserij.

Pien at De Visserij

One day I went diving with my uncle.  The water was blissful (warm, great visibility...).

Bas & Amanda

Bas & Amanda

On my last evening there we enjoyed drinks in Pietermaai

and had a lovely meal at a great seaside restaurant.

On the last day we visited the slave museum.  Not a pleasant display of history but it is part of Curaçao's history.

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sculpture by local artist Hortence Brouwn

I enjoyed my visit to Curaçao - great to know family (and a bit of Holland) are close by. 😊

kaas, stroopwafels, ontbijtkoek

Midnight in Medellín!

I spent New Year with some colleagues in Medellín this year.

I visited the school I'd been in last summer and went to visit places I'd missed last time with one of my teachers.

We took the metro and cable car through Medellín.

Then we went to Comuna 13 (https://medellinliving.com/comuna-13-graffiti-tour-amazing-street-art-much/) which is full of history and colourful graffiti.

There are 'electric stairs' (escalators) which make moving in the Comuna easier.  For us it meant we got to see views of the city from the top.

The whole area is full of graffiti.

The hummingbirds represent the helicopters that were used when they carried out the controversial operation Orión (https://colombiareports.com/medellin-operation-orion/)

At the bottom of the escalators we stopped to taste mango popsicles (that you dip into a mix of salt and lemon juice).  They were surprisingly tasty.

We celebrated NYE in Medellín.

and generally enjoyed the nice weather and relaxed atmosphere of Medellín.

After Medellín we visited the colonial village of Jardin.  The bus ride there was through the Andes and very bumpy!   Though also stunning.

To get around the village there were lots of 'motoratones' (like tuk tuks).

We went horseback riding in the coffee region.

We also went on La Garrucha (on old wooden cable car).

 
Jardin was a very colourful and relaxing end to our trip.