Imagine an island in the middle of bright blue water with a shoreline dotted in painted buildings that look like Neapolitan ice cream. If you can picture that, then you’re headed down the path toward Curacao, an island in the Dutch ABC’s off the coast of Venezuela.
Sea Aquarium and Dolphin Academy Source:
Wikipedia
1. Willemstad, the capital, features
unique, multi-colored buildings influenced by Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese architecture and colonial planning. A UNESCO World Heritage City, Willemstad represents the organic growth of a multicultural city, seizing on its European influences in a tropical location.
2. Once an island owned by the Dutch, the residents are polyglots. English, Dutch, Spanish and Papiamentu, a local language, are spoken here.
3.The alcohol Curacao was developed here from the laraha plant, which produces a bitter citrus fruit.
4. The local cuisine is a delightful mix of multi-ethnic foods, bringing in influences from Dutch, Spanish, Sephardic Jew and Afro-Caribbean cultures. It’s referred to as Krioyo, pronounced the same as the Spanish word criollo.
5. In 2015, a spaceport will open in Curacao to
support suborbital space tourism flights and research flights. Curacao was chosen because of its friendly environment, opportunities for added tourist adventures, and Dutch legal and business structures.