We had a very active final few days of our trip to Curaçao - climbing mountings, snorkelling on shipwrecks and descending into caves. In between, however, we did find plenty of time to kick back and relax.
The view from Christoffel Mountain.
On Friday morning we woke early to take on the hike up Christoffel Mountain in Christoffel National Park. Due to the relentless heat of the sun, they won’t let anyone begin the hike after 11am, so we were sure to show up as early as possible. After picking up our tickets, we entered the park and followed the roller coaster roads up and down towards the parking lot at the foot of the mountain. Even at 9 am, the heat was intense.
Looking up at the peak.
The hike was a lot of fun, taking us up through thick vegetation that provided some much needed shade, up ever steeper slopes until the hike turned into a scramble, and finally up the last stretch of the ascent. Along the way we encountered a lot of Dutch travellers, including a very energetic class of schoolchildren. After navigating our way up and over boulders we joined them on the craggy peak for some really spectacular views. The entire island stretched out below us, with sea on all sides. Apparently you can even see Venezuela on particularly clear days.
Plugging away at the hike.
Enjoying a rest at the top.
The descent was pretty straightforward, but we definitely worked up an appetite and a thirst, so we made our way straight to a nearby restaurant called Trio Penotti for a cold beer and a delicious lunch. After hanging out there for a while it was back to the resort where Luke passed out for a few hours. We enjoyed a very relaxed afternoon, and took a drive around some nearby beaches. Due to some very sunburned backs of necks, we decided not to do any sunbathing, but we did enjoy ourselves some much needed ice cream.
Enjoying a break (in the shade) at the beach.
We welcomed a slow start on Saturday morning before setting off to visit a landhuis - one of the former plantations on the island - to learn a bit more about the history of the island and slavery. We decided to return to Landhuis Savonet in Christoffel National Park, where we began our hike the previous day. The main building of the plantation housed a museum that featured a lot of detailed information about life on the plantation, before and after the abolishment of slavery.
Looking out over the rest of the landhuis.
The main building of the landhuis.
After the landhuis visit, we headed back to our bungalow for a quick lunch before an afternoon snorkel trip with Go West Diving. After a very short briefing on the boat, our tour took us out to two snorkeling spots along the coast of Curaçao. First up was the Blue Room, an underwater cave. Entering the cave carefully through a very low opening, we turned around to see how the place got its name - brilliant turquoise light reflecting off the sandy seabed into the cave. It was very beautiful.
The Blue Room.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth had forgotten about her deathly fear of anything related to breathing underwater (for more info, check out our post on Underwater Santa), and made the wise decision to stay clear of the Blue Room. However, after a little practice she was back in and under the water by the time we reached our second snorkel spot: Black Sand Reef. Here we drifted around the inlet to find a ship wreck and coral reefs teeming with colourful fish. On the way back to the dive shop, the boat stopped by Playa Grandi for us to spot some sea turtles who are attracted to the area by the local fishermen cleaning their fish in the waters.
Luke diving deep.
Elizabeth snorkeling (with a noodle).
We ended our final full day in Curaçao with a nice dinner at a restaurant near to our accommodations, watching the sunset, and sipping on some (incredibly strong) Blue Curaçao based cocktails.
Sunset view from the restaurant.
On our final day we managed to fit in one last sightseeing stop before hopping on the plane: the Hato Caves, which are conveniently just 5 minutes away from the airport. Here we toured the caves with the help of a guide, learning about the formation of the caves, the bats living within, and the escaped slaves who took refuge in them.
Hato Caves.
And so our trip to Curaçao came to an end, and we headed to the airport for our flight back to Toronto. We had an awesome time travelling with our friends Rebecca and Piers and can’t wait for the next adventure.
In case you missed our other blog posts from the trip:
3 Days in Willemstad, Curaçao
4 Days in Westpunt, Curaçao (Part I)
And check out our awesome Curaçao travel video!
Here are some more pictures from our final few days in Curaçao.
In case you missed our other blog posts from the trip:
3 Days in Willemstad, Curaçao
4 Days in Westpunt, Curaçao (Part I)
And check out our awesome Curaçao travel video!
Here are some more pictures from our final few days in Curaçao.
(SLIDESHOW)
