The First Adventure
After Tobago, our next visit for the year was the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao. They are not an english speaking country but communicate with Dutch, Spanish and a dialect of both called Papiamento. The climate was much hotter and and humid than Trinidad and it was immediately felt as we walked out of the airport terminal! After getting settled at our resort, we decided to take our rented car and head somewhere, anywhere! Our resort, the Dreams Curaçao was all inclusive but if you know us you'd know that such luxuries do not excite us! Our first visit was Playa Kalki, a beach in Westpunt (west end of the island).
After carefully and anxiously parallel parking our rented car at the carpark of the beach, we were immediately greeted with some steps that took us from a height down to the waters below. There were a lot of signs around indicating that this beach was primarily used for recreational diving! We would soon after get a good reason why, as the waters were crystal clear and the corals were so abundant!
As soon as we descended the stairs, the first thing we saw was not the beach but a well shaded boardwalk with carat sheds and the main building at from which the diving tours were run. There were places to sit and eat as well as a shop that sold marine supplies and snacks. Through the sheds and the building we could see the gem like glow of the magnificent and magical blue waters! It seemed to glow where it was most blue, it is hard to describe, I had never at all seen water like this, not even in Tobago!
It was apparent that the actual beach was along the coast just a few steps to the right of the steps so we decided to explore the diving section first. We walked along the boardwalk and saw that there was diving suits and gear everywhere and there was a jetty that lead right out into the breathtaking waters.
The sun was extremely hot and the shade felt much like heaven in the humidity of it all. We were drenched with sweat and this was just our first few minutes out! Even with this in mind, we decided to keep going and check out the jetty to see what we could see.
To the right of the jetty, we could see the whole length of the beach. In the photo above, you can see how the cyan parts of the water just seems to glow or look metallic it was so mesmerizing and I could not help but keep thinking that I had never seen such magical waters before.
After having our fill of checking out the diving center, we went back past the stairs to the right side to where the actual beach was. It looked so intriguing with its white sands and blue waters. The sands were abundant with lots of corals, each having its own unique shape and patterns.
We walked all the way along the beach to the end where a rock formation closed off the sandy area. The water looked so pristine and the rocks made for an amazing shot. I could not believe my eyes. I grew in a Caribbean twin island state with lots of breathtaking beaches but never have I ever seen waters this beautiful! I could not help but be excited about what else Curaçao had to offer. This was one of the non popular beaches yet it was like this, imagine the others!
I noticed that all the rocks, even the ones on the cliff face were all embedded with corals or what I would describe was fossilized corals. IT was so fascinating to observe and look at. What did that mean for the geology of the area? It was mind boggling to think that a lot of the elevated areas were once under water!
Here is a view of the beach from the far end looking the other direction. in the distance you can see the jetty we were just on as well as beautiful mountains in the far distance. You can even see the colorful architecture as well amidst them that is characteristic of the island and its Netherland origins.
I decided to send up the drone and my jaw dropped at what I saw. The beautiful glowing waters went on along the coastline for miles! In the photo above, playa Kalki is closer to the top left, just look for the jetty! It was fascinating to see all the beach front properties located on the cliff sides. They had these steep, elaborate but elegant stairways all the way down the huge cliff faces to the clear beautiful waters below. As you can see from the photo, you can see the abundance of corals and so on, I cannot imagine what it is like to have such an experience right in your back yard.
I kept flying along the coastline past playa Kalki now and kept finding so many amazing things to take picture of. The cliffs and amazing intricate reefs were so hypnotizing. If it looked so pretty from the video feed of the drone imagine how they would look when I edit the photos is all I could help but think!
Coming from a Caribbean twin islands state myself, you can trust me when I say that the beach and the waters that run all the way along the coastline are some of the most beautiful that I have ever seen, hands down. It's a really awesome thing as we are so accustomed to the breathtaking waters of Tobago and I was afraid that we would not enjoy the beaches as much. These were so far above in calibre that it was very enjoyable and did not feel at all like it was boring or "been there done that". It was a great appetizer for the rest of the visit to Curaçao and I could not wait to visit the other tourist attractions!