Tranquility in the Sun

Our next adventure in the beautiful Dutch Caribbean Island of Curaçao takes us to Grote Knip beach, about a half hour drive from the first location we visited in the last blog post called Playa Kalki. Before flying to the island, we researched some of the best places to visit and Grote Knip was one of them. The first night at the resort was amazing but we still were itching for adventure and so we hopped in the rental car after having a heavy breakfast and set the GPS for Grote Knip!

Driving in Curaçao for the first time was a daunting experience because first off, I was not accustomed to left hand drive cars and we were driving on the other side of the road! I had to be extra careful. Once we had left the city though, and entered the long winding countryside roads, it became much easier and leisurely and I got to enjoy and take in the scenery. There were lots of cacti much taller than any I had ever seen and other desertous plants for miles on end as you can see in the GIF above.

After passing the empty guard booth, we drove for around 3 minutes before arriving at the beach carpark which was unorthodox in shape! A perfect circle is what is was and seemed to utilize the available space for parking as well as ease of access once parked. The area was so clean and well maintained.

We parked the car and through the trees, we could see a magical blue glow that kept us fixed in gaze for a while before we even left the car. That could not surely be the water being so blue we thought to ourselves. We decided to make our way over to the bench and opening in the trees shown in the photo above as we could not believe our eyes.

Once we got closer, this is what we saw through the foliage! A paradise of white sands and vibrant blue water that seemed to glow from its depths. There were people who seemed to be floating on air but upon close inspection the waters were so clear it just seemed to fool the senses. Snorkelers covered the expanse of the beach as there was much to see under the waters. We needed to get down there so we headed to the main walkway.

The steps down to the beach was preceded by this lookout area that gave a more uninterrupted view of the whole length of the beach as well as the mesmerizing cyan waters. We decided to check that out first before descending into heaven. I never thought I would say those two words like that ever!

There was a thatched roof hut on the middle of it from which smells of amazing food came. There were also drinks and so on on sale. In the background buses were constantly dropping off tourists who streamed straight to the lookout and the hut.

The shots above give you an idea of the view that was given by the lookout. The waters were so relatively bright that the camera had to underexpose them to expose the sky better thereby making them seem dark! Imagine that! The second shot was taken with the mirrorless camera and gives a better idea of the brightness of the water.

This is another shot from the lookout viewing the whole length of Grote Knip. You can see the water is unbelievably clear and calm. The mountains in the distance covered with cacti was such a weird site the me. It truly felt out of this world to see such cacti and paradise meshing in a beautiful way!

The snorkelers seemed to be floating on air out of the camera as the waters were so clear. The corals and other treasures beneath the waters were still so visible even from the depths that they were!

After having our fill of the sights from the lookout, we headed down the stairs to the main beach area. The first thing that we saw was the image above. There was a little shallow lagoon with rocks that that made a perfect natural kiddy pool where the little ones were snorkeling in.

Lower down was the main beach and I must say that the water up close made me almost loose my jaw in the sands! Playa Kalki, the beach that was the topic of the last blog post was not even as close as this one in beauty and I sincerely thought that that was the best beach I had ever seen! On top of all of that, waves were gentle and clement. Pools wish they could grow up to be this beach! I was glad at this point that we did not stay cosy and cool at the resort and made the journey to this breathtaking paradise.

At this point I could not wait to take a dip. I had been taking photos in the extreme heat and humidity and sweat was going into my eyes and making them burn! The sun was so bright that it hurt my eyes and I just needed that ocean bath. We found a nice place to set our things down and took a well deserved sea bathe. The temperature was just right for being refreshed and cooling off. It was much like a dream to bathe in waters such as these!

After drying off the drone was sent up to get some aerial shots of the location. In the photo above you can see how it actually looked like the lady was floating in the air! The 3rd dimension view of the drone gave a better look at the colors as well as the mountain sides that enveloped the beach.

I love seeing so many cacti and other succulent plants near the beach side, it gave a sense of being in Cancun or somewhere else in Mexico. The mountains that surrounded Grote Knip added a sort of beauty, aesthetic and feel to the location that was so amazing to capture by drone.

I also captured a snorkeler as he floated around the area taking in the marine beauty. I wondered in the moment if he felt like he was flying or swimming. To me, it certainly looked as if he was engaged in the prior. This top down shot felt like it could actually be taken from a magazine. I could tell you that it was and no one would question it!

After all the exploring, bathing and photography, the extreme desert heat of Curaçao had us feeling so dehydrated and exhausted that we basically ran towards the smoothie stall that was located right in the carpark before we left. Never before has frozen fruit smoothies looked so good!

The stall had thankfully just opened and already there were other tourists there lined up for the frosty beverages!

I chose the watermelon while my wife chose the mango pineapple. I was pleased to see that after we ordered, fresh fruits were peeled, cut up and placed into the blender with ice. What resulted was one of the most satisfying first sips ever! This was much needed in the scorching heat and was well enjoyed on the drive back to the resort.

You know, when we arrived at Playa Kalki the day before, I thought that it could not get better than that. But Curaçao proved my assumptions wrong! This was one of the more popular beaches for a reason and I have no objections! It was so much fun to experience such natural beauty first hand and I am grateful to be able to capture such sites with my gear. The Dutch Caribbean Island had much more to offer as we would see, thanks for coming along, cheers!