I took a dive trip to the island of Curaçao in December 2017. I split my time between a hostel in the capital, Willemstad, and an Airbnb in a small town northwest of the capital called Sint Michiel.

Curaçao is a former Dutch colony that still has a special relationship with the Netherlands. Dutch is still widely spoken (along with an interesting creole tongue, Papiamento, that blends aspects of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and some African languages), and they use a version of the Guilder (the money used in the Netherlands prior to the introduction of the Euro) as their currency.

The architecture in Willemstad especially reflects this colonial heritage. There is an illuminated floating bridge that swings open and shut to allow passage of cruise ships into the large Schottegat bay that serves as the main harbor for the island. The island of Curaçao does indeed lend its name to Curaçao Liqueur (a triple sec whose Blue Curaçao variety is the most popular in the United States); I paid a visit to the distillery.

I selected Red Snapper Diving as my dive shop– it was one man, Rene, operating out of his house and made for a unique experience, but also a great one as I was the only diver on my first day. We did shore dives (my first time doing so) from various beautiful beaches on the southern coast of the island.

On my last day I drove up to the northwestern tip of the island to ascend Mount Christoffel, the centerpiece of Christoffelpark. It was a lovely way to spend a few December days!