Curaçao

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Today life is good.

The holiday bazaar was interesting, but nothing to write home about. After it, however, we went to the Feria. We journeyed down to the wrong side of the tracks with seven other folks. Many of them are new to the area and had never experienced such a thing before. That made it even more fun.

About half the group chose to go to the bullfights so we left them at the arena and ventured back onto the fairway. We encountered rides and food and art and food and beer and food and sangria and food. There was also lots of music and dancers. We had a ball just wandering around, gazing at the sights, eating till we were stuffed, and taking it all in.

The following week was only three days as the elections happened and shut the school down Thursday through Tuesday. On that Thursday, we climbed into a taxi and headed off for Curaçao. The flight from Valencia to the island is only thirty minutes on a little turbo prop plane. Zachary, Carrie, and I met up with the six women we traveled with at the airport and journeyed off to our getaway. We flew over stunning, Caribbean water, landing on a small island in the rain.
An awaiting van whisked us off to our hotel. The “resort” had seen better days for sure, but it was comfortable and the people were very friendly. As it turns out, it had been raining for a week straight so there was a lot of standing water everywhere. They are used to getting rained on, but this volume was more than they were accustomed to.

Curaçao is a diver’s paradise, I guess, so most things are set up for that crowd. Nonetheless, the food and drinks were cheap and our room had a fridge and cable T.V. There was milk in the market, along with Stove Top stuffing, and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. What more do I need?

The island is beautiful. It is technically a Dutch territory, but was a huge entry point for slaves. This makes the population an interesting mix. We were there for the arrival of Sinter Claus which was fascinating in and upon itself. Sinter is the Dutch version of Santa. He is accompanied by helpers dressed in page boy outfits and wearing blackface. It was quite a spectacle which many people gathered to observe.

This took place in the main village of Willemstad; a gorgeous, well maintained, brightly colored little hamlet full of artisans, restaurants, and shops. Apparently it is a big stop for cruise ships, although we didn’t see any while there. There is a great pedestrian bridge that swings open to allow huge container ships to sail right past your nose. We spent one full day there shopping, eating, and exploring.

One of our stops was a slavery museum. It was an incredible collection of artifacts from around the world. One whole wing was dedicated to West Africa. There we got to reminisce about life in Mali. They had a replica of a boat just like the one we rode on the Niger River. We even got to see them made at the boat works.

It rained every single day we were there. It would be sunny for part of the day and rainy for part of the day. We got used to it. We went to the beach when it was nice and dove under cover when it started to rain. The water was aquamarine and as clear as glass. There were also few waves so the swimming was relaxing.

We flew home on Tuesday. Our flight was delayed so we ended up spending six hours at the airport, but we were on vacation so we made the best of it. We arrived home rested and ready for the next two and a half weeks. Now we are looking ahead to Christmas and time at home with the family.

Apparently the elections here were uneventful as opposed to last year when there were burning tires and tear gas. This year the vote was for local leaders: mayors and governors. The opposition won a few key seats, most notably in the states of Zulia, Carabobo, and Miranda. These states all elected opposition governors. They are homes to the largest population centers in the country. These cities, Maracaibo, Valencia, and Caracas respectively, all elected opposition mayors. The hope is that this will scare Chavez a little and force some change.

Many of his support base voted against him. There has been a lot of trouble with acquiring basic needs and this has caused many to suffer. Complaints of lack of garbage collection, lack of police protection, and soaring crime rates have left Mr. Chavez hurting. Many believe that the new local leadership will work to provide these things. Unfortunately, another of the opposition’s main media outlets has been shut down by the president. He has also threatened to cut back money to the states that voted against him. We shall see what the future brings.

Until next week…

MJR