Log - July-05-2003 Previous | Next Expedition Expedition | People Getting sunburnt in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles Dave and Andreas arrived in Curacao late saturday and along with much of the crew spent a day ashore. We walked from the ship moored in an industrial complex to Willemstad which is the capital of Curacao in the Netherland Antilles. It's an autonomous territory closely associated with the Netherlands. There are about 135,000 people living on the island that is less than 30 miles long and 10 miles wide. It has its own money, the Netherland Antilles Guildes, which has the Queen of the Netherlands on many of its coins. This row of houses leads towards the ocean and Willemstad. It was late sunday morning and many people were still in church. It got quite hot during the day and Curacao offers little shade from trees. We both got sunburnt after walking for 4-5 hours during the noon sun. Curacao has rich and old traditions. It still blends many different people and cultures. At an ATM machine I was asked to choose one of three languages: Dutch, English, and a local language whose name I forgot. The town contains walls on two forts at the entrance of the harbor. These were mostly meant to deter pirates plundering a rich town. The town Willemstad contains the oldest synagogue in the Western hemisphere where Jewish people have congregated since about 1735. The beautiful yellow building with the black windows is smack in the middle of downtown. It's also one of the largest historical buildings. Within two blocks are both the ocean and several canals that give the town a distinct Dutch feel. Along the main canal small fishing boats offer fresh catch, fruit, and vegetables for sale on the pier.