Feeling a little “jiggy”, I decided to take the dinghy out again.  Matt was still buried deep inside the starboard engine and had plans to stay on board doing boat projects so off I went.

On the 2nd day out, the dinghy ride to shore was uneventful until I got to the dock.  Just as I arrived, the shopping bus dropped a bunch of people off and the dock was packed.  I decided to circle outside the channel to avoid any collisions.  20 minutes later, I was able to head in with little to no issues.  I locked her up to the dock, chatted with a new couple who said they were going to Punda and offered me a ride (sweet).  Unfortunately, I realized I had forgotten my phone (aka camera) and had to go back to the boat to retrieve it.  More practice driving I guess.  Somehow, I managed to get my phone, tie the dinghy up, and still catch the 10 am bus into town – of course I had to run a block screaming, “hold the bus” and they either saw a crazed woman running toward them or heard my cry and let me on.  I was a sweaty panting mess when I boarded so I picked a seat in the back to cool off and recuperate.

I had a lot of places I wanted to see, but my first stop was the bank to get change for some large dollar bills into smaller dollar bills.  After being buzzed inside, I spoke to the armed guard, told him my business and he was not pleased that I didn’t have my passport, but he said I could make a transaction – even without my passport (who walks around with their passport?  I waited for about 15 minutes before it was my turn to ask for $1k in small bills which had to be calculated using my brain and not my phone as no phones are allowed inside the bank.  Good think the old hat rack still works!  The way they handle money is so strange, they fold the bills in half into certain denominations with heads facing all different ways, under their little desk – not in a locked anything – just there.  Wowza.

Anyway, mission accomplished.  Off to the Synagogue Mikve Isrtael-Emanuel (or commonly referred to as “SNOA”) which is the oldest continuously used synagogue in the Western Hemisphere.  There are only 200 members of this synagogue (out of the 160,000 residents on island) and the structure is over 285 years old!  Imagine that!  It was a lovely synagogue, but truth be told it was the first one I had ever visited.  They had sand on the floor for 3 reasons: 1) modeled after many traditional Spanish synagogues; protect the secret Jews who were not supposed to pray and had to muffle the sound of their feet on the floor; and to symbolize what God said “I will multiple your seed as the sands of the seashore and the starts in the heavens.”

I don’t know the names of the parts of the synagogue, so please forgive me for not titling , the photos – but as you can tell the synagogue is meticulously cared for and is stunning.

I do not know what this represents, but it was so beautiful I had to include it in the blog.

Between the synagogue and the museum is a little courtyard where they had these very detailed carved tablets (for lack of a better word).

My next stop was Fort Amsterdam.  We had actually walked by this fort many times as it is in the heart of Punda and had no idea it was actually a fort.  No, we are not dense, we just did not recognize the rebuild of the fort into a government complex.  Sure from up above it is a little more obvious, but we are looking at it from the street and it just looks like yellow buildings.

Fort Amsterdam was built in 1635 by the Dutch West India Company (DWIC)  immediately after they had taken Curacao from the Spanish. They built it on the point (Punda) of the eastern finger of land at the harbor entrance where the territory’s colonial masters lived safely within its confines and throughout the centuries. It served not only as a military fort but also as the headquarters of the DWIC. Currently it serves as the seat of the government and governor of Curaçao. The fort is named after the Amsterdam chamber of the DWIC and was considered the main of eight forts on the island and is included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites.

My next stop was the Fort Church which was established in 1769 and is currently a Protestant church. The Fortkerk, or Fort Church, was built to withstand siege and has survived in remarkable shape. The only visible bit of damage is a small cannonball embedded halfway into the facade. It was fired by the Captain John Bligh of England, who was attacking Curaçao from his famous ship, The Bounty.

Can you see it in the photo?

The church is of modest size, but quite pretty. The roof, painted a deep sea blue, has a clock right in the middle of it.

Another curiosity is the Fortkerk’s cistern, found between the church and an alcove that houses a small museum. In the days of siege, a large supply of water was vital, so the church was built in such a way that rainwater would filter through the walls, and collect here.

The church’s adjoining museum is small but packed with history, mostly old maps and portraits. The best piece is the antique clockwork, dating from 1788, which ran the original clock tower.

It’s easy to imagine invading pirates stationed at the mouth of Saint Anna Bay, laying siege to the island, while from the fort, the Dutch defended themselves and their valuable new American property.

Just across the parking lot is the governor’s palace which is both a residence and a place of work. I was not able to go inside but here is a nice website of the history of the governor’s palace.

My last stop for the day was the Kura Hulanda Museum in Otrobanda which just meant I had to cross the Queen Emma floating pontoon bridge to get to it – a short hop and a jump.  The Kura Hulanda Museum is an anthropological museum that focuses on the predominant cultures of Curacao. It offers a world-class chronicle of the Origin of Man, the African slave trade, West African Empires, Pre-Colombian gold, Mesopotamian relics and Antillean art.  They had beautiful sculptures, skeletons, artwork, educational information.  I was heartbroken at how we treated our fellow man, especially when I saw the KKK outfits – I could not even take a photo of it as I know they still exist today and I am horrified.

There was a small sculpture garden with not much written about the sculptures, but they were fascinating.

I liked these ones in particular – not sure, but they inspired me – especially the one in the front right looking up at the heavens.

I don’t know the meaning of this piece, but it moved me.

Large sculpture in the center of the courtyard.

After my busy day at the museums, I decided to reward myself with an ice cream from Champs where they state “You are 1 minute away from an ice-gasm (see right window). Well, let me tell you it was no Amy’s Ice cream but it was pretty darn good.

After I got back to the boat, we cleaned up and Matt made is amazing pork chops!  I love him so much!

 

Accomplishments:

• Great day exploring
• Learned a lot
• Got a bit of exercise
• Beautiful sites