Let’s Explore the A B C’s – Part I

A few weeks ago I blogged about our trip to Jamaica. That was the first port stop on our Panama Canal Cruise. Today we’re moving on to our second stop. Our itinerary called for us to visit Bonaire next, followed by Aruba. But, because covid numbers were surging in Bonaire, they re-routed us to Curacao instead. No worries for us, we had never been to any of the A B C islands so we were eager to see what all the fuss was about.

Photo by C. Rickrode

I was surprised at how arid and desert-like these islands are. I was expecting lush green rain forest type jungle islands, or at the very least, palm trees and white sand beaches. Such was not the case. Lots of brownish sand and cactus. That’s right. Cactus everywhere. It was like being in Tucson surrounded by water. Not at all what I was expecting.

Anyway, we opted for a bus excursion promising to take us to all the major highlights of the island. It’s not a very big island, so we were able to get to both coasts in the span of a few hours. Most of the island reflects the Dutch influence from the earliest colonists. Lots of bright colors and interesting architecture everywhere.

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Our first stop was Hato Caves with their marine coral limestone formations. The water in the cave was so crystal clear you didn’t even realize there was standing water in a few places. In one of the pictures below there is actually a pool of water several feet below where we were standing.

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Next we visited the Curacao Liqueur Distillery at Landhuis, Chobolobo and learned about the world-famous Blue Curacao Liqueur. We toured the facility and saw the distillation process, and learned a bit more about the history of Curacao. Of course, we enjoyed some different flavored liqueurs as well (all way too sweet for my liking).

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Then we were off to Fort Nassau, established in 1796, which overlooks the City of Willemstad and its harbor. The fort was captured by the British in 1807 and renamed Fort George. Today it operates as a tourist attraction and restaurant atop one of the highest points on the island with almost 360 degree views. Some of the original cannons are still in their battlement openings along the original fortress wall. You can also see a lot of native cactci in these photos.

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Our final stop was at the Curacao Museum, the oldest museum in Curacao. Formerly a military hospital, today it houses art and cultural exhibits, mining exhibits, botanical gardens with native plants, and a hodge-podge of other things. During WWII the building and grounds were used as an internment camp for Jewish women and children.

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The most fascinating display in the museum (for me) was a very strange musical instrument with pipes and bells, a keyboard of sorts with levers to push, and foot pedals. The instrument was played inside the museum, but the pipes and bells were outside in a housing of sorts. This is a very complicated and weird instrument called a carillon.

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A carillon is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard (sort of) and foot pedals (which seem to operate the larger bells) and consists of at least 23 cast bronze bells. The bells are in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniously together.

Surprisingly, I found a couple of videos on YouTube of someone playing these vary rare instruments. If you’re interested, take a listen to see how it works and sounds. The first one is from one of the few remaining portable carillons left in the world (not sure what’s with the get-up of the guy playing this thing; your guess is as good as mine):

Here’s another if you want to watch. This carillon is bigger and stationary and the bells are housed in a steeple.

So there you have it. Our visit to Curacao in a nutshell. Have you ever been to the ABC Islands? Were they as you expected? The cactus really threw me. I just was not expecting that. Have you ever heard of, or seen, a carillon? Crazy thing no?

Next week: Aruba!!

I’ve got more exciting things planned for the rest of year that only my newsletter followers will know about. I promise you’ll only get 6 newsletters for the entire year, so I won’t clutter up your inbox. Here’s the link if you want to sign up and be the first to know things: http://bit.ly/JansenSchmidtNewsletter

Word of the Day: Zaffer

Fun fact about me:  I really wanted to be a rebel and play the carillon but my husband wouldn’t let me touch it. Party-pooper.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, August 2022. Images by P. Rickrode and C Rickrode. Videos courtesy of YouTube.