To wrap up our exploration of the ABC Islands, I thought it necessary to make mention of the famous blue liqueur that shares a name with the island of Curaçao. It has become a staple of beach bars everywhere. Although Curaçao comes in various colors – clear, green, red & orange – it is the blue that is most famous. There are various other orange flavored liqueurs on the market that are considered to be Curaçao but have no association…
Once a sleepy, neglected, almost barren island, Aruba is now a major tourist destination and one of the richest Caribbean Islands. The settlers and explorers in this part of the world were so unimpressed with the island, that they actually left the Indians alone here, making it almost an unofficial reservation for the Caiquetio. As many as two thirds of Arubans are part Indian as a result. The island is actually a desert and most vegetables are grown hydroponically. Large…
Bonaire, the most eastern of the ABC Islands (the order from left to right on the map is actually ACB) is widely considered a nature lover’s paradise. Most notable on the long list of Bonaire’s unique inhabitants is the pink flamingo. There are only a handful of places on earth where there are such large numbers of flamingos. They do like their privacy though and are notoriously difficult to photograph as they do not seem to appreciate being disturbed by…
The ABC Islands count among the best places in the Caribbean for fine dining. At the many upscale resorts and in the restaurants of the main cities, you are likely to find anything you might be looking for. But what about the traditional cuisine of the Netherlands Antilles? What can you find that is unique to the islands? It seems that there are culinary adventures to be experienced. If the sight of a iguana or a cactus makes you hungry,…
The islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao are of special interest to linguists. Papiamentu (in Aruba Papiamento) is described as the first new language in hundreds of years. There are numerous theories about the origin of the language. It is thought by some to have originated as a communication between Portuguese slave traders and African slaves. Other theories refer to the custom that explorers such as Christopher Columbus, de Ojeda and Vespucci followed of taking native inhabitants back to the…
At first, Curaçao was the island that nobody wanted. Discovered in 1499 by Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci (from whom the name America is derived), who deemed it useless, due to it’s lack of gold or any remarkable resources, it was subsequently settled by the Spanish in 1527. The native inhabitants of the island were Caiquetio Indians, a subgroup of the Arawak tribe of South America. They were soon enough all rounded up by the Spanish and sent to…
“Now I Know My ABC’s” (Currently my daughter Sophia’s favorite song.) It’s a new month and time to explore a different location! So now we will move south to the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, known as the ABC Islands. The islands share a common history and culture and were banded together as the Netherlands Antilles up until 1986, when Aruba was the first to secede. Aruba and Curaçao are now countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while…