Three weeks in Willemstad

I'm in Willemstad, capital city of Curaçao, one of the countries that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is my first time in the Caribbean and in Central America. Curaçao has an interesting combination of cultures. Originally inhabitted by the native Arawak tribe, it was occupied by Spain in the 16th century and then by the Netherlands since the 17th century, only achieving autonomy in 2010. For a long time, Curaçao was a hub of slave trade (slavery was abolished in 1863), which is reflected today in 75% of the population being of African descent.

My apartment is in a place called Otrobanda (literally, "the other side"), which is a more residential area. The more commercial and touristic area is called Punda. Connecticting the two, we have the famous Queen Emma Bridge, built in 1888. It's a floating bridge, basically a boardwalk built on top of a series of boats. When a ship needs to cross the channel, they just move the boats and the whole bridge swings open. If you happen to be on the bridge at the time, you just go for a little ride with it.

With the exception of the few blocks that form the more touristic area, Willemstad has a small town vibe, with simple houses and small commerce. Outside my window, there is a tree full of singing birds. I was able to identify two: the beautiful black-and-yellow troupial (here they call it turpial) and the noisy yellow-shouldered parrot (here they call it lora).

I visited three museums. The Curaçao Museum exhibits furniture and objects from colonial times. The Kurá Hulanda Museum tells the story of slave trade in the Atlantic. The Curacao Maritime History Museum, not surprisingly, displays a collection of ship models and navigation equipment, plus a big model of the local oil refinery (deactivated in 2020).

Karnaval

This part wasn't planned, but my stay in Curaçao coincided with Carnival. And they are serious about celebrating it here, with a whole week of daily parades. In Brazil, Carnival is fueled by samba (more specifically, samba-enredo) and instruments like surdo, tamborim, cuíca, and agogô. In New Orleans, the Mardi Gras rolls with the traditional brass bands, playing funky and jazzy rhythms with instruments like trumpet, trombone, and tuba. Here in Curaçao, the Karnaval is all about the tumba, an Afro-Caribbean music style with some influence from merengue and calypso, and played with instruments like congas, steel drums, and tambu.

And the food?

Being on an island, I thought fish would be the main dish. But it seems seafood restaurants here are mostly targeted at tourists, serving what I would call international cuisine. What I saw the locals eating all the time was chicken and goat. Since I'm not a big fan of goat meat, what I had the most was galiña stoba (chicken stew), usually served with fried plantains and rice and beans. I ate fish too, of course, both corvina and red lionfish.

Any side trips?