En Español

Museums, Gardens and More

By George Miller

Postal Museum

Who knew that stamps could be so beautiful, fascinating, and historic?

Check out this little museum for two reasons: the ancient building and the timeless stamps.

First, view extraordinary stamps from across the Netherlands Antilles. The permanent exhibit displays collections from Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Eustatius, Saba, and St. Maarten, some dating to the period when the Dutch West India Company sold arms to the struggling American revolution. In 1776, St. Eustatius became the first sovereignty to recognize the United States. Special exhibits of themed stamps from around the world change quarterly. The museum also includes artifacts pertaining to the postal service.

Second, notice the building. The date inscribed on the top of the gable reads 1693, making it the oldest building surviving in Willemstad outside of Fort Amsterdam (1635). The building was originally three houses, but two burned in 1974. The Curaçao Monuments Association purchased the property in 1988 and restored the damaged structures. The wood and stone façade and the wooden gallery are typical of the oldest Dutch architecture in Punda. The Postal Museum has occupied this corner of the ground floor since 1991. The rest of the building remains private apartments.

Opens Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., $2 adults, $1 children, Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Keukenstraat 22, Punda, 1-599-9-465-8010.

Butterfly Garden

New tropical gardens feature colorful butterflies, delicious café

Curaçao's newest attraction combines nature's fluttering wonders with flavorful cuisine. Butterflies from the Caribbean and South America dance from flower to flower in a lush tropical garden. To help visitors appreciate them, the Butterfly Garden and Health Center presents a program highlighting their life cycle from egg to metamorphosis. Visitors learn butterfly secrets of survival and how to identify species.

The Butterfly Café serves delicious stoba (meat or vegetable stew), funchi (polenta-like dish), tutu (cornmeal and mashed beans), fried plantains, fresh fish, and soups. Visitors get a fruit shake free. Opens Sunday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (restaurant to 8 p.m.), $8.00/Nafl.13.50 adults, $5.00/Nafl.8.00 children, Pannekoek 72B, Soto, 599-9-864-3655, www.butterflygardencuracao.com.

Maritime Museum

Charts, models, displays reveal 500 years of high-seas adventure

Step into the Maritime Museum, in a renovated 1729 mansion near the Floating Market, and walk the gangplank through 500 years of maritime history. Curaçao's strategic location earns it a shipping legacy that spans the world. Nautical charts, ship models, navigational equipment, and audio/visual displays describe the first Spanish galleons from 1499, slave traders of the 1800s, the first cruise ship in 1901, the oil refinery in 1918, and a frigate that blew up in the harbor.

Arrange tours, visit the gift shop, and have lunch in a Cuban-style café. Opens Monday to Saturday (Sunday when cruise ships are in) 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Van de Brandhof Straat 7, Willemstad, 599-9-465-2327, info@curacaomaritime.com, curacaomaritime.com.

Cristoffel National Park

Hike, bike, ride horseback or jeep at the high point of Curaçao

Curaçao offers more than laid-back beaches and duty-free shopping. For adventure, challenge, and rugged nature, head for the high point of the island. At 370 m, (1,240 feet) you won't get a nose bleed on Mount Cristoffel, but you will get stunning views of the island.

About 45 minutes west of Willemstad, the 1,821 hectare (4,500-acre) Cristoffel National Park offers four paved roads and eight hiking trails ranging from leisurely 10-minute stroll to strenuous five-hour trek. Start with the observation tower. Trails lead through stunning desert-seaside scenery with 10-foot cacti, picturesque divi-divi trees, and scrubby brushland. White-tail Curaçao deer, iguanas, and birdlife, plus feral donkeys and goats, thrive in this arid wilderness.

At the park entrance (Landhuis Savonet Museum), join 4WD tours, horseback rides, guided walks, and plantation tours, plus rent mountain bikes and 4WD vehicles. Tours require reservations. Trails and roads connect to the adjacent Shete Boka National Park, with picturesque bays, cliffs, and nesting beaches for hawksbill and green sea turtles. Enter at Boka Tabla, a dramatic region where surf crashes into sea cliffs, carving deep caves. Ancient Arawak petroglyphs decorate the fossilized coral cliffs.

Opens Monday to Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., $10, 599-9-864-0363.

Octagon Museum

Meet the real Simón Bolívar, great liberator of South America

Facing roiling waves, surrounded by colorful bougainvillea, the mustard yellow Octagon Museum commemorates Curaçao's connection with the great liberator, Simón Bolívar. In 1812 Bolívar and his two sisters fled Spanish forces in Venezuela. The sisters lived in this two-story house. Wooden shingles cover the domed cupola, known on the island as daki parasol (umbrella roof).

The Curaçao Monument Foundation and Avila Beach Hotel restored the unique building, which hosts weddings and special events. The hotel operates the small museum, open Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Nafl.5, at Penstraat 100, Willemstad, 599-9-461-4377.

ATV/Jeep Tours

Jump off the tourist track to explore untamed Curaçao

To explore off the beaten path, book a tour by all-terrain-vehicle or jeep, and discover the untamed side of Curaçao. The beachy west side of the island faces the calm 35-mile straits that separate it from Venezuela, while the rugged east side confronts the furry of the open Caribbean. Large cacti and thorny brush cover these rocky slopes, and pounding waves crash onto the cliffs. Even on calm days, waves gush through fractured sea boulders like exploding fireworks. Welcome to Curaçao beyond the casinos, resorts, and crowds.

Tour companies lead wild thrill rides aboard ATVs. Outfitters supply equipment and guides, while the island supplies excitement: narrow tracks through torn forests, no problem; thunderstorms that turn mud roads into quagmires, no problem; limestone caves full of bats, no problem; home-cooked fish and ribs at a bayside cookshack, absolutely no problem.

More comfortable jeep tours explore the winding roads through Christoffel National Park, and get close to nature in Boca Tabla National Park. These tours present Willemstad history, cruise scenic back roads, visit swimming beaches, and sample island cuisine.

To discover treasures beyond the beaches, contact Hertz (hertzcaribbean.com) or Excellent Rent A Car (e-car-rental.com). The more adventurous would enjoy an air tour by Blue Skies (blueskieshelicopters.com).