After the chill of fall was starting to set in around northern Europe we decided to escape to the Caribbean for a bit of warmth before heading back home to snowy Minnesota. We started with Curaçao, chosen only because of the convenience of flights both from Europe and to our next stop, which was Panama! The canal has always been on my list of things to see, and while we did get a glimpse, I still want to go through the entire thing some day!
Curaçao: A land of coral rock
We had an early morning leaving Amsterdam, our flight was at 9am but we had to take transport to the airport which took an hour. We did find a bus just a few minutes away that was easy and fairly cheap and took us right to the terminal. Their automated baggage drop made things very easy with short lines so we were in the lounge before we knew it to get some breakfast. We had a 10 hour flight, which is the longest we’ve taken since we left home last December!
Neither of us knew anything about Curaçao before arriving, other than the essential basics such as Visa requirements so they’d let us in. It was my first time in the Caribbean but Mr. Wander has been to several islands on various cruises. We didn’t realize just how close it is to Venezuela, though, less than 40 miles away by boat! Our Taxi driver was very informative sharing about the island on our way to our hotel just a 20 minute drive.
We took it easy that evening and the next day to help ourselves through the jetlag and catch up on things. One of the days we took a tour of the island and we got a bit more of the history. Early in the 16th century, Spain arrived and deported the locals as slaves when they took over the island. Later, in the mid 1600s the Dutch defeated Spain and it became the center of the slave trade from Africa to the Caribbean until the Dutch empire abolished it in 1863. The island is still part of the Netherlands but has been self governing as of 2010, it is sometimes referred to as the Netherland Antillies.
Our guide toured us through some of the neighborhoods and showed the old houses made from coral stone and coated with a sort of plaster and painted bright colors. This stone actually causes the paint to get what they called a “cancer” caused by the salt content that comes to the surface, even decades later. The houses get repainted every year or two, but we saw several that were in much more serious states of disrepair. These houses are protected though, so they cannot be torn down and will all eventually be restored. Many of these houses had beautiful tiled steps as well, that accented the bright colors of the walls.
Next he stopped the bus and we walked through a few alleyways full of gorgeous murals and even a community amphitheater between a few buildings set into a hill. Interspersed were a few sculptures and a brilliantly pink tree.
Next we crossed the main harbor on the very tall bridge to get to the other side of town to what I was most looking forward to, the Curaçao distillery! I had consumed blue and orange Curaçao before but never really knew it’s history.
Settlers from Spain first brought orange trees from Valencia but since the island, mostly made from coral and volcanic rocks, was not great for agriculture, the normally sweet oranges turned quite bitter. Centuries later a Jewish family tried fermenting the orange peels with a mixture of their own herbs and spices and it turned into a lovely liquor. Now they make many flavors and we got to taste a few at the end of the self guided tour, including tamarind, chocolate, and the standard blue varieties.
The tour itself wasn’t too great, mostly just boards on the wall to read yourself about the history and the process. They did have the original copper still which they ‘still’ use, which is really awesome to see. In addition to the curaçao they also make an insect repellent and this balm that is supposed to cool you off if you apply it to your arms like lotion. We tried a little of their sample but I didn’t notice too much, but I still had to get a picture with the penguin.
We had a quick stop at an old fort for pictures of the island behind us before we ventured to the beach. On our way we stopped at a salt lake the Dutch would dam to allow water to evaporate and harvest the salt to preserve their fish, back before refrigeration. We were lucky enough to catch sight of a few flamingos close to the road.
Our last stop was to Kokomo Beach, which may just be the one The Beach Boys sing about! We opted not to go for a swim, but enjoyed a few cocktails and delicious tacos, plus watching the iguanas wander under the tables.
The rest of our time we enjoyed the pool at the hotel, caught up with calls to family, and watched the cruise ships come and go. We were surprised to find Christmas Trees decorated in the hotel before we left! It was barely halfway through November!
Panama: Gateway Between Oceans
We were in Curaçao for just 5 days before it was time to hop on a few planes to get to Panama. While there was a direct flight option, we decided to do the budget option that had a layover in Columbia for a few hours. We arrived in Panama City and took an Uber to our hotel that was actually an apartment. We had planned to do an Airbnb but found this hotel through Marriott was actually cheaper with the same amenities. We enjoyed getting to cook some of our easy to make comfort foods and I was surprised to find so many familiar US brands at the grocery store, although they were usually quite expensive, especially the cheeses.
Our first excursion was a tour on a boat through part of the Panama Canal that goes through a lake. The building of the canal was started by the French in 1881 but ultimately failed since a sea level canal was impossible. The US took on the project in 1904 and it was opened in 1914. It was run jointly between US and Panama for many decades until 1999 when Panama took full control. In the lake is a group of small islands known together as “Monkey Island” where several species live including Howler, Capuchin, and Tamarins. Our boat took us up close and personal to these monkeys, however we did have mixed feelings about bribing them with food. They were pretty cute, especially the little baby.
We did spy an iguana on one island, and he pointed out howler monkeys on another, but the pictures can’t even zoom close enough to see with any clarity, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. I found it pretty cool to see the giant ships we would pass as we were coming through the lake, but those are much easier to spot in pictures.
On our way to the last stop he picked up some enchiladas and a few other fried goodies for a snack with very delicious pineapple. They don’t look the most pretty but it was a nice hearty snack before we ventured into the jungle.
Our last spot was in the jungle near the canal, walking along a bumpy dirt road that was fairly busy with bird watchers. Our guide had a goal to find us a sloth but we weren’t immediately successful. He talked about the jungle and various trees and many statistics such as the number of bird species but those didn’t really stick. The guide found an anteater in a tree on our way back, and set up his tripod scope for us to check it out. Here’s a picture with just my camera:
If you can’t find it, look towards the top on the left side, and check out the picture below to get an idea of what he looks like. The one below, Mr. Wander took the picture through the scope. For some reason I was thinking anteaters would look more scaly, like an armadillo, but he looks super fuzzy like a sloth!
As we started the drive back towards the city, our guide spotted his main quarry: a sloth! This isn’t the first time I’ve seen one, we caught one on camera moving around our resort we stayed at in Costa Rica in early 2023, but this one was just as cute.
Our guide was pretty excited to maintain his perfect record of finding a sloth, he said he should guarantee a sloth sighting but still doesn’t, just in case! Our guide took us all back to our hotels and we enjoyed the afternoon relaxing, thankful to miss the storm that came through, as they did most afternoons in Panama at the end of rainy season.
Our other excursion during our time in Panama was a cooking class. I’ll admit, I was swayed by this one being called a “boozy” baking class, with free flowing mojitos (we make ourselves, of course) and 9 other recipes for a delicious dinner. We were joined by one woman from France and three from New York. Our chef, Winnie, was originally from France and was trained there, but wanted to travel around. As she reached Panama, she liked it so well she just never left.
We made ceviche, one of my favorite appetizers which is fish is “cooked” in the acid from lime juice. It also had fresh tomatoes, peppers, and onions as well as some cooked shrimp that was chipped up as fine as the fish, and is served with crackers. I was excited to learn about Yucca and how to prepare it for two dishes, Yucca fries are one of my favorites! There was one dish where cooked and cubed yucca was made into a salad with herbs like cilantro and some lime juice. The main dish with yucca was carimañolas, which is where you mash the yucca and fill it with cooked beef and vegetables, then fry.
Wealso made arroz con pollo, (rice with chicken) as the main dish, arroz con piña (rice with pineapple) for dessert, two different spice levels for a picante as a condiment, and a corn and milk beverage called Chicheme that I really enjoyed. It was a lovely evening with a fun group of people and I could see us adding one or two of these to a regular rotation, once we have our own kitchen again! The rest of our time in Panama was spent catching up on posts and doing research for our adventures in the spring.
Next Time
Surprise, we’re back in the US! Many of you already know this as we made it home for Thanksgiving, and with the help of our siblings managed to surprise both sets of parents! We’ll be hanging around Minnesota through most of January trying to catch up with friends and family spread across the state. However, If you are here for the travel content never fear, we’ll be resuming with an epic adventure at the bottom of the world in February! Depending on our down time we might have a few bonus posts with statistics for the year and a packing list to tide you all over until then. We hope you all have a lovely holiday season, enjoying time spent with loved ones.