WELCOME TO CURACAO

January 20, 2009—Inauguration Day for our 44th President of the United States
79 F, warm with some sprinkles—lots of sun and warmth!

Waking up to room service is certainly a luxury I better not get used to. Tim is not going to want to bring me sliced fresh honeydew and cantaloupe with my coffee on a daily basis.
We watched the ship dock at Willemstad, Curacao. From our balcony we could see the three mountains that look like a reptile’s scaled back in the background and the pastel painted buildings portrayed in so many photos and paintings-reminiscent of the island’s Dutch heritage. Besides a towering bridge a little in the distance, another quaint feature is the swing bridge (called “Emma”). It swings to the side when a ship is going through the channel. Last visit Tim was “caught” on the bridge and he had to wait about 20 minutes before it swung back into position for crossing.

Curacao is about 42 miles from Aruba and 35 miles north of Venezuela. It is the largest of the 5 islands of the Netherlands Antilles-38 miles long, 7 ½ miles wide with 170,000 people.

We got off the ship about 9 a.m. to head to the Kontiki/Cabana Beach, a short distance by taxi. Some of our CC friends went with us. The beach had clean facilities (although repairs were being done) and comfortable lounge chairs. There were palm trees, but not enough shade for me. The sand was very fine and soft to the toes. Tim enjoyed the water, which he said did not seem too salty. He happened to notice there were many topless bathers everywhere.

We returned to the downtown area about 1 p.m. Tim returned to the ship while I looked around at the shops and the market. Many shops and restaurants were tuned to the Presidential Inauguration, listening on a remarkable, historical day. I returned to the ship about 2:00 p.m. and went straight to the Lido Deck—Trident Grill for a cheeseburger and fries.

At 4:30 p.m. the ship’s crew is preparing for departure. It is interesting to watch from our balcony as last minute passengers run to get onto the ship. Yesterday a lady almost did not make it-the brow/bridge was up, but they lowered it at the last minute to lift her up onto it so she could board. Many jokes are made about the fantastic photo one can take as a ship departs.

After watching the ship depart from Curacao while on our balcony, I went to read at the glass enclosed pool section that is a very quiet area while Tim napped. About 6 p.m. we got ready for dinner and strolled through the ship’s boutiques. Tim took advantage of tonight’s special—tee shirts/2 for $20.

To commemorate this special Inauguration day, we had our pictures taken in front of the American flag. Tim was wearing his Harley-Davidson/American flag shirt and I wished I had brought something red, white, and blue. I tried not to bring all my clothes and basically stuck to tropical greens and blues to mix and match outfits. Tim, as I think I wrote before, brought about 20 Hawaiian style shirts…at least that many, who’s counting? So, Tim will look patriotic in the photo and I will look like I’m on a cruise.

We met our CC crew for dinner at 8 p.m. We have anytime dining and so far we have eaten at 8 p.m. every night—this is not our usual pattern, but seems to work well because it does make the day seem longer. Everyone at our table of 10 had the filet mignon and shrimp (surf and turf). Princess has very good beef. So far the desserts have been so-so. I had cherries jubilee, which was fair. Because of the size of our group and the antics of some, including our waiter Manuel and the Maitre d’, we do not finish eating until almost 10 p.m. We are enjoying the group very much.

Except for the night we went to the movies, we have not stayed out too late so far.

Culinary Delight of the Day: filet mignon—medium rare
TK’s Takes: He was very happy to have his photo taken with two showgirls. He will have to pay for that photo, by the way. The extra-unexpected windfall was the girls at the beach and their “attire,” or lack thereof.