Curacao Day 3, Mountain hike = 146 flights of stairs!

We had planned to hike the Christoffel mountain in the national park for our last full day on the island.  It required an early start, as no one is allowed to begin their ascent after 11:00am.  Len had a very restless night as he has started in with a fever, sore throat, and congestion.  I decided it would be best for him to stay and rest, and I went alone.  I finished my coffee, made a peanut butter sandwich, grabbed a banana and two bottles of water.  It's been very hot and humid, so I figured I needed all the help I could get!

This is the view from the parking lot at the base.

I found the trail, so far so good.

Curacao is covered with three different species
of these columnar cacti.  These are called kadushi
di pushi, and are characterized by the 'blond hairs'
on the top of every column. They actually are spines.

The scenery was very interesting.  It reminded me
of all the times I hiked various trails up to many
different sections of the Great Wall of China.

I was already working up a sweat, and it seems I am
no closer! At least the morning glories are pretty :)

Oooooh, I like!  Totally in my element.

I stopped when I saw this rock that said I was
only half way there.  Time to refuel with a banana
and some cold water.  My back was soaked with sweat.

Oh, boy!

This was the last of the photos until I reached
the summit.  The last stretch required both hands
and feet working together to pull myself up.

Almost to the summit- my first peak at the ocean!

I DID IT!!!  Just as I reached the summit, the
wind picked up and it started to drizzle.  On a
clear day, you can see the entire stretch of Curacao
and you can see the mountains on Bonaire. 

Not today.

The sun tried to peek out for just a moment,
and I could more clearly see the beach and
waves down below. The light colored stretch
just left and center in this photo is Savonet
Plantation House and Museum, which was
where I was heading to next.  Christoffel
National Park is 2300 hectares that was derived
from three different plantations from the 1600's.

I enjoyed my peanut butter sandwich at the summit,
took a brief rest, and headed down.  Going down
was much quicker!  I looked back and saw where I
had just come from...I was quite proud of myself.
My fitbit read 13,832 steps, 5.75 miles, and
146 flights of stairs! Oh. My. Lord!!!

This is Landhuis Savonet, once a thriving plantation even long
after the abolition of slavery in 1863, it remained a full operation
with cattle, goats, sheep, cotton, dividivi trees (the pods are used
for tanning hides) orange groves, corn, string beans, pumpkins,
and more, all the up until the 1950's. 

Savonet was a private plantation built in 1662 by Matthius Beck,
who was the vice director of the West Indian Company.  In it's
prime, there were 242 slaves working on Savonet.  According
to historical documents, the island of Curacao held 3346 slaves.

On the left is "Shon" Jacob van der Linde Schotborgh and his
wife, who together produced two sons, Harrie and Willhem.

I was one of only a few people in the museum, so I
lingered over the exhibits, taking in the rich history and
curious customs of the day. One custom was that the bed
sheets of a newly married couple were taken by the mother
of the groom after their first night together as husband and
wife. If she found the sheets stained with "Virgin Tears"
(as they were called), she happily took the bed sheets to
show the mother of the bride. The two mothers made a
celebration of the bride's virginity by washing the sheets
together and hanging them in the front lawn for all the
passerbys to see.  Ummmmmm, NO. Curiously, there was
no mention of what happened to the sheets (or their owners)
if there were no "Virgin Tears"! 

There was an exhibit on Santeria, their religion that is an interesting
mix of Catholicism and various West African religious practices.
Some of the statues looked like African Buddhas to me.  Santeria
is still secretly practiced even today on the island of Curacao. 

There were customs for birth, and customs for death.  For eight
consecutive days after a child was born, the mother and newborn
were sequestered and safeguarded to promote healing and to
protect the baby from "eze" a vampire like creature. On the ninth
day, a hot brick wrapped in cloth was laid on the umbilical cord
of the infant to burn it off.  It was then buried under a tree on the
home's property to assure the child's longevity and that s/he
never forget his/her birthplace.  Strangely interesting.

A vigil was held in the home of the dying person until s/he passed.
To announce the deceased, a 'kachu' was blown, which was a wind
instrument made from a cow's horn. The body was quickly prepared
for burial due to the heat, then another eight day vigil took place
at sunset on each day. The vigil was led by a 'sakristan', who recited
the ceremonial prayers in a blending of Latin, Spanish and Papiamento.
Papiamento is the language that has been passed down from the
Afrikans who reside in Curacao. It is a soothing language to the ears.

After my visit to the museum, I hopped back in my five speed
Suzuki Jimny and drove both car routes through the National
Park. It was challenging driving up and down STEEP hills,
often on dirt and gravel roads. I had a blast driving a stick shift
once again; it reminded me of the Raider that Donnie and I owned.

I took the northern route to Boka Grandi for a closer look at the ocean. 

Looking back to Mt. Christoffel.

The wind was really bearing down from the north, and
the waves were crashing ashore.  I did not venture too close!

As far back as I stood, I was still getting 'misted'.

My next stop was to the caves. I had read at 
the Savonet Museum that their were Indian
hieroglyphics dating from 4900. They were
matched with cave drawings discovered in
Venezuela...

...I wanted to see them for myself, but they were
somewhere in a 50 meter deep cave, and I was all alone.

I've been in many caves before, but by the time
I had no ambient light and had to use my iPhone,
I was getting creeped out.  Nobody in the world
knew where I was in that moment...s$$t was
getting real!  Just as I got to the very back of the
cave, I heard a male voice and my heart rate
really amped up!  I was never so relieved to
hear a female's voice, too- whew! 

I came out to greet them, and asked if they
wanted to join me in looking for the cave
drawings.  We searched high and low and
never did find them.  Unlike most caves in
the US, this one was not cool.  It was blazing
hot and stuffy, and I was pouring sweat.
I finally had to concede and come up for
some fresh air- whew!

I chose to take in the sights on a leisurely drive home. I had
such an early start to the day, it was just after 1pm.
The tourism police?! What is that supposed to mean?!

This was an interesting looking park on a turn off from the
main road.  I took a walk about and saw a sign that said
turtles and fresh fish...time to follow another road!

I pulled up, and I saw a beach with scuba divers...

...lots and lots of divers!  They all spoke Dutch,
but these are my people, people!  I had left my
dive card back at the apartment. Gah!

Truthfully, there were so many snorkelers in the
water, and the turtles were so shallow, it wasn't
necessary to be on scuba.  I had a perfect shot of a
loggerhead as it surfaced for a breath, but a person
stood up in front of me and ruined the shot. Since
I no longer have an underwater camera, this was
the best I could do; there were two turtles here.

The locals were selling fresh fish, too.

My last stop was at Playa Jeremi.  It had been
closed yesterday, and I wanted to have a peek.

Like most of the beaches up on this west end, it was nearly
deserted.  This beach is the next one north of Lagun, where
we are staying.  There are a few palapas and picnic tables,
and what looks to be more good reef and rocks for snorkeling.
On Sundays, the local kids come out to cliff dive, so the story goes.

I got back to the apartment and was STARVING for a snack-
Fritos and a cold Coca-Cola on ice never tasted so good!

Though Len was not feeling his best, we went down to Lagun
beach at our resort for one last time, just for a little R & R
and the traditional 'jump shot'. He's so good, he gets it on the
first try every. single. time. It's a good thing too, cause this
old broad can't be jumping too very many times in the sand, lol.

After a little beach time, we decided to get
cleaned up and take one last drive to see what
there is to see...you only get one go around.
We saw free range goats everywhere...
now I know why goat stew is so popular. 😔

We got way off the beaten path and started mountain climbing
in the Jimny...the view was spectacular of the bay at Santa Martha!

The road came to a dead end at an abandoned resort.  We
wondered what happened to it, as Curacao is below the
hurricane belt.  The place was huge, and scarily desolate.

The place was called Sunset Waters Beach Resort, and
it once had a beautiful pool with a swim up bar.

What an incredible view the guests once had.

The place has been trashed, and anything of value- windows,
doors, tiles, even the circuit breaker boxes- have all been stolen.

As we made our way to the beach to watch
the sunset, we found an abandoned jet ski, too.
So sad. Maybe the 'Tourism Police" is for
protection from the local thieves 😦

We decided to stay in our last night and enjoy
a deliciously prepared meal at Bahia Bar &
Restaurant which looks out over Playa Lagun. Len
had the snapper, and I had a salad with goat cheese.
Cheers to Curacao; tomorrow we fly home!

G'nite, y'all!