Ed Stonis, Jean Richard and I took a day off and went to Klein Curacao, a small island about 8 miles southeast of the main island of Curacao. We traveled on the good ship Bounty, a 90 foot gaff-rigged schooner.

Klein Curacao is a pretty desolate island. This is looking south from the top of the lighthouse in the center of the island. The Bounty is anchored near the beach on the western shore.

This is looking south along the eastern shore, battered by the prevailing currents and winds. As one would expect, it is littered with pieces of wrecked boats, as well as the plastic litter so prevelant in our world today. I did find a nice big mooring ball still in good shape.

There is a small freighter shipwrecked on the eastern shore. According to the story, the captain mistook the Klein Curacao lighthouse for the lighthouse on the south end of the main island of Curacao, and ran aground bow first. They tried to pull it off with a tug, but the lines snapped. The ship broached, and got heaved ashore and trashed. You can walk up to it and climb on deck if you have gloves or don't mind getting your hands shredded.

I found this bird in the middle of the beach. I thought it might be injured, or else nesting. I couldn't tell which, and I was reluctant to scare it off if it was nesting. It seemed pretty wierd out in the open like that. There were lots of crabs about as well.

We returned to the anchorage in Spanish Water, a large natural bay on the southwestern shore of Curacao.

One afternoon Ed and I did a whirlwind tour of the northern part of Curacao. We started off at Hato Cave, near the airport. It is well worth visiting. Tours start on the hour, and last about 45 minutes. It is an excellent example of a dry limestone cave. There are many stalactites and stalagmites, colorful flowstone, columns, and a colony of bats. There are some small pools in the cave, which get larger during the rainy season.

The dry climate seems to affect discarded tires in funny ways.

Then we went up the eastern coast where there are many caves pounded out by the sea. At Boca Tabla Cave we went for a great hike along the shore.

Curacao is home to giant Iguanas. Luckily, they aren't dangerous.

The dry climate means there are many desert plants, some with wicked thorns, and some with wonderful flowers. There are also some wonderful pockets of forest, but I didn't get any pictures under the canopy.

We drove just about as far north as we could, looking for an elusive lighthouse and a dive site called Watamula. Along the way, we ended up circling Mt. Christoffel, the highest point on Curacao. It is a national park, and is supposed to have some nice hiking trails, although we didn't have time to do any.

Back at Habitat Curacao, home sweet home away from home.