A night on freewinds in Curacao

So instead of spending Tuesday evening watching America’s Got Talent, we decided to get on the Freewinds Cruise Ship and contribute to a great cause at the same time.
A fundraising was being held on the ship for stichting Hamied in Curacao, and organized by the Curacao Jazz Foundation .
As a first timer on the ship, I was excited to experience this, so with my camera in hand and dancing shoes on, we entered a beautiful ballroom with lots of high tech lighting and an out of this world sound system.
The room quickly filled up with people of all ages and walks of life.

Just after 8 pm the Freewinds band accompanied by the talented Roderick Volk , the beautiful Aisha Lucas and the timeless Mr. Gregory Colina starting the festive event.
The music varied from reggae to jazz and was really great ! Roderick just kept bringing some of the most beautiful tunes out of his Timbal, while Aisha’s angelic voice brought a smile to everyone’s face and Gregory did exactly what he does best; play the piano like a pro.

Needless to say that I did not experience a dull moment during the 2 hours of non-stop entertainment.

Tuesday August 5th ,they will have a fundraiser for The Ronald Mcdonald Foundation in Curacao , so feel free to experience some Curacao entertainment on the Freewinds ship

A tour of Curacao's newest hotel

This week I received an invitation for a tour of Curacao’s newest hotel.

Yes , the area of Westpunt is 1 Hotel & restaurant richer and although Punta West Bed & Breakfast + has not officially opened their doors, I was excited to be one of the first to receive a tour by their sales rep.

Going to the Westside of the island already feels like you’re getting away from the ordinary and driving to an area of the island dominated by nature.

Upon arrival at Punta West Bed & Beakfast + ,it instantly felt like home, maybe because the owners transformed their “ weekendhuis” into a 16 room & suite hotel. Their rooms & Suits offer amazing views of the Oceans or Relaxing views of the area Mountains.

The hotel’s concept includes both breakfast and dinner in the room rate for all guests, while lunch is offered a la carte.

Their restaurant, pool & bar are located on the most perfect location of the hotel. The rooftop !

Imagine an amazing view of Westpunt while either relaxing at the pool, sitting at the bar or having your meal in the restaurant.

In addition Punta West Bed & Breakfast offers their guests free transfer to various beaches, different sports activities, meeting locations and massage possibilities.

I also understood that they will be offering special introductory rates for locals and North Sea Jazz Packages including breakfast, dinner and some nice additional amenities.

After my tour of the premises, I was ready to check in to Punta West Bede & Breakfast +. If you are as excited as I am about this new hotel for Curacao, we will have to wait for a couple of days until they open in August.

I can definitely say that I left this beautiful hotel feeling Relaxed, Refueled & Refocused.

For more information on Punta West Bed & Breakfast +, please visit them at https://www.facebook.com/PuntaWestBedBreakfastCuracao

A Kids Paradise..

Adventure City Curacao

Just before the kids start their countdown to the new school year, I decided to visit “ Adventure City” in Curacao with the family, including our spontaneous and active 16 month old.

Upon entrance I instantly experienced some Dejavu’s from my childhood; lots of colour ,lovely music, a boat just like the one Coney island Curacao used to have. But enough about me 

Adventure City , which is fully air conditioned offers free entrance to everyone and has approx. 40 games and toys for kids and kids by heart to play with. Games can be played for 2 or 3 coins, which is equal to 2 & 3 guilders. ($1 equals Nafl 1.80)

For toddlers adventure city offers 2 cars, where they can sit and get the feeling they are driving their parents car. Our toddler loved it , although the fun ended the moment the car stopped moving. Quickly moving over to the play pen made of foam slides and plastic balls, brought a million dollar smile back to his face.Another option for toddlers is just strolling through the aisles while looking at others enjoying the games.

For older kids adventure city offers various car & motorcycle games, where they can sit on the vehicle and drive away in their own fantasy world, a ping pong table and more will keep them entertained and your coins rolling.

Teenagers will have the time of their life in the bumper cars and various other games with lots of sound and color, which are elevated when they are either winning or losing.

It was a great to see parents either enjoying the games with their kids or waiting in the food court while the kids were entertained by the various games.

The food court consists of a moderate seating area, offering a variety of kids snacks including hot-dogs, & ice- cream for Nafl 3,- each.

After spending about 1½ hours in adventure city, I can say that it was a fun experience and a great alternative to the free kids activities the island offers.

Adventure City is open from 5-9 pm throughout the week and during the weekend from 3-9pm.

For more information on Adventure City Curacao please visithttps://www.facebook.com/adventurecitycuracao

Ready, Steady , Shop @ Sambil Curacao

Ready, Steady , Shop @ Sambil Curacao

 Hold your horses ladies, because while the thought of having over 200 shops, a 26- restaurant food court and 6 movie theaters in 1 fully air conditioned shopping mall is amazingly tempting, we will have to wait until March 2015 to experience Sambil on the island.

 On Friday I received a private tour by Ms. Garcia of Sambil in its constructive phase and I should say that I was very much impressed by the Mall's size and details seen when driving in our "Sambil cart".

Various size shop locations, a lot of natural light used to enlighten the space and then the food court which except for being the largest one on the island ,has the most unique roof, which is fully made of glass, so rain or shine, you will see either while you’re eating at the Sambil food court. Imagine that !

With many affordable international  brands debuting at Sambil ,going to Miami for shopping sprees may not be that necessary anymore.

And while the amount of shops are impressive the additional options that will be offered are long overdue ;Shopping until 9pm , with varying hours on the holidays and Sundays, free concerts and events and more.Sambil’s concept of organizing free events for the community and supporting the community in various ways is what makes Sambil coming to Curacao  even more exciting.

 For those who have been to Latin America before, Sambil is not an unknown name.In Venezuela alone they have 8 shopping malls , 1 in Sto. Domingo,1 in Curacao and in the near future 1 more Sambil will be added in Madrid. 

Imagine the boost this will give those tourists looking to crave their shopping needs on the island and of course a raise in hotel occupancy.

 The countdown has started to 365 days of shopping fun, fashion shows, events and don't forget the Cinemark XD.

I already love Sambil and can't wait for March 2015 for the opening !

For more information on Sambil Shopping Mall and their plans for Dushi Korsou visit : https://www.facebook.com/sambilcuracao

Parke Tropikal Curacao Zoo & Nature Reserve

Parke Tropikal Curacao Zoo & Nature Reserve - Review

July 2014

A New, Young & Vibrant management team together with countless volunteers re-opend the Curacao zoo yesterday after 8 months of hard work. Today I decided to spontaneously visit the zoo with the fam. ( including 15 month babyboy).
Upon entering the zoo, we were requested to remove all food & beverage, those should be bought inside the zoo. ( Please do..It's for a good purpose )
Next a huge sign displaying the rules of the park...you also have the opportunity to donate to the park.Which we did ! And right after donation..the fun starts..A bouncer, kids play park, a tent where you can purchase hotdogs, chips, water etc..and than those cute animals : donkeys, various monkeys, beautiful birds, lots of flamingo's, turtles and much more form a musical of unique sounds. Amazing !
It was a pleasure to have seen so many families enjoying the zoo. An amazing job by Mr. Hubert Isenia and the volunteers..we look forward to seeing the many developments to come.

For more information on the planned activities at the zoo, please visit https://www.facebook.com/ParkeTropikal

Argentina in the Caribbean...with a view of Curacao.

After a very busy weekend we decided to have dinner at El Gaucho Steakhouse....This open air restaurant is located on the East side of the Island overlooking a great part of Curacao....we did not make a reservation and walked in to be welcomed by a staff member at the entrance...we were taken to our table, which as many others...offered a splendid view of Curacao by Night...

After having received our Pinja Colada and Corona Beer we proceeded to the soup & Salad station, which is included in the El Gaucho experience. The station offered a delicious variety of 12 salads and the option of chicken soup.
3 different salad dressings were available for those wanting to spice up their salad.
After we had enjoyed our salad and the view ,we were looking forward to our main courses ...consisting of Sea & Land ( Tenderloin Petit cut & 3 shrimps) and Argentine Grill (consisting of pork loin, Chorizo , beef rib & Chicken).
And we were not disappointed.!!The portions were enough and very taste full. The homemade french fries we took as a side order were also some of the best we ever had.














The food & atmosphere was great, but the staff disappointed me ..although they were help full when asked , they could have been friendlier..I hope this was just an "off" night for the staff and that in the future they will smile more, try to up sell on beverage and be more attentive.
After all we enjoyed the evening and I would recommend this Argentinian steakhouse to those looking to experience some of Argentina in the Caribbean... with a view of Curacao!