Curacao is a small rock in the Caribbean Sea that has these very special elements; you will be astonished. If not on your first visit, then certainly the second time you will visit the island you will ask yourself why you are here again. The special ingredients of this small rock open only the eyes of the ones who are willing to see. Even the blind can feel, smell and taste the real beauty of this rock. It is sad that those who are able to see sometimes lack the ability to observe the natural beauty of this island.

Curacao is not the best known island in the Caribbean, but nevertheless it’s one of the special ones. It can even be considered a deprivation that Curacao is only mentioned on the Unesco world heritage list for things that are mainly manmade and not for her original natural treasures. One has to challenge himself to see the real beauty of nature of this island and her inhabitants.

It is also known that one doesn’t get respect, but that respect has to be earned. This small island surrounded by the second element water, clear blue warm tropical seawater, earned my total respect. It’s even so that after having lived and worked on this piece of rock for ten years, I still frequently discover, and above all enjoy precious new elements of the island’s natural beauty. The art is to learn to see these small sized things that are present on a large scale.  

As a certified rescue diver I first discovered the underwater beauty of life that surrounds the island, the birds that enhance the beauty of the blue skies, the flora and fauna that each have their own characteristics and beauty, but all of which share the most important characteristic elements of the climate of this rock and have created a means to survive the elements of nature such as the tropical sun and the strong northeast island winds.

The early morning and late afternoon natural light gives this island an even more scenic atmosphere, especially when the astonishing scenic sights mix with the clear blue sky. I have been around in the world (backpacking and in luxury), but the island of Curacao stole my heart. I’m a very proud “Yu di Korsow” (child of Curacao).

Curacao doesn’t have long stretched white sandy beaches, but you will find several small romantic sandy coves, which can give you the privacy you sometimes wish for. All in all Curacao is a very unique island. Perhaps these are the reasons why the Spanish, when they drew the Caribbean Sea map in the 15th century, called this piece of rock “Corazon”, Spanish for heart, which name was later changed to the present name Curacao, which is Portuguese for heart.

As mentioned before it’s not only the magnitude that counts, but far more the special elements of the island, which were created by the true force of nature.

The beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

Gerrit Scheper