While we were eating, M came to our table and started talking again about dining. He said that they didn’t make any different arrangements because they thought we were all one group, since we were all talking to each other (we’re fairly friendly people). We assured him that we were actually three different family groups and we would be glad to sit somewhere else if need be – but that we really liked Voltan and August (our assistant server) and wanted to keep them. M said he would talk to his manager and see what could be done, and then left. After a few minutes, he came back and said that he talked to his manager and they were going to arrange for us to have a private table. He said to find them tonight and they would show us where we were going to sit. He left again, and we finished eating. I headed back to the room and Molly headed out the other way – and ran into August, who held her hand all the way out, apologizing that we had a crowded time at dinner.
Once our dining drama was over, we went to the Rainforest Room for a bit. We stayed there until lunch, which we had, and then got ready for our excursion and headed to D Lounge to meet up with our group.
This excursion is a “City Walking Tour of Curacao.” I have been to Curacao once before and didn’t take a tour – I just walked about a bit. This time I thought it would be nice to have a guide.
Our group assembled on the ship and then walked out to the pier to meet up with our tour guide, a somewhat disheveled middle-aged dude. He said he was from the Netherlands, and probably gave us his name, but I was at the back of the group and really didn’t hear him (a possible problem to come). Anyhow, soon we were off.
Did I mention this was just after noon and it was very sunny and hot? Another possible problem to come.
Anyhow, we headed off to the town, passing a sign that said “Free Walking Tours,” of which ours was not. Our tour guide would stop every so often and give us some historical facts. I would share them with you, but I don’t remember them all. Along the way as we walked along the bay, we saw a “long ship” come in. It was pretty cool.
We heard a lot about the construction of the buildings and how hard it was with all the sea water and how the sea air would react to the exterior of the buildings and cause them to blister, so then they had to repair the buildings and repaint them. Our tour guide was very vigilant about pointing this out many times.
Our walking tour continued as we saw many historical buildings, the floating bridge, the drive through produce market, and the Maritime Museum. We finished up walking through downtown (things were closed because it’s Sunday) and ended up close to where we started. Our tour guide said we could walk back to the ship or take the free ferry. Since everyone was pretty much sweating profusely, we opted for the ferry. At least until we notice the ferry drivers loading the ferry, and recent ferry disaster news reports started flashing in our heads. Molly and I decided to walk back.
By this time, we were nearly melted. So instead of stopping at the local Starbucks, we headed back to the ship and its cool air. Back onboard, we cooled off, had a snack, and a little bit of Rainforest Room. Soon it would be time for dinner – where would we be sitting???
At our designated time, we headed into Royal Court (our assigned dining room for tonight). As is our luck, who immediately were behind us? George and Sylvia! I didn’t know what to say – do I mention that we may be seated elsewhere? Zoltan saw us, and started leading us to our new seating assignment – a private table for two close to our former table. George and Sylvia were following until Zoltan said, “No, no,” and took them to our former table. Of course, I wondered all during dinner what they were thinking. I even considered going over and explaining everything, but Molly could see their table and said that the niece was there with Debbie and Dude, so I decided to wait until later. We finished our dinner and headed back to our room. Tomorrow is another sea day!
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| Carillion that plays Michael Jackson tunes at times. |
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| Will the big tanker make it under the bridge? It did!! |
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| Our ship and the tall ship coming into port |
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| The tall ship in port - and yes, those are people standing on the masts! |
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| The floating bridge. You have to wait for it sometimes. |
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| A church. Where there's a cannonball from the old days still lodged in the exterior wall. |
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| Erosion. Repair and painting soon to follow. |
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| Art in the yard. |
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Blessings today include: RR quiet in the morning; sweating buckets during the tour; observing a crowded ferry; chatting with our fellow tour groupers
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