This is a picture from Willemstad, Curacao with Clayton and the ship in the background. The other picture is from a tour we took around the town. Clayton is sitting in Jewish Synagog. The room where he is is for guests. The floor is sand. Only members of the Jewish Synagog can walk on the carpet.

Next page of the diary---This is our last port.

Friday, February 16, 2001---
We docked in Williamstad, Curacao at 8am. We will be departing at 6pm and will be at sea for the next two days.

Diane, Frank, Clayton and I all went on the Trolley Car Tour this morning. Diane had purchased a beautiful watch and gold necklace yesterday in Aruba. If you are into buying expensive jewelry these islands are the place to do it. I am not into buying expensive jewelry.

We wore Clayton out with walking back to the Trolley Tour. We had lunch on the ship and both Clayton and Frank were going to take naps. Diane and I wanted to walk back uptown. When we had walked back to the ship after the Trolley Tour, we crossed the river on a pedestrian bridge. It is a swinging bridge. When boats go through, the bridge just moves down the river on a track and lets the boats go through and then returns.
We really enjoyed the Trolley Tour and the history of the island. Very big, beautiful houses. Most houses had at least 17 or 18 bedrooms. The island was originally settled by the Spanish in the 1600,s. Eventually the Dutch took over. This island also is not in the Hurricane belt but they do have strong winds at times. Today was pretty windy. I think if you lived here, every day would be a bad hair day.

Diane and I did walk back to town after lunch. Donna didn't go with us as she had already walked too far and her knee was bothering her again. It was 82 degrees when we walked after lunch. We must have walked at least 3 miles before we got back to the ship. I think Diane was trying to see how many shops she could go into. It was fun. I had bought a nice carry bag in Jamaica. While we were going to the stores here, I saw a darling outfit on a model and decided to buy it. It has an orange background with flowers and there was a cute hat to match. As a matter of fact they sold me the hat off the model. I know the outfit looks better on the model than me, but it caught my eye and I just wanted it. Also I bought a cane for Clayton. I don't know if it will be practical to use but it has a horse's head and will make a good addition to his collection of canes.
I forgot to mention that when Diane and I went shopping after lunch, we were going to go across on the bridge. You have to cross the river to get into town. We walked up the street and we couldn't find the bridge. For a minute we thought we had walked on the wrong street and then we saw the track from the bridge. The bridge just goes down the river and completely disappears. We took the ferry across. There was a passenger limit posted. I forget what it was now. Anyway, I don't think anyone really paid attention because it was jammed full of people. After our shopping, the bridge still hadn't come back. People ride that bridge up and down the river even though signs are posted not to.
Curacao is the largest of the 5 islands that comprise the Netherlands Antilles. It is 38 miles long and 7.5 miles at its widest point. Approximately 170,000 people live on the island. Dutch is the official language. Also, like Aruba, the streets are narrow and neat but is like rush hour traffic even in the morning.
I just had so much fun walking to town with Diane and walking the bridge and riding the ferry. I am so fortunate the heat doesn't bother me. I love it. It was still 82 at 5:30pm.
Donna really did too much today and also the heat was bothering her. She and Laif cancelled the tour they were going to do because there was going to be too much walking and climbing. I have been having a great time. I suppose eventually the heat and walking will catch up with me. Not for awhile, I hope. Clayton isn't doing much walking as his knee is bothering him a lot. Also, somehow he managed to get a blister on his heel.
We went on the Sunset Catamaran Cruise. It turned out to be fun. I can see with the wrong crowd it would be possible to have a pretty wild time. There were quite a few people drinking Rum. The rest of us just had pop or punch. Everyone was having fun but it was a nice crowd. There was one lady on the boat older than me. We had a nice tour around the harbor. We saw the Sunset. It was getting dark when we got back to our ship. Our ship was all lit up and was a beautiful sight. There were two other cruise ships docked near us. The Vision was the largest of the cruise ships in port. The town is so beautiful at night. The shopping mall is right across the pier and all the bushes were lit up with Christmas tree lights.
We missed dinner in the dining room because of the Catamaran Cruise so we ate at the Windjammer Cafe. After we ate, we went to the show that had been cancelled. It was so good. Singing and dancing numbers from hit Broadway plays.


Picture of Clayton in the Jewish Synagog.