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The Dutch Culture of Curacao

Curacao, along with Bonaire, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, and Saba, are all considered part of the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch came to power on Curacao in 1634 and to this day, Dutch remains the language of instruction in schools and is widely spoken in government and business. Over 2,000 makambas (the name coined for native Dutch people) have made the island their permanent home.

Stroll along the narrow streets of Willemstad, the capital of Curacao, and you’ll find exquisite 17th and 18th-century Dutch colonial buildings not found anywhere outside of the Netherlands. The steep pitched gable roofline is typical of Dutch urban architecture, but the bright bold palette painted on the walls of the buildings is undeniably Caribbean. First stop in town is Fort Nassau, a restored Dutch seafood restaurant created from the ruins of an 18th-century fortress and is now a favorite dining spot of Queen Beatrix and Crown Prince Claus of the Netherlands. Dine on fresh red snapper and grouper on a hilltop overlooking Willemstad with panoramic views of the ocean. Then head onward to New Amsterdam, a favorite store in Willemstad known for its hand-embroidered tablecloths and other Dutch novelties. Last, but certainly not least, make sure to pop into any of the grocery stores in town to grab Dutch chocolates and a wheel of very old Gouda. The latest resort to make its debut on the island is Hyatt Regency Curacao Golf Resort, Spa, and Marina. The hotel features a Pete Dye-designed golf course, private beach, spa, multiple pools, and 350 rooms offering water views.

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Shameless Self-Promotion

If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter, I apologize in advance for tooting our horn yet again. Last week, the Boston Herald published a 2-page spread on the work we do at ActiveTravels. Yesterday, the interview I had with Onward Nation on the joys and struggles of owning a travel business went live on a podcast. Of course, I talked about shameless self-promotion. Please have a look and listen and tell us what you think. 
 
Enjoy the weekend! I’ll be back on Monday with Travel Outside the Box Week, 5 blogs on destinations you should put on your wish list. 
 
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February Newsletter Now Available at ActiveTravels.com

Not surprisingly, we booked quite a few trips to Tuscany last summer. The hotels that received rave reviews from our clients are featured in this month’s newsletter, “Eat, Play, Live!” You’ll also find a detailed description of Israel from our own family trip, a highly reputable outfitter from Croatia that we recommend, and why we believe Global Entry is better than TSA Precheck. 

 
Since we started ActiveTravels, we have been churning out these monthly newsletters hoping to inspire your travels. One of our long-term goals was to categorize each of our headings, so members can have this library of information at their fingertips. We’re almost there. We’ve been working with web designers and we hope to be finished with this task by the end of the month. Simply type in your password and you’ll find close to 20 Quick Escapes to tempt you, or peruse our main feature, “News from the Road,” which tackles one region at a time, like Kenya, Turkey, or the Canadian Rockies.
 
I’m off to Jamaica for a much needed vacation, back on February 24th. Happy travels! 
 
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The Best Swimming Hole on Cape Cod

Last summer, I wrote a story for The Boston Globe on my ten favorite swimming holes on Cape Cod and never received so much mail. Hate mail, that is, from locals who were irate that I would divulge their favorite pond. Considering there are more than 300 ponds on the Cape, almost one swimming hole per day of the year, I was shocked that locals had such a devout loyalty to one particular locale. There are more than a dozen freshwater swimming holes on the Cape that I would happily take a dip, with much warmer waters than the nearby ocean. In Wellfleet, three ponds are connected by narrow water passages cut through the land called sluiceways. These were supposedly created by Native Americans to catch herring during their seasonal run. Rent canoes at Jack’s Boat Rental on Gull Pond and continue onward into Higgins and serene Williams Pond. This is the place where Henry David Thoreau met a Wellfleet oysterman he would write about in his book, Cape Cod. It’s also where architect and furniture designer Marcel Breur built his house on the shores, camouflaged by the trees. One swim here and you’ll return often, much to the dismay of locals.

Directions: Take Route 6 into Wellfleet and turn right onto Gross Hill Road. A sharp left onto Gull Pond Road and Schoolhouse Hill Road will lead you to the parking lot.
 

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Revolutionary War Battlefield Biking

In May, I wrote a road trip story for Chevrolet’s New Roads Magazine on Revolutionary War sites. I visited Minute Man National Historic Park in Concord, Massachusetts, Saratoga, and Valley Forge. What I realized was that all of these Revolutionary War battlefields offer exceptional biking opportunities. In Saratoga, a friend told me that the 10-mile park loop is part of a popular Sunday ride for bikers in the region. In Valley Forge, the rolling terrain is so ideal for bikers that they offer rentals. The bloody Battle Road from Lexington to Concord, which marked the start of the Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775, is now a great ride through the farmland to historic North Bridge, where local militia first confronted the large British regimen. I was so impressed with the riding at Minute Man National Historic Park that I returned with the family yesterday. We first went inside the Visitors Center where a 30-minute film gives a good overview of the remarkable events that occurred on April 19, 1775, the official start of the Revolutionary War. Battle Road is now an 8-mile ride through the rural countryside past the site where Paul Revere was captured by the British (they took his horse but surprisingly let him go). Extend your ride to swim at nearby Walden Pond like we did. 

 
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Finland Celebrates 100 Years of Independence in 2017

After 700 years of Swedish rule, the area known as Finland served as a battlefield for Russian-Swedish conflicts until it fell into Russian hands in 1809. As an autonomous grand duchy of the Russian Empire, it was allowed to develop politically, eventually leading to independence during the turmoil surrounding the Russian Revolution in 1917. To celebrate its centennial, Finland kicked off a year of festivities this past week with fireworks over Helsinki. Throughout 2017 there will be hundreds of events in this Nordic nation of 5.5 million, from dance parties to joint performances by the Sibelius Academy and Juilliard, to activities linked to Finland’s renowned sauna tradition. The government has earmarked 19 million euros for the celebrations, including the debut of a new national park, the nation’s 40th, highlighting the Finns’ love of nature. 

 
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Memorable Spring Bike Rides, Vancouver’s Stanley Park

The 9 km ride around the Seawall of Stanley Park can be done in less than an hour. Yet, by the time you stop at the world-class aquarium, see the selection of totem poles, and dine on sablefish (a tender and rich Northwestern whitefish) at the classic Teahouse for lunch, the day is over. Riding under towering Douglas firs and along the rocky shoreline, you’ll also stop numerous times to take pictures of the bay. On our last ride around Stanley Park, my family spent a good chunk of time being entertained by the sea otters at the Vancouver Aquarium. Less than 15 minutes later, we were watching river otters in the wild dining on crabs along the Seawall. Another unexpected find in a city of unexpected finds, the reason why I return to Vancouver as often as I can. 

 

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