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INTERVAL WORLD
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Fall 2015 IntervalWorld.com
Encircled by cerulean sea,
this culture-rich Dutch Caribbean isle
is unlike any other.
B ue
CuraçaoBY CELESTE MOURE
It’s another clear, warm night in Willemstad, Curaçao, and I’m sitting with new
friends on the outdoor patio of a trendy little restaurant. We’ve tasted local
dishes — each one better than the last — that blend cooking traditions and
spices from numerous parts of the world, including the Netherlands and Africa.
The local Creole language, called Papiamentu, also borrows from those countries and, for good measure, sprin-
kles Spanish, French, Portuguese, and English words. Around us, Dutch colonial–style buildings painted in
shades of emerald, pink, turquoise, and purple rise from the ground like giant cupcakes. The cool jazz sounds
from a nearby bar and the scent of the sea waft up from the street below. Curaçao, as I’ve discovered during
my visit, is a Technicolor island that seduces all the senses.
Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the C in the ABC islands chain, 171-square-mile Curaçao (pro-
nounced Kur-uh-sew) and its sister islands, Aruba and Bonaire, sit just atop the Venezuelan coast. Yet the most
common response from people I mention my trip to this island country is: “Cure a what?” It may only be a three-
hour flight from Miami, but Curaçao looks, tastes, and feels like no other Caribbean island I’ve been to.
Take, for example, a plate of
keshi yená
. The traditional dish’s origins are steeped in Curaçao’s slavery past,
when kitchen workers would stuff scooped-out Gouda cheese rinds with spices and bits of leftover meats and
scraps, then steam it until it was soft again. The chef at Mundo Bizarro bakes the dish with chicken, juicy raisins,
peppers, capers, and a dash of hot pepper. Gooey and fiery, it’s the proverbial party in your mouth. We eat,
then we eat some more, and after dessert, we head over to a nearby bar, Miles Jazz Café, to drink sweet cock-
tails made with Blue Curaçao, a locally made liqueur flavored with the dried peel of a citrus fruit called
laraha
.
Celeste Moure