June 5th was a very bumpy and exhilarating day on a Jeep Safari Tour. I got to enjoy the wind in my hair and seeing the island as we go from our pick up at Chogogo to the northwestern part of the island. Along the way, we got to hear interesting stories about the governor and the president of Curaçao with the parliament. See various beautiful sights and learn about the history of the island. We were shown monuments, artworks such as a house made of recycled material, showing all that can be made from it. Our guide told us about the bike paths on the island and how it’s not part of the culture here to use them, compared to the Netherlands. Which is understandable, who wants to show up at work all sweaty. Instead, biking is more of an activity or an exercise instead of a mode of transportation.
Jeep Safari Tour Curaçao
It wasn’t until we reached Hato airport that we truly went off-road. Off-road really means driving into the wild vegetations of Curaçao, as the locals call it Mondi. All you can see is dense, prickly cactus and bushes. The ground covered in coral, dirt, and this red dirt found only in the northern part of the island. Cactus as far as the eye can see cover this terrain, cactuses which only bloom at night. Moreover, in the northern part of the island instead of bees, we have bats which pollinate. Our guide had an amazing range of stories, was extremely knowledgeable about the creation of Curaçao and many things that make Curaçao so unique.
Another interesting fact was that Curaçao was once underwater millions of years ago. We are an oceanic island, which means Curaçao was never attached to land. Thus, the island was formed when the lava released turned into basalt, which when in the water and in sunlight allowed for coral to grow on top of the lava. Curaçao then grew with the coral. The coast is where the coral grows and where you can still see to this day the fine layer of coral. The ground here is not fertile as it’s just dead coral, however, it is the perfect environment for the cactus to grow in. Since Curaçao is an oceanic island all animal life and most plant life came from settlers. The horses and goats on the island came from the Spanish and Dutch settlers. Alternatively, it was also brought by weather such as hurricanes which sends confused birds here. With the birds on the island, pooping seed, which lead to life being grown and creating the vegetation found here.
The north part of the island has an interesting history. In the Second World War, the Nazi’s were bombing the oil tankers in Curaçao. Thus, for the Americans to be able to defend the tankers, practiced bombing runs on the north part of the island as the guiding system technology did not exist then. They made a bull eye by creating rock circles and dropped dummy bombs.
Christoffel National Park
We made our way to the caves. Here we could clearly see what the ocean made and carved. We even got to say hi to the bats. A drive through to the other side of the northern coast. To the first Boca. We got to see water shot up into the air and taste fresh sea salt. Our next adventure was the nature Christoffel National Park, which hosts the highest peak mountain on the island. Who needs six flags or any other amusement park or roller coaster. Here on this island, we have our own roller coaster going around the valleys of the Christopher Park. Trill seeker enjoy the back of the Jeep Safari Tour! In the back, you can feel every bump and dip! Afterwards, we had a nice picnic lunch, with sandwiches and we had a moment to settle down.
