Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/617358
162 A colorful coastline, a lively cultural scene, and natural beauty make Curaçao a highly desirable destination spot. with thatch umbrellas, surrounded by rugged terrain, and looking out on turquoise water so clear that it appears lit from beneath somehow. I track down the teenaged boy renting out snorkeling equipment and hand him $10 (the official cur- rency is the guilder, but dollars are accepted everywhere), and then I begin flippering my way to the small coral reef on the far side of the beach. The next day, I tour downtown Willemstadt, the capital city and site of the island's most famous image—a cluster of colorful colo- nial buildings lining the Santa Anna Bay. Here, I learn the story of how nearly all of Curaçao's structures ended up painted in vibrant blues or pastel pinks or electric teals. The tale sounds to my ears more like legend than history, but our guide swears it's true. Once upon a time, the buildings were all white, but the Dutch governor of the island claimed that the glare from the sun was giving him headaches and ordered that they all be painted. Years later, it was discovered that the man also had a significant stake in the island's sole paint company. We spend some time at the float- ing market, where fishermen sell their catch dockside, and then pop inside the canary-yellow Mikvé Is- rael-Emanuel Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in the Americas. We're given several explanations for the temple's sand floor, one of which is that it recalls the Jewish people's 40-year exile in the desert. On our third day, it's back to the beach. This time we go to Jan Thiel, where the vibe is more upbeat than laid-back, with strangers chat- ting over piña coladas and Amstel Brights at the resort's beach bars, and families kicking soccer balls back and forth. I rent snorkeling gear again, and am promised a glimpse of a sunken ship, but the chop here is too much for me, so I sit in a lounge chair and watch Euro- pean tourists attempt to balance on a "flyboard"—a water-powered jet- pack that looks more novel than fun. Normally, I'm not much of a sun worshipper, but my trip to Curaçao comes just before the long, slow descent into the dark of New England fall and winter, so the next morning, in the hours before our flight is set to leave, we arrange to go to the beach one last time. As our ride sets out, I wonder whether it's worth the visit. It's drizzled rain all morning (the first bad weather of the trip), and the sky is cloudy as photographby Gail Johnson (top), by Elovich Photography (bottom) TRAVEL