Gym's Ramblings: June 2026

Curaçao - March 20-30, 2026

A pair of Curaçao flamingoes

A nice sunset from the beach at the Curaçao Marriott
Beach Resort

Who knew that Curacao was one of four countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Having landed in Amsterdam a few times, the author assumed the kingdom was just the European country of the Netherlands itself. It turns out though that the kingdom includes three countries in the Caribbean too. Curacao, Aruba and Sint Maarten are also self-governing states within the kingdom. All three of these island nations are located in the West Indies and this year Curacao gained notoriety as the smallest country to make it into the FIFA World Cup.

Curacao is home to about 160,000 citizens. They are self-governing except for foreign relations and defence which are managed entirely by the Dutch government. One of the cool things that Mr. Gym and his lovely sidekick learned during their stay there was that the locals learn to speak four languages in school. Papiamento is a Creole language that all native Curacaoans use daily. They also learn Dutch as citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. English is necessary due to the overwhelming percentage of tourists that speak that language and tourism is the primary driver of the economy. Finally, due to the fact that the South American mainland is only 40 miles away, Spanish is a language that is critical as well. One morning after the dynamic duo were seated for breakfast, the server opened up in Dutch until Mrs. Gym answered in English. Gym and his dear wife with their fair skin and practical bearing must have looked Dutch. The locals are so lucky to be multi-lingual.

Curacao itself is a true desert island. The interior is very much like an Arizona landscape. It is a cactus-strewn, semi-arid environment that gives it a very "Southwestern" feel. To set it apart from the American Southwest though, in the middle of the island, there is a shallow and saline lake that is home to a large flock of flamingoes. The traveling twosome spotted several of these bright pink birds the day they toured the island with a good local guide. They also explored the beautiful capital city of Willemsted, the best beaches on the island and the Atlantic coast that is a nasty place to swim in but a beautiful place to explore. On the west side of the island the desert gives way to bougainvillea and palm trees where the ocean-front subdivisions have been developed. That is where most of the nicer resorts are located.

Because Mr. and Mrs. Gym had been very loyal customers of Bonvoy Hotels, their 10-day stay on Curacao was paid for in points. The Curacao Marriott Beach Resort was their home base for this trip. It is really a very well-kept spot with many great amenities including beautiful gardens, two nice pools (one is adults only), several good restaurants and nice clean rooms. The service was not completely up to Marriott standards in a couple of areas though. In terms of location, the hotel is a four-kilometre walk from Queen Wilhelmina Park in downtown Willemstad. There is seaside walkway that stretches along the coast for most of the way, then you must use the sidewalk along Pater Euwensweg Street until you get to St. Anne Bay and then you cross to scenic old town on the floating pedestrian bridge. Downtown there are several shops, a number of nice eateries and some cool watering holes.

The best thing about staying at the Marriott was the view of the great sunsets that we witnessed from our balcony or the beach.