Curacao  - The Place To Be!  Dushi!

Unique being a Dutch Caribbean Island, you've heard of it in the bar and seem peculiar round ocean blue bottle in the liquor store!  Tempting, and so much more! Add a beautiful sandy beach tucked into a cove, sparkling clear water beckoning you. Where snorkelling, kayaking, swimming, and diving to see coral reefs and beautiful colorful underwater life are calling you! 

Can you say Curaçao? - (cure-a-sow [pig])  Call it one of the "ABC" Islands, in southern Caribbean and outside of the hurricane belt along with Aruba and Bonaire. Idyllic weather, balmy and the beaches stretch for destination weddings, honeymoons and romance. Choose one of our partners for an all-inclusive to intimate vacation to fit your dream getaway! Any month is a good month for a Curacao vacation, a Curacao wedding, a Curacao honeymoon or Business Meeting! Call PJ 503-260-0557 to start planning!

What To Do In Curacao

• ​A Dutch Caribbean island known for beaches tucked in coves and expansive coral reefs
• Get breakfast, get sticky eating mango, laugh with the locals at the market
•  Find one-of-a-kind crafts, jewelry, clothing and goods
• Get into the street culture with colorful murals in Otrobanda & Pietermaai neighborhoods.
  
• Check out Pietermaai, a cool avenue for food/night life with geometric shapes, portraits, political opinions
  
• LGBTQ friendly, all lifestyles welcome, (but same-sex legal marriage is not legal)
  
• Visit Museum Kura Hulanda in a 19th century slave quarters with exhibits that extensively cover the history of slavery in the Caribbean
  
• ​Find the famous blue women paintings around the city!​

 TIP: Iguana Stew Recipe 
... with a side of bitterballen*! 

• Listen as Curaçaoans ping pong between languages: Dutch, local creole, Spanish, Papiamentu, and English!​
• Get your signature Curacao liquor for home, choose flavors!​  
• ​Try Iguana Stew, make some at home!
• Learn about the music:  expect radios blasting bachata, reggaetón, American pop, tumba and ritmo kombina
• ​​Hang out at Handelskade (Merchant’s Wharf), with bars, authentic dining spots, the technicolor market, where fruit vendors from Venezuela dock to sell in bright stalls full of mangoes, plantains, papayas
• Check out the Queen Emma Floating Bridge (the rainbow bridge) at night! It's magical lights cast a shimmering rainbow on the water. Built in 1888, with original wooden boards, connects the Punda and Otrabanda capital neighborhoods!

TIP: When Rocking A Sick Plant
from a Curacao Medicinal Garden

Iguana Stew

It’s going to be difficult to find iguana at your local supermarket, so I suggest you substitute fresh tuna or chicken for the reptilian meat! The spices and other ingredients are the same as used in Curaçao, you will have a close rendition of this dish. Note: As the recipe cooks, you might need to adjust the consistency with more water or coconut milk. Ingredients:
​
    * 2 pounds iguana meat, or substitute tuna or chicken, in large chunks
    * Juice of 1 lime
    * 3 cups water
    * 1 cup coconut milk
    * 10 small potatoes, diced
    * 3 tomatoes, chopped
    * 3 bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
    * 1 cup noodles, such as macaroni
    * 2 bay leaves
    * ½ teaspoon oregano
    * 1 sprig parsley
    * 1 sprig thyme
    * 3 stalks celery, cut into ½ inch pieces
    * 2 habanero chiles, seeds and stems removed, chopped
    * 3 cloves garlic, chopped
    * Salt and pepper to taste
    * 1 ounce whiskey of choice

Instructions:  In a bowl, toss meat with the lime juice. Cover and while the meat is marinating, combine all the remaining ingredients, except the whiskey, in a large pot, and bring to boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook over low heat for 45 minutes. Add the marinated meat, adjust the consistency if necessary, cover and cook over low heat for the following times: iguana, 1 hour; tuna, 20 min.; chicken, 40 min.  Just before serving, add the shot of whiskey and stir well.  Servings 4-6  

* Bitterballen: a Dutch meat-based snack, typically containing a mixture of beef or veal, beef broth, butter, flour for thickening, parsley, salt and pepper, resulting in a thick roux