Island smackdown

That sinking feeling
When I arrive the next morning to dive with Ocean Encounters, I fear I won’t fit into my wetsuit. We head out to Shipwreck Point, a lovely wall dive that rivals any of its more famous relatives at other dive destinations. I manage to squeeze into my neoprene, and we descend on another undersea wonderland. The steep wall is cut with sand chutes, and there’s a virtual forest of sponges and sensual sea rods, especially orange elephant ear sponges, brown encrusting sponges and purple stovepipe sponges. On this dive, a hawksbill sea turtle roams in from the blue and actually accompanies me as I meander down the wall, exploring the crevices along the way. I get so enthralled that I have such an escort that I almost miss a spotted eagle ray — with about a 10-foot tail — as it glides by with an elegance that must be seen to be believed. At the end of the dive, a fearless chain moray, all two feet of it, keeps a vigilant post while I off-gas, keeping an eye on me as if it’s trying to figure out why I won’t just go away and leave it be.

The east end of Curaçao, being so close to a major port, is notable for its plethora of wrecks and unique wreck sites. The most famous is the Tugboat at Caracasbaii, a small tug sunk ignominiously when a supertanker’s anchor dropped on it, sending it directly to its current resting place on the seafloor in 20 feet of water. There’s a larger tugboat in 30 feet of water on the sand at Saba. There’s a site called Car Pile, in about 90 feet of water, where you can see the lush growth that has taken over the cars, trucks and equipment dumped at the site — not to mention what comes out at night. And then there’s one of the most famous wrecks in the world, the Superior Producer, which sank just outside the harbor with a full load of rum, T-shirts and blue jeans (nobly repatriated by the locals). For our second dive, we head over to see the Tugboat and the nearby pilings.

I’m a huge fan of old docks, pilings and other such structures underwater because of how the sea quickly transforms them into magical, enchanted forests. The pilings next to the Tugboat are no exception. Yellow tube sponges, purple stovepipe sponges and red encrusting sponges lend the scene a touch of magic while the sunbeams filtering in and around the pilings bathe the dive in a constant twilight. Parrotfish, butterflyfish, and elusive frogfish and seahorses live their lives among these undersea “trees.” And just around the corner, at the end of the dive, the site of the Tugboat, seemingly nestled in the embrace of the reef, simply brings a smile to the face of any diver or snorkeler exploring the site.

Ty Sawyer The 'new' Queen Emma floating bridge, connects the two sides of the city.

That night, we all meet up in the “village square” of the Kura Hulanda to soak up an Old World tropical atmosphere found nowhere else on the planet. A local musician plays music, a subtle mix of local folk tunes that matches the warm night. Willemstad lists more than 750 of its buildings as historic, and when we wander downtown, each step reveals a lovely and intriguing blend of Old World and sultry Caribbean.

There are forts, striking Dutch architecture and the musical patois of the locals as they cross the Queen Emma floating bridge that connects the two sides of the city. Thick beats from nearby clubs wind their way through the streets and over the water in the harbor. Jody and I both admit that despite the many times we have come to Curaçao, we still have much more to experience, but even with Equus, I also have to admit that, for now, Jody reigns in Curaçao. Until I don the dive gear. As varied and interesting as Curaçao is above the water, its true frontier awaits below the surface. There lies an untamed seascape, still pristine and thriving and robust and wild. And until Jody follows me to the sea, she will never fully experience the other half of the world, the half of Curaçao that remains one of the Caribbean’s last true unexpected undersea realms.

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