During the age of New World exploration, after sailors suffered through the windless boredom of the horse latitudes, the much-welcomed trade winds lured these European navigators on a more or less direct path to the island's shore. The winds weren't always infallible, however, steering quite a few hapless sailors and pirates on a collision course with the island's precipitous cliffs. The many shipwrecks-turned-coral reefs in the island's surrounding crystal-blue waters are testament to this fact.

Undoubtedly, an entire vacation in Curaçao could be enjoyed simply basking in the trade winds' warm breeze on white sands beneath a coconut palm, or amongst the sea's undulating currents examining the riotous corals and gaudy fish. This would be a completely satisfying vacation. But if the wind is followed away from the beach, the island reveals an entirely different treasure trove of history and culture to discover. After a few beachside days, for example, a vacationer might find herself saying to her companion, "Bon dia, after carco stoba near the Riff, let's swallow a Purple Gecko." To which her companion would reply, "Hopi bon, but I'd also like to take in some tambu and a French Pirate." Both would smile. The treasure hunt would be on.

Bon Dia, Hopi Bon
It isn't code language or pirate-speak, it's Papamiento, which sounds almost Spanish, African, or even Dutch. It is the island's widely spoken Creole dialect, a rich blend of the three, with some French, Portuguese, and Arawak also thrown into the eclectic mix. Bon dia means "good day," and hopi bon means "very good." To understand how the language evolved, one must understand a little about the island's history.

Although the Spaniards were the first to lay claim to Curaçao's soil, they were stunned to find that they weren't the island's only inhabitants. "Land of the giants" is the phrase Spanish explorer Amerigo Vespucci coined to describe the island's native Arawak Indians, who tended to tower over the shorter Spaniards. Unfortunately, their size was no match for infectious disease brought over from Europe, and the tribe was virtually wiped out in a relatively short period of time.

By the 1600s, the Dutch had claimed Curaçao from the Spaniards, and it became the center of the Dutch slave-trading empire in the New World. Because it is outside the hurricane belt, Curaçao is very dry, which means that there is very little agriculture or farming on the island itself. For this reason, the Dutch would trade the slaves that were brought to its shore with surrounding Caribbean neighbor islands.

During this time, Curaçao became a crossroads for people from all over, from the English and French explorers trying to wrest the island away from Dutch control, to Portuguese Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition, African slaves awaiting assignment, and remnants of the Arawak tribe. The language developed as a way to create a common ground for communication. That it is still in use is testament to the strong representation of slave descendants who today thrive as one of the island's most influential populations.

The Riff
The trade winds blow fresh air from the sea inland from the east, but the salt has not deteriorated the city of Willemstad's colorful, 19th-century Dutch architecture and 17th-century stone fortresses, such as the Riff. The island's main city and capital of the Netherlands Antilles, Willemstad, is a living museum of architecture. The Curaçao Museum is a fine example of 19th-century Dutch architecture. To go even further back in time, the venerable Mikvé Israel Emanuel Synagogue is the oldest continually operating Jewish synagogue in the Americas. Founded in 1651 by Jews from Amsterdam, the synagogue is celebrating its 350th anniversary this very year. The floor of the synagogue is coated with sand, and it is easy to imagine that it was blown in by the gentle trade winds, but it was actually laid down with care according to an ancient Jewish custom. The sand is meant to evoke the desert in which the Israelites and Moses wandered for 40 days and 40 nights after escaping from the Pharaoh in Egypt.

Willemstad, spread around the picturesque St. Anna harbor, has transformed many of its historic fortresses and buildings into restaurants, so dining out in Curaçao can be included in most everyone's sightseeing list. At the Riff Fortress, for example, Bistro Le Clochard has been serving gourmet cuisine for years. The fortress was originally constructed in 1828 by the Dutch to provide the island's main defense against pirates, marauders, and competing nations. In those days, the bombproof fort was full of muskets and canons, rather than diners and waiters. If the alert was sounded, a great chain could be stretched all the way across St. Anna harbor in just 12 minutes' time to lock it off to enemies.

In recent years, the city of Willemstad has poured a lot of money into this area in an effort to create a historic yet tourist-friendly area along the lines of San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. Although the area features an odd juxtaposition of modern street performers and stodgy guards dressed in full regalia, it is a pleasant place to pass an afternoon. Visitors can opt to take a horse-and-carriage tour, dine in restaurants housed in other fortresses, and shop for candy and South American crafts. Or, simply watch the famous Queen Emma pontoon bridge as it swings open at regular intervals throughout the day to let ships into the harbor, sails billowing in the breeze.

Carco Stoba and Tambu
The waters surrounding the island also yield many treasures. Carco is the conch shell and stoba is the stew. Served along with other dishes of stewed octopus, Creole shrimp (kiwa), fresh fish, funchi (the island's cornmeal staple), and a typical Curaçao meal is in the making. A piña colada is an appropriate accompaniment, as is an Amstel Light, brewed from the island's distilled seawater. In fact, a desalination plant provides safe and delicious drinking water for everyone on the island. A good thing, since the island has no fresh-water source of its own.

After the meal, if the timing is right, the sounds of intense percussion rhythms of tambu music might waft over on a stray gust of wind. Brought over from Africa, the music utilizes conch shells as horns. You will also hear the bastel, which is made of a gourd that is cut in half, placed into a tub of water, and played with the fingers. The tambu itself is also a type of drum. These instruments are complemented by the sound of marakas and the benta, a string stretched between a bent stick, which functions as a soundboard. Listen to the rhythms--if you dare. So provocative is tambu music that public performances are limited to certain times of the year.

A Purple Gecko and a French Pirate
By now, the cocktail crowd might have already identified the French Pirate and Purple Gecko as drinks in which the main ingredient is the island's orange-flavored liqueur. The taste is as sweet as the island itself. Hundreds of years ago, the Spaniards brought over the bitter orange trees that constitute the essence of the drink. Appropriately named Curaçao, the elixir can be clear or colored orange, blue, or green. There may be small variations in the amount of bitterness among the colors, but the taste is essentially the same. Other popular cocktails using Curaçao include the Blue Whale and the Blue Hawaiian. Bottles of the liqueur are sold at the source, the Senior Curaçao Liqueur Factory.

X Marks the Spot
It may dawn on visitors to Curaçao that a treasure hunt on the island is no treasure hunt at all. It's too easy, because with such a richness of history, culture, and natural beauty, the prize lies all around.•