Category Archives: Valley Moments
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Activities: Day Passes at an All-Inclusive
WILLEMSTAD, CURACAO – Since this trip to Curacao was extra special as I was celebrating my 30th birthday and as a solo traveler I also had to budget my time and money. I wanted the ‘unlimited’ drinks experience you can get at an all-inclusive. So Sunday afternoon, I went to the Acoya Hotel where I purchased a $65 dollar night-pass where you can have unlimited food and drinks. I had several drinks, a late lunch at the bar and a dinner at the Lakeside Grill restaurant. I really enjoyed my time at Acoya and definitely would’ve booked my stay there if I had a little bit more money.
Saturday was my actual birthday and Avila Beach Hotel kindly gave me a beach day pass for that day. I explored the property and spent about 4 hours there before making my way to my dinner reservation.
Acoya Curacao Resort
Greeted by breezy island palms, ACOYA CURACAO Resort, Villas and Spa is an upscale resort nestled in the heart of Curaçao. The apartment styled suites and spacious villas are tranquil, family-friendly retreats with a wide array of amenities and services. Centrally located to Curacao’s most beautiful beaches, famous dive spots and exciting tourist attractions.
Avila Beach Hotel
The Avila Beach Hotel is a centrally located luxury beachfront resort in Willemstad on Curacao with an authentic soul, two private Beaches and Cultural & Culinary events. It is the oldest operational hotel in Curacao and has received many awards from notorious international travel platforms such as TripAdvisor, Fodor’s Travel and New York Times.
Realize: Colegio Nechi Pieterz
WILLEMSTAD, CURACAO – After my snorkeling tour since it was a one-on-one session I had gotten to know the tour guide who told me a bit about his charity work he was doing for a local school after learning that I work in grocery and at a community grocery store in social media. I do not think it’s a coincidence that I met him and my boss loved his story. After raising the initial money for the school to restore it and rebuild the kitchen he is doing a heritage/cultural challenge by kayaking from Amsterdam to Curacao since that is how his family came over to the island. This school is for children from broken, abusive, and toxic families and is working on turning it also into an oasis for them to escape. He wants me to help with the social media promotion part on his challenge so it could lead to a paid gig. But this story/experience certainly fits under the ‘realize’ category of my blog! Below are the pics from a brief tour of the school and meeting the principle.
Kolegio Nechi Pieters is a Roman Catholic school and comes under the Central Roman Catholic School Board Foundation (RKCS). The school was founded in 1977 and is located in the Buena Vista district. The school was first called “Santa Martha School”. In February 1977 the Roman Catholic School Board changed the name to “Jozef Cornelius Nechi Pieters” or Nechi Pieters. The name chosen for a school is that of a talented teacher who has worked in education for more than 40 years. Besides being a teacher, Nechi is also a gifted painter. The choice of the Roman Catholic School Board to rename the Santa Martha school in Kolegio Nechi Pieters is related to the fact that Nechi Pieters was a good example for children and to keep remembering him as a a good teacher and painter.
Hato Caves, Flamingo Park and Punda – Curaçao 2020
Inquiry: Landhuis Chobolobo – Blue Curacao Cocktail Workshop
WILLEMSTAD, CURAÇAO – Friday, I went to the Landhuis Chobolobo Cocktail Workshop and learned how to make a cocktail with the Blue Curacao Liquor. I highly recommend this workshop for any foodie as it was very informative and entertaining. The workshop started with a tour of an exhibit of how the liquor was made, then a tasting and a workshop to make two cocktails. After the workshop I had dinner at the Cabana beach club near my hotel. A taxi ride got me to the tour and back to the hotel and I was able to reserve and book through the website – Viator.com.
Here is some info about Landhuis Chobolobo (Landhuis is the word for plantation).
- Landhuis Chobolobo is one of Curacao’s most renown 19th-century country mansions
- Visit the Curacao Liqueur Distillery
- Learn everything about the Genuine Curacao Liqueur and the island of Curaçao
- Taste a sample of our fine craft Genuine Curacao Liqueurs
- Have a unique cocktail experience in our Chobolobo’s Cocktail Workshop
- Grab a bite or try our locally made ice cream
- Find original Curacao souvenirs and gifts
Residency: The Pier Beach Inn and Suites
WILLIAMSTAD, CURAÇAO – For my 30th birthday trip, I recently went to Curacao. It was a relatively easy destination to navigate, however, a rather long flight. It was closer to 9-10 hours rather than my usual 6-8 hours. I hadn’t gone anywhere since Greenland so I wanted this trip to be a little extra special. I must say trying to book Curacao on a budget was a little challenging. I ended up changing and canceling hotels a couple of times since the taxi rides from the airport were super expensive at night since that was when I was arriving.
Through my planning, I came upon The Pier Beach Inn and Suites and was a short walk away from the beach clubs that I was planning to go to. I ended up splitting my time with an activity in the morning and then beach time midday to sunset than with dinner
The Pier Beach Inn and Suites was exceptional for an economic option in Curacao. It was extremely clean, close to the desired location, had satisfying breakfast options, accommodating and friendly staff who were super helpful with travel hiccups. Though there was a rooster outside of my window most mornings that’s beyond their control.
Snorkeling, Avila Beach Hotel, Mood Beach – Curaçao 2020
Check out the photo gallery from my experiences of snorkeling, Avila Beach Hotel and Mood Beach!
Landhuis Chobolobo, Cabana Beach – Curaçao 2020
Personal Wellness at The Stonehedge Hotel Spa
TYNGSBOROUGH, MA – Continuing my personal wellness series, I did go to a Spa in November however I’ve just been so busy with the holidays that I haven’t had a chance or frankly motivation to post. But now I have and can post a few pics. Honestly I don’t have much to say other than it was a super casual but affordable experience. The food wasn’t really much to rave about and was a bite to eat but in a pinch it worked.
Inquiry: the Need for Survival in Plant-Based Cultures?
This week at work there was a presentation on the sustainability efforts and Microplastics. I was able to share a cool experience I had in Greenland about a woman who lived at the dorm while I was there who was working toward her PhD. She and her team were using microscopy to determine if the substances they were making were dissolving the plastic and from there I suppose you could develop environmentally-friendly packaging.
But recently that got me thinking about my project, initially my project was proposed as something to document the affects of climate change through my photography/imaging techniques. While in Greenland I took two plant-based subjects and photographed them four times through four different imaging techniques to get the artwork. After the fact and some thinking, the project is developing around the need of survival and the juxtaposition of aesthetics and art. But after this recent presentation and the woman who lived at the dorm sharing what she was doing, it gave me insight as to what climate change is doing to the environment of Greenland NOW rather than in the past or future. That the effects of pollution (and climate change) is impairing our need for survival.
This got me thinking about how other parts of the world survive. Greenland is very much a hunting culture (for both land and sea) so what about plant-based cultures and habitats, what are their needs for survival and how is pollution, microplastics and/or petroleum affecting their communities?
I am excited for how this development of the project will lead. Foraging is definitely a huge aspect of the need for survival and am wondering how other communities translate the organic byproducts into other parts of their society.