Best West-Coast Beaches
Here is a visual snapshot of paradise from Watamula down to the Blue Room. Westpunt, the most north-westerly point in Curacao, has most beautiful and pristine sandy beaches, soft as powder, made from the island’s white coral. The main beaches as you travel down the westerly coastline are Playa Kalki, Playa Forti, Playa Gipy, Grote Knip and Kleine Knip. The beaches are hidden between the rocky cliffs and magically appear as you motor off the coast in a boat or drive down the windy roadway. Some beaches are secret and secluded. Go to the northerly tip near the large coral geysers and you will find a snow white inlet that you can spend the day in peace and quiet.
Filleting a Blackfin Tuna
I am going to show you how to fillet a Blackfin Tuna for sashimi and fish soup. Yum! If you are lucky to live in Curacao near Playa Piscado in Westpunt - pick up a whole tuna 1.5 kilograms or more. Once you have made a crescent cut, join the top incision with a straight cut on the top of the fish and then down the same from the gill down the belly. Do not cut too deep just to pierce the skin. You now have a cut around the one side of the fish. Now the tricky part. Grab the skin at the top point and pull the skin off slowly.
Curacao’s Fauna, Fish & Fowl
Watamula Cactus Scrublands is a haven for over two hundred bird species and other wildlife. The Iguanas is a perfect Villa animal: loves sun and hardly moves. The Whiptail Lizard is native to Curaçao: thin brown ones (lagadishi) are the females and young, the larger blue green ones (blò-blò) are male. Wara is a solitary scavengers that hunt for their food on the ground. Found on other islands, it is only called Wara Wara in Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire. Read more about the Cliff Villa residence.
Curacao Shopping Tips
Outside of the wonderful local fish and a few greenhouse herbs, the island has lots of imported options. Carrafour and Van den Tweel give you a slice of Europe - Van den Tweel is wonderful for self-squeezed orange juice but just doesn’t full the Curacao pantry for me. My favourite supermarket is Centrum … mainly because of the vegetable and fruit section - the life of any kitchen. Here is a shopping list for Centrum Supermarket based on what I deem to be necessities. I have broken them into categories: fish, soup, steak, dessert … I have also given high level cooking instructions to guide your selection.
Watamula Park
The bird life and unique white-tailed deer are already in retreat from the urban zoning along the coast. Saving the pristine stretch of coastline along the tip of the island is a heritage for the next generation. The bird life and unique white-tailed deer are already in retreat from the urban zoning along the coast. Saving the pristine stretch of coastline along the tip of the island is a heritage for the next generation. Westpunt is a destination for a growing number of tourists that seek scuba and land-based activities that are not readily available in the more developed part of the island.
Save Watamula
Save Watamula! Save beautiful, iconic Watamula and make it part of the eco-corridor with Christoffel National Park … Red het prachtige, iconische Watamula en maak het onderdeel van de ecocorridor met Christoffelpark. This desert scrub eco-region is a haven for over two hundred bird species and other wildlife such as white-tailed deer. We all need to lobby to have this area protected for the forna, flora and wildlife. This is a valuable destination for tourists exploring the natural sea geysers carved into the coral. We are actively lobbying to make Watamula a protected nature preserve.
Best Fish Soup in the Caribbean
This soup is simple and allows you to substitute ingredients. What you cannot substitute is a fresh fish from Playa Grandi - Red Snapper is my go to fish however Tuna is also delicious. Fillet fish and use the left-over to make the stock. Place in pot with water and salt to boil. Chop white and red onions, scallions, leaks, garlic (lots of everything) Add dry bay leaves. Add salt, black and|or white pepper and two palm fills of paprika (important). Add cayenne pepper to taste
Curacao’s Fish
Fish of Westpunt, Curacao: Walk ten minutes from Cliff Villa to Playa Piskadó on the edge of Playa Grandi in Westpunt to buy fish directly from the fishing boats. Barracuda, Mahi Mahi, Blacktail Tuna, Yellowtail Tuna, Red Snapper, Queen Snapper, Yellowtail Snapper, Wahoo, Sailfish, Amberjack, Bluejack, Black Grouper, Lobster, Octopus, Lion Fish and many more.
Best Ceviche in the Caribbean
There is no question that the following recipe is the best and most delicious ceviche in the Caribbean. It will change your life. It is simple and allows you to substitute ingredients. What you cannot substitute is a fresh fish from Playa Grandi - Blackfin Tuna is my go to fish however Red Snapper, Queen Snapper and Lionfish are also delicious. Add limes, brown sugar, red onion, scallions, passion fruit, kosher salt, hot pepper and love.
Curacao Cocktails! Devil’s Eye
The discovery of the Blue Curacao drink is an amazing story - half mistake and half out of necessity. By accident the liqueur was invented on the island from the dried peels of the Laraha bitter orange imported from Spain. The Laraha orange now grows on Curaçao but it originated from the Seville orange, which Spanish explorers brought over in the early 1500s. It was a fortuitous discovery as the actual orange is too bitter to think of using in a recipe. Ingenious moonshine makers worked out that they could extract the delicate favor and Curaçao Liqueur was born.
Stargazing in the Caribbean
Curacao is location just north of the equator means view magnificent views of both northern and southern constellations. If you are coming from the north, you are in for a Curacao treat. Stand on the tip of Cliff Villa Peninsula and look for constellations such as Crux, Carina and Centaurus, and objects such as the Carina Nebula and the Jewel Box cluster. These are astronomical gems that cannot be seen from North America or Europe. Note that in the Caribbean, the moon and planets pass overhead, as opposed to being close to the horizon as you may experience in Europe and North America which means the objects are brighter and clearer.
Preserving Beautiful Watamula
The Cliff Villa Peninsula is in the center of the Watamula Nature Preserve. It is part of a larger network of parks which will be connected by ecological corridors. The entire area is surrounded by the turbulent water called Watamula from the Dutch word Watermolen meaning “water mill.” The nature preserve stretches from Sabana Westpunt to the westerly tip of the island where you can walk on a lunar-like landscape and watch the sea erupt from natural sea geyser carved into the coral over the millennia. The two westerly currents meet at Cliff Villa Peninsula making it a remarkable drift diving spot.
The Last Home in Curacao
Cliff Villa is the most remote and beautiful home on the island of Curaçao. It is on the tip of the west point of the island. While remote and private in a gated luxury community it is only 45 mins from the airport and the city of Willemstad. Under the Villa two currents meet stirring up the marine nutrients making it the premium diving location on the island. This dive area is called Watamula which comes from the word “water mill” in dutch. Watamula streaches to the north with a wild coast line ending in a secret beach before you turn onto the coral flats where you find the famous Watamula blowholes - spraying each pounding wave into the sky.
Winner: Luxury Villa Award 2021
Cliff Villa is proud to be selected the winner of the 2021 Luxury Villa Award. We are honored to be chosen alongside breathtaking villa properties in Italy and Bali. Curacao is an emerging luxury destination in the Caribbean. We are excited to be an example of the beauty of the island and a place luxury seeking travels can enjoy the spectacular views of dolphins and whales from the 140 ft infinity pool. The Villa is a spectacular 8,333 square ft home perched on a 40 ft cliff with 360 degree ocean and mountain views, surrounded by sugar-white beaches and the best diving in the Caribbean.
Two Currents: Diving at it’s Best!
Two currents meet in the sea in-front of the Villa making it the premium diving location on the island. The dive area is called Watamula which comes from the word “water mill” in dutch. The waters bring together a wide range of marine species. The topography of this dive site is a fantastic playground for marine life and features extensive growths of soft corals, tunnels between hard corals, gorgonian sea fans catching nutrients from the currents, and a spectacular pillar collar. The currents makes it a fantastic destination for a drift dive.
Wind-Powered Westpunt
As a Dutch island, windmills have been used for centuries. Historically, wind has powered hundreds of pumps to irrigate local orchards but more recently wind has been used to power the grid. Curacao now farms more than 30 percent of its energy from wind power. Since launching in 1993, the plants (Terra Korá and Playa Kanoa) have been a tremendous success: the annual output of the main turbines is enough for 21,000 homes. There are a total of 75.000 homes on the island so that is approximately a third of its residential energy use. Cliff Villa Peninsula is next.
Cliff Villa hosts Bon Bini Holland
Bon Bini Holland was a 2015 Blockbuster. It was the highest attended Dutch film in the Dutch Caribbean of all time. The comedy feature’s Humberto Tan, Jörgen Raymann and Tania Kross - The film is entirely spoken in Dutch, with small portions in local Papiamentu. Cliff Villa in Westpunt, Curacao was proud to be the luxury location of the second film, Bon Bini Holland 2.
Luxury Zoom Travel
In a world of Zoom face-offs and remote work destinations, any luxury destination needs to become a “WeWork” enabled workplace. Often remote-and-wild does not align with fast internet. Any destination that has the word luxury in their meta tag needs to focus on fast and furious internet connections. Cliff Villa, for example, is the last house on the far west point of the island. While breathtaking, it was a challenge to set up high speed internet connectivity for the roaming city-goer.