Tag Archives: playa lagun

Northern Curacao: Blue Room, Turtles, & Beaches

We decided that we wanted to explore the North side of the island (the Blue Room in particular) a little more and dragged Steve along for the ride.  He picked us up in his dinghy (since it is on the way) and we hopped on the free grocery bus.  We were then able to walk the short distance to Mickey’s Car Wash and Car Rental where we rented a small car for 55 naf ($30/day) with a two day minimum, which includes all taxes, fees and insurance.

Our little Hyundai i10

Our little Hyundai i10

Today was a day for errands and exploring.  Steve is rebuilding a grinder station and needed to find a machine shop.  He had originally stopped at a place by Napa Auto Parts while we were getting the car, but was redirected to another place called Mechanical Machine Shop Gabriella which happens to be located in the heart of a residential district.  We thought surely we were lost, but low and behold, maps.me directed us right to this hidden gem.  I had no idea what most of the machines were or did, but Matt and Steve were duly impressed.

The nice gentleman took his part and pressed the bearings out of his part.  Sweet!  He also told us where to get new bearings so we headed there next, to Kuzeta.  Unfortunately, after much measuring, researching, and checking inventory in the back they did not have either of the types of bearings Steve needed.  Bummer – but now its time to do something fun.

We wanted to start with the Blue Room since it had eluded us before.  We met a French family who found it on foot and gave us directions so we were determined to find it this time and if not we had a back up plan which was to pay $22 per person to take a tour with Captain Good Life who takes you by boat to the Mushroom Forest, the blue room, black sand beach and lover’s beach.  We drove straight to Playa Santa Cruz and arrived around 11:30 am, we easily found the trail and headed off with our snorkel gear, water, and camera equipment.  It was a fairly easy trail, nice dirt path, and not many cacti to avoid, step over or run into.

Matt & Steve on the initial hike

Matt & Steve on the initial hike

Within about 15-20 minutes we arrived at Playa Pretu which is also called black sand beach.   I will have to admit that the sand is darker than most, but I hesitate to call it “black” as it is really dark brown (in compared to other black sand beaches I’ve visited). None the less it is really pretty and deserted – no other people around.  We only stayed a short while as the blue room was beckoning us.

Playa Pretu

Playa Pretu “Black Sand Beach”

Playa Pretu

Playa Pretu “Black Sand Beach”

Matt found a small trail up a hill and off we went.  This trail was dramatically different from the first part of the trip in that it was small, narrow, ran along the cliff, and had tons of cacti to avoid (both on the ground and above ground).  It was not too terribly difficult in flip flops but it was a little challenging.  Our trusty maps.me app kept us pointing in the right direction until we finally came to the elusive cliffs at the blue room!

As we arrived, a group of four girls were just preparing to jump off the cliff (about 2-3 meters high) so we took our time to gather our gear and equipment before we followed them off the cliff.  Steve jumped in first and Matt tossed his snorkel gear after him, then I joined him.  I am not a fan of heights and jumping off a cliff in my bikini was not on my top 10 list, except I really did want to see the blue room so off I went.

Trying to convince myself to jump.

Trying to convince myself to jump.

Matt soon joined us and we headed into the cave.  The cave was U shaped so the highest entry point is in the center at 1-2′ from the water to the ceiling.  As you snorkel in, you are immediately greeted with the most amazing turquoise blue water.  It was spectacular!  Toward the back was a protruding rock that you could stand on and behind that rock were several schools of fish.  A breathtaking experience!

Entrance to

Entrance to “Blue Room”

​As it was past lunch time, we decided to head back. to the car  We scurried up the cliff and back down the trail – but wait!  We noticed a little intersection that presented us with a nice flat, dirt path about 3 meters wide and the original path we came on (narrow, by the cliffs).  We decided to take the new path which deposited us right back to Playa Pretu.  As we looked around we saw that there are two paths – the one we took to get there that was more challenging up along the coast and the much easier one down a dirt road.  Oh, well, it is an adventure after all.

Easy trail back to Santa Cruz

Easy trail back to Santa Cruz

We arrived back at the car hungry so we headed to Playa Lagun to eat at Bahia.  After we were fat and happy we decided to head back to Playa Piskado which is where we swam with the turtles.  This place is worthy of multiple visits. The majority of the turtles at Playa Piskado are juvenile green turtles.  As juveniles, they are omnivores which means they eat meat as well as plants.  At this beach, they primarily eat fish scraps from the fisherman’s daily catch.  As they get older, they will become herbivores eating mostly sea grass and algae.


Fishermen cleaning fish & feeding turtles

Fishermen cleaning fish & feeding turtles

Some turtles have names & are tagged.

Some turtles have names & are tagged.

Some turtles have names & are tagged.

Some turtles have names & are tagged.

Entrance Playa Piskado: Fun Art

Entrance Playa Piskado: Fun Art

Entrance Playa Piskado: Fun Art

Entrance Playa Piskado: Fun Art

We wanted to squeeze in one last stop before heading back, so we continued north and stopped at Playa Kalki which is in Westpunt at the far northern tip of the island.  This was a new spot for all of us, so we piled out of the car, headed down the short stairwell and were presented with a beautiful little rocky beach with a few palapas, a small eatery, and gorgeous water.  We were running low on time so we did not snorkel here but I made a note to come back at a later date.

Playa Kalki eatery

Playa Kalki eatery

Playa Kalki

Playa Kalki

Just your neighborhood goats crossing the road to get to the other side – somewhere on our drive back into town.

Goat traffic on opposite side of street

Goat traffic on opposite side of street

Conqueror:

  • Jumped off a cliff
  • Swam in a cave

A Mermaid’s Tale

Today we wanted to circle back to the bays (or baais) that looked like they had good snorkeling so we headed back to the north side of the island.  Our first stop was Playa Lagun which looked like a fun place to come back to have lunch.   We grabbed our snorkel gear, found a nice rock to leave our clothes and jumped in. Wayne was off to the races and quickly deserted us.  But, Matt stuck by my side and we enjoyed the beautiful little bay’s reefs and sea life.  This bay is also used for diving and many groups of people were learning how to dive and practicing their dive skills.  We met some lovely people who told us about a bay where you can swim with a lot of turtles.  So, we added Playa Piskado to our list.

Please don't swim away, I want to play with you.

Please don’t swim away, I want to play with you.

On the way to Playa Piskado, we came across Playa Kenepa Chiki where we hopped out, did a quick snorkel and got back on the road.

Playa Piskado

Playa Piskado

Next, we came across Playa Kenepa Grandi. There were tons of cars and two tour buses letting their passengers experience the amazing photo opp on a large overlook onto the bay. Since this was a pretty crowded place with lots of people on the beach we decided to continue onward.

Playa Kenepa Grandi view from overlook

Playa Kenepa Grandi view from overlook

Posers in our swimwear came in for a photo op and left without snorkeling.

Posers in our swimwear came in for a photo op and left without snorkeling.

Playa Kenepa Grandi crowded beach below

Playa Kenepa Grandi crowded beach below

Playa Piskado which is also known as Playa Grandi is where many local fishermen return with their catch of the day, clean the fish, and toss the left-overs in the water.  The interesting thing is that there were not a lot of fish eating the unwanted fish parts (or birds) like we’ve seen before.  But rather there were lots of turtles.  The young turtles are omnivores and eat both meat and plants.  As they get older their diet changes to just plants.  We quickly hoped in the water and enjoyed a rare opportunity to swim with large and small turtles alike!

Matt trying to say hello, he did not touch the turtle.

Matt trying to say hello, he did not touch the turtle.



It was getting close to lunch time so we decided to head back to Playa Lagun and try out the restaurant at the top of the cliff called Bahia Beach Bar.  We sat down at a table near the railing so we could watch the snorkelers and divers.  But what we didn’t know was that the iguanas were going to provide the entertainment for the afternoon. There were a few tables in the direct sun which were occupied by a couple of young ladies.  We decided to sit in the shade as we were already burning up.  As the food arrived for the girls, the iguanas came out in full force and were pretty aggressive.  One jumped on the table and the other sat at their feet like a dog begging for left-overs.  It was pretty funny actually, but only because it wasn’t happening to me.

Wayne, the great lizard hunter catching his lunc

Wayne, the great lizard hunter catching his lunch.


After we left Playa Lagun for the 2nd time, we headed to Playa Santa Cruz where we thought mushroom forest and the famous blue room were located.  Mushroom forest is what they named the coral reefs as they appear to be tons of mushrooms on the ocean sea bed.  The blue room is a cave that divers usually frequent but we had heard that snorkelers can get there as well.  We jumped in the water and snorkeled all around the bay but could not find either of them.  Wayne, being the little fish that he is, swam half way to the next bay and came up empty handed.  They remain elusive, but I will find them before we leave!  It was still an ok snorkel spot, I mean how do you complain when you are snorkeling in Curacao?

We were pretty snorkeled out by the end of the day so we decided to head back into town to check out Mambo Beach.  Even though this is a man-made beach, it is really beautiful with its white sand beaches, crystal blue waters.  There is a boardwalk with tons and tons of nice shops, bars, and eateries that fit just about anybody’s taste and budget.

Madero Ocean Club on Mambo Beach

Madero Ocean Club on Mambo Beach

Another ocean club on Mambo beach

Another ocean club on Mambo beach

Can I get this for anyone you love?

Can I get this for anyone you love?

We stopped at the Aqua Beach Bar, enjoyed the passing scenery and shenanigans of the beach goers before heading back to the boat.

Enjoying a drink at Aqua Beach Bar

Enjoying a drink at Aqua Beach Bar.

Great day to be a mermaid!