QUARANTINE BLOG # 138

Our cruise stop today is Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.

The northern range of the Andes Mountains submerges into the Caribbean north of Venezuela.  The islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, the ABCs,  are the surface peaks of the extreme northern edge of Andes.

The first settlers in these, and many islands in the West Indies, and even Fort Lauderdale in South Florida, were members of the Caiquetio branch of the Arawak Indians who arrived from Venezuela in 500 AD.

One of their creation stories is about the bat.  The bat approached Yucahu, the chief god, and asked for feathers because he was always cold.  Yucahu told the other flying creatures to each give him a feather, and the result was a beautiful rainbow of colors.  When he became haughty and proud, and the other fliers became resentful and complained to Yucahu.  The next day while flying, the bat’s feathers fell off and to this day, he lives in dark places, ashamed of his ugliness, and comes out only at night to look for his missing feathers, flying very fast so no one can see his ugliness.

Unfortunately contact with European explorers, and diseases for which they had no natural immunity, eventually reduced the Caiquetio numbers to near extinction.

For the most part, the Dutch had control of the ABCs throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, but French and British troops took power for brief periods.  By the 19th century, the islands had become less important as a military base and shipping port.

Oil was discovered at Lake Maracaibo in northern Venezuela early in the 1920s, and the islands suddenly became valuable refinery centers and transportation depots.  Most of the aircraft fuel used during World War II came from refineries on Curaçao and Aruba, and the United States stationed troops on and off shore to protect lives and resources.

With that background, let’s do some exploring, and see what makes the ABCs – Basic Paradise.

Gold was discovered on Aruba in 1824.  Eventually, the industry produced more than 3 million pounds of gold. That’s more than $88 billion at today’s gold prices.

All three of the ABCs have underground caves to explore.  Legend says that Aruba’s Guadirikiri Cave was the prison for a young Caquetio couple.  The woman who fell in love with a man who did not meet her father’s expectations.  The lovers died their and their spirits escaped through the holes in the cave ceiling.

Many of the caves on Bonaire are filled with water. They  are part of an extensive aquifer that is used to help the farmers grow crops.

One of the beautiful places on Curaçao is The Hato Caves, with an underground lake, waterfalls, and large chambers decorated with stalagmites and stalactites and columns.

If any gold was discovered on Bonaire, there was not enough to mention recording in the history books.  Bonaire has another incredibly valuable product – white gold – salt.  Today Antilles International Salt Company farms 9,000 acres producing salt for chemical production, water softening, pool treatment, and deicing.

Curaçao was once the capital of the Netherland Antilles, and Willemstad, its capital is a very un-Caribbean city.  The streets are lined with buildings which were painted a variety of colors in 1817 when the Governor complained that the sun’s glare off the stark white buildings was giving him headaches.  Recent research has revealed a more interesting story.  The governor owned the local paint factory.

Fort Amsterdam serves as an important government center for modern Curaçao.  In addition to the Governor’s home and numerous government offices, Fort Amsterdam also houses the United Protestant Church.

In 1804, Holland was occupied by France, and Louis Napoleon was declared King of Holland.  With France and Great Britain at war, shots were exchanged on Curaçao, and a British cannonball struck the church where it remains embedded in the wall.

One of the most interesting bridges in Willemstad is the Queen Emma Bridge, a floating pontoon which spans Santa Anna Bay.  The original bridge was designed as a toll bridge.  You only paid the toll, however, if you were wearing shoes.  Barefoot patrons could cross for free.

It’s said that the poor would borrow shoes to prove their ability to pay, while the rich would take off their shoes to save the toll.

Let’s conclude our visit to the ABCs with a party!

Ancient Carnival began as a Catholic rite to represent the Christian practice of “Carne Levale,” or giving up meat for Lent.  The Carnival concludes with the Marcha Despedida (“the Farewell March”). This midnight parade is called “J’ouvert” – a contraction of the French “jour ouvert,” or “day break.”

One of the traditions of J’ouvert is that one gets covered in paint by people moving through the crowds. The origin of this is thought to be from the days of slavery when participants needed to disguise themselves as slaves were not permitted to join large gatherings.

The two main characters are Carnival Queen, who represents Mother Earth, the symbol for fertility and peace, and Carnival King, a symbol for infertility, sins and bad luck.

A straw-filled king is burned in a spectacular ritual at the end of Carnival, cleansing the island of sins and bad luck.

👉  Personal note:  Since Bonnie and I started cruising and writing our blog “Travels and Tribulations,” this is our 600th post.

👉  Today’s close is from Charles Stanley’s “In Touch Ministries.”

Job was a man who certainly knew trouble and temptation, and yet he boldly claimed, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15).  Job had lost his children, his fortune, and his health, but he refused to abandon faith in God.  The stricken man was determined to hold on because he trusted the Lord to do right.

Unlike Job, we are fortunate to have Scripture, which reveals God's nature and promises.  And it is a wise believer who claims those promises when enduring hardship.  For His Word tells us that our Father is always good, always just, always faithful, and always trustworthy.  When we take our eyes off the whirl of day-to-day activity and concentrate on honoring Him and following in His way, we find a consistent peace that carries us through both plenty and poverty.

In order to hold on to God through any trial or temptation, commit to trust and follow Him all of your days.  Lay claim to His promises: The unchanging Lord and Savior (Hebrews 13:8) is committed to caring for you in all circumstances (1 Peter 5:7) and will never leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

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