As we dock in Curacao, it is not as windy this time as it was last year. We went to a beach and the sand was blowing in our faces. This time we are planning to just walk around the world heritage site town centre known for its colourful architecture. Unfortunately I drop my camera on the deck when drinking coffee. It won’t work now but I still have a BlackBerry phone and tablet and Marie has the same camera backups.
We enjoy the free wifi and walk into the town centre. It is very hot. We walk through an old Fort and explore some small shops. We walk by a casino. There is of course casino on board the ship too.
We find the fruit and vegetable market. I notice little boats moored behind the stalls. They are from Venezuela 30 km away. We are told that they are allowed to stay for 90 days. During this period some journey back and forth to restock the produce. People are starving in Venezuela as their economy has collapsed. They have money we are told but their store shelves are empty. We wonder how they would have enough produce to sell it here. There have been migrant deaths due to drowning as Venezuelans try to reach Curacao by boat. Sad situation.
We make it back to the ship completely wilted from the heat. At Mass Fr. announces that he has come down with a gastro-intestinal disorder and cannot celibrate the Eucharist. We will have the liturgy of the word only and he will head down to the infirmary. After we sing the opening hymn, Fr. Pat announces that another priest has just stepped forward. A Monsignour from Miami is cruising with his mom and finishes the Mass! There were close to 200 present – we all gasped with joy.
mattersofthemoment 