Just returned from our third trip to Curacao and had another wonderful time. 7 night stay with 3 nights at Lagun Blou and 4 nights at Nos Krusero in Westpunt. Our trip was Wed-Wed.
Diving: The diving was very enjoyable: for me 9 dives at Lagun, 1 at Cas Abou, 10 at Playa Kalki and 1 at Watamula. Water temps almost always reading 79 with some 81s here and there. Turtles, eagle rays, hugh green morays, seahorses, a rare spotting of a 40lb tuna, cornets, trumpet fish, lobsters, squid, tons of trunk and drum fish including one juve trunk and tons of juve drum and all the usual suspects. Our favorite dive is still Watamula which we did as a high speed drift one direction and strangely enough it slacked then reversed albeit at a much more manageable speed in the other. The soft corals on this dive in the shallows and plate corals deeper are amazing. Some of the soft corals are the size of small fruit trees. Dive Wederfoort supplied tanks at Lagun Blou, we rented tanks from Bahia Diving one day which is also at Lagun and Bdiving at Cas Abou. We dove the second part of the week with GoWest and did the boat dive with them. We managed between the two of us to get in 30 dives with a boat dive and with tip for under $500. I had no problem diving solo as long as I had my cert card and redundant air.
Travel: JetBlue from JFK nonstop and both flights arrived early although on the return at JFK we landed almost an hour early but ended up waiting on the tarmac for almost all that time waiting for a gate. Received an email from JB the next morning apologizing and offering each of us a $50 credit to be applied to a future flight. Unexpected but welcomed.
At the CUR airport we must have landed just behind a KLM flight as I have never seen the customs so busy. We did the e-gate cards on line which payed off this time as there was just a handful of people using the e-gate lines and we were through in minutes. The regular line looked like it would be a while. It is worth noting that with the expansions and improvements at the airport that this airport is very easy and efficient to get in and out of (at least our experience in three trips).
We reserved a small car from Avis but they told us they had no cars but arranged for us to rent through Budget. This must be fairly common as last year we saw the people in front of us in line being told that they had no cars left despite the reservation and on that occasion they did not offer or arrange a car with another vendor. Not sure how this can or should happen. Last year the folks were left hanging, told to try again tomorrow. Wow. I think I am going to skip Avis next time and try someone else.
Once in the car, it is easy to exit the airport and the first stop is a grocery stop at the Centrum market and after that an easy ride out to Lagun.
Lodging: Lagun Blou is located on the cliffs on one side of Lagun and this was our first time here. This small resort is set up for diving with tanks, rinse, shower and drying rack areas and steps and ladder down the cliff to the water. While called a dive resort and set up for diving, we did not see that many divers. Most of the units consist of two one bedroom apartments per building with each having two floors with kitchen and living area on the first and bdrm on the second. Both levels have porches/balconies. We had views of the lagun beach area and ocean from our unit. Interesting place: nice grounds, spectacular views along the cliff with nice shaded seating areas, small infinity pool and steps and ladder to the water. No screens in most of the windows and the front doors are fixed wooden louver with no screens. Over the bed is a bug net which we ended up using for sleeping. A constant breeze kept the bugs away all day but we did notice the bugs at night sleeping which the bug net took care of. Most people seemed to keep their front doors open most of the day which causes the breeze to run through the units. The place was quiet and had a nice vibe.
We essentially had the diving to ourselves in front of the resort. 15 steps or so down and a 5' jump to to water. The water below is about 15'-20' and starts with the cliff face down to coral. There is a sandy area to cross before hitting the main reef. We saw eagle rays in the sand area on almost every dive. Saw turtles and two hugh green morays. There are some small caves in the cliff face you can explore diving. Dived this site 9 times during our stay and did not get tired of it. Most of the folks at Lagun Blou seemed to be Dutch and German. We meet a couple Americans and a nice Swiss Couple and invited the husband to dive with us on our last morning of diving at Lagun Blou.
We spent a good part of one day at Cas Abou. Beautiful beach and nice dive shop on the beach - Bdiving. We rented tanks from them and for the price of the tanks, you get to use their shaded set up area, rinse tanks and advice and suggestions. We were told of frogfish and a seahorse but we could not locate either. We enjoyed our dive and time spent on the beach. We got there early and avoided the weekend as the beach is very popular. We liked the folks at Bdiving, always friendly and welcoming.
On Sat we switched over to Nos Krusero in Westpunt. The switch was easy. We had a one bdrm deluxe apt which is on the third floor with sweeping views of the ocean and the hills of Christoffel Park. The apt is basic but it did have screens which surpisingly did not seem to help with the bedtime mosquito situation. We initially thought the mosquito netting at Lagun Blou was quirky but we missed it. Nos is located right across the street from Gowest which is the reason we booked there. A 1 min. walk to the shop, beach and diving. Gowest has a nice set up for tanks, benches, shade, showers, lockers, storage, retail store and everything you need to dive, dive and dive more. The house reef is awesome and it is here that I spotted the tuna and we found the seahorses. Once the morning 2 tank boat leaves, you really have the place to yourself. Rarely encountered divers on the reef. In between dives, there is coffee for those diving with Gowest, snacks and drinks for sale in the retail store and there is a small beach bar that serves food starting around noon. For three days we left our apt in the am and did not return until late afternoon spending the day diving and eating lunch at the beach bar. Our apt had a great porch and view and the location and price was unbeatable.
Dining: 3 dinners cooked in. 4 out. Dinner the first night in Lagun at Discover Restaurant which is a casual beach restaurant in Lagun. They were having a grill buffet night which was nice and reasonably priced. Two nights at Cactus over by Christoffel. For the fans of Trio Penotti they are closed at their old location but they have reopened as Cactus and a new location almost across the street in the park entrance area. The new location is much nicer with a better breeze and view. Same great menu and service. We also had a nice dinner at Sol Food. Sunshine is so nice and she always makes time to chat. She also gave us tips on where divers have been finding good stuff. Pizza, salad and drinks with a perfect sunset.
Well that is probably more than enough. Some pics attached. Happy diving. TK
Diving: The diving was very enjoyable: for me 9 dives at Lagun, 1 at Cas Abou, 10 at Playa Kalki and 1 at Watamula. Water temps almost always reading 79 with some 81s here and there. Turtles, eagle rays, hugh green morays, seahorses, a rare spotting of a 40lb tuna, cornets, trumpet fish, lobsters, squid, tons of trunk and drum fish including one juve trunk and tons of juve drum and all the usual suspects. Our favorite dive is still Watamula which we did as a high speed drift one direction and strangely enough it slacked then reversed albeit at a much more manageable speed in the other. The soft corals on this dive in the shallows and plate corals deeper are amazing. Some of the soft corals are the size of small fruit trees. Dive Wederfoort supplied tanks at Lagun Blou, we rented tanks from Bahia Diving one day which is also at Lagun and Bdiving at Cas Abou. We dove the second part of the week with GoWest and did the boat dive with them. We managed between the two of us to get in 30 dives with a boat dive and with tip for under $500. I had no problem diving solo as long as I had my cert card and redundant air.
Travel: JetBlue from JFK nonstop and both flights arrived early although on the return at JFK we landed almost an hour early but ended up waiting on the tarmac for almost all that time waiting for a gate. Received an email from JB the next morning apologizing and offering each of us a $50 credit to be applied to a future flight. Unexpected but welcomed.
At the CUR airport we must have landed just behind a KLM flight as I have never seen the customs so busy. We did the e-gate cards on line which payed off this time as there was just a handful of people using the e-gate lines and we were through in minutes. The regular line looked like it would be a while. It is worth noting that with the expansions and improvements at the airport that this airport is very easy and efficient to get in and out of (at least our experience in three trips).
We reserved a small car from Avis but they told us they had no cars but arranged for us to rent through Budget. This must be fairly common as last year we saw the people in front of us in line being told that they had no cars left despite the reservation and on that occasion they did not offer or arrange a car with another vendor. Not sure how this can or should happen. Last year the folks were left hanging, told to try again tomorrow. Wow. I think I am going to skip Avis next time and try someone else.
Once in the car, it is easy to exit the airport and the first stop is a grocery stop at the Centrum market and after that an easy ride out to Lagun.
Lodging: Lagun Blou is located on the cliffs on one side of Lagun and this was our first time here. This small resort is set up for diving with tanks, rinse, shower and drying rack areas and steps and ladder down the cliff to the water. While called a dive resort and set up for diving, we did not see that many divers. Most of the units consist of two one bedroom apartments per building with each having two floors with kitchen and living area on the first and bdrm on the second. Both levels have porches/balconies. We had views of the lagun beach area and ocean from our unit. Interesting place: nice grounds, spectacular views along the cliff with nice shaded seating areas, small infinity pool and steps and ladder to the water. No screens in most of the windows and the front doors are fixed wooden louver with no screens. Over the bed is a bug net which we ended up using for sleeping. A constant breeze kept the bugs away all day but we did notice the bugs at night sleeping which the bug net took care of. Most people seemed to keep their front doors open most of the day which causes the breeze to run through the units. The place was quiet and had a nice vibe.
We essentially had the diving to ourselves in front of the resort. 15 steps or so down and a 5' jump to to water. The water below is about 15'-20' and starts with the cliff face down to coral. There is a sandy area to cross before hitting the main reef. We saw eagle rays in the sand area on almost every dive. Saw turtles and two hugh green morays. There are some small caves in the cliff face you can explore diving. Dived this site 9 times during our stay and did not get tired of it. Most of the folks at Lagun Blou seemed to be Dutch and German. We meet a couple Americans and a nice Swiss Couple and invited the husband to dive with us on our last morning of diving at Lagun Blou.
We spent a good part of one day at Cas Abou. Beautiful beach and nice dive shop on the beach - Bdiving. We rented tanks from them and for the price of the tanks, you get to use their shaded set up area, rinse tanks and advice and suggestions. We were told of frogfish and a seahorse but we could not locate either. We enjoyed our dive and time spent on the beach. We got there early and avoided the weekend as the beach is very popular. We liked the folks at Bdiving, always friendly and welcoming.
On Sat we switched over to Nos Krusero in Westpunt. The switch was easy. We had a one bdrm deluxe apt which is on the third floor with sweeping views of the ocean and the hills of Christoffel Park. The apt is basic but it did have screens which surpisingly did not seem to help with the bedtime mosquito situation. We initially thought the mosquito netting at Lagun Blou was quirky but we missed it. Nos is located right across the street from Gowest which is the reason we booked there. A 1 min. walk to the shop, beach and diving. Gowest has a nice set up for tanks, benches, shade, showers, lockers, storage, retail store and everything you need to dive, dive and dive more. The house reef is awesome and it is here that I spotted the tuna and we found the seahorses. Once the morning 2 tank boat leaves, you really have the place to yourself. Rarely encountered divers on the reef. In between dives, there is coffee for those diving with Gowest, snacks and drinks for sale in the retail store and there is a small beach bar that serves food starting around noon. For three days we left our apt in the am and did not return until late afternoon spending the day diving and eating lunch at the beach bar. Our apt had a great porch and view and the location and price was unbeatable.
Dining: 3 dinners cooked in. 4 out. Dinner the first night in Lagun at Discover Restaurant which is a casual beach restaurant in Lagun. They were having a grill buffet night which was nice and reasonably priced. Two nights at Cactus over by Christoffel. For the fans of Trio Penotti they are closed at their old location but they have reopened as Cactus and a new location almost across the street in the park entrance area. The new location is much nicer with a better breeze and view. Same great menu and service. We also had a nice dinner at Sol Food. Sunshine is so nice and she always makes time to chat. She also gave us tips on where divers have been finding good stuff. Pizza, salad and drinks with a perfect sunset.
Well that is probably more than enough. Some pics attached. Happy diving. TK
