Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
He bought the house, restored its original beauty, then took on
the neighborhood. The result was Kurá Hulanda, a magnificently
renovated compound centered around a hands-on anthropological
museum that houses his African treasures and is dedicated to the
history of the Black Holocaust.
In addition to Museum Kura Hulanda, the compound encom-
passes Hotel Kura Hulanda, a state-of-the-art conference center,
and the Jacob Gelt Dekker Institute for Advanced Cultural
Studies. Because of his love for children, Dekker also funded the
JADE Foundation, an institution dedicated to enhancing educa-
tion and providing financial assistance to Curaçao's young people.
In only a few years, Dekker has changed a large area of
Otrobanda from a crime-ridden eyesore into an internationally
recognized historic area and tourist attraction. Those who know
him, know he's not finished, yet.
Sightseeing Southeast & North of Willemstad
Curaçao Seaquarium
The Curaçao Seaquarium and its adjacent beach are the most popular
tourist attractions on the island. A unique open-water design allows unfil-
tered plankton-rich sea water to continuously flow through the aquarium
tanks so that hundreds of species of marine animals live in a habitat that
is truly natural.
Outdoor lagoons, also openly joined with the sea, allow visitors to watch
and interact with playful sea creatures such as turtles, rays, sea lions -
even sharks. If you want to enjoy the fun without getting wet, you can
watch divers in the lagoon through windows in the stationary semi-
submerged Underwater Observatory.
Shark Feeding
Hand-feeding a shark is one of the most talked
about activities in the Animal Encounters dive. Par-
ticipants are not required to be certified divers, and
even novice swimmers can take part in the 10-feet-
under adventure. Divers safely feed the sharks from
behind a plexiglass barrier, while a photographer captures the
event on film in such a way that friends back home won't suspect
that there was a protective wall. While in the water, swimmers
may also pet a stingray, play with a sea turtle, and frolic with
schools of colorful fish. The cost for divers is $54; for snorkelers,
$34.
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