R. Doug Wicker — Author | Stories of Mystery and Adventure

May 1, 2013 · 5:35 am

Curaçao Continued

Floating Pontoon Foot Bridge

Curaçao is one of those places you’ll never tire of visiting. If you’re a photographer it’s just that fun. But, surprisingly for a Caribbean island, the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao) is incredibly dry. Go into the interior of the island and you’ll find flora more associated with a desert — cacti, mesquite, prickly shrubs, and grasses brown with thirst.

Ostrich Ranch

Desert Shrubs and Cactii

If you’re wondering why you would want to go into the interior, there is a rather unique ostrich ranch worth the visit. Once you get back to Willemstad, however, you’ll once again find yourself practicing up on your panorama skills as the Old Town is perfectly lighted by the late afternoon sun.

: Fish Market

: Old Town Streets

: Sidewalk Bar

: Old Town Willemstad

: Waterway Separating Old from New

: Willemstad

: Blue Skies and White Clouds

: New Town Willemstad

: Towns Both Old and New

: New Town as seen from the NCL Dawn

: Interesting Architecture

: Old Town

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Tagged as cruising, Curaćao, NCL Dawn, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel

April 29, 2013 · 5:35 am

The “C” of the ABC Islands — Curaçao

Curaçao

Saturday found us in one of my favorite photo destinations — the picturesque and unique UNESCO Heritage site of Willemstad on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. Ursula and I have visited this charming place several times in the past, but I look forward to revisiting it every time.

Curaçao Panorama

From the cruise terminal one walks through the expected shopping areas, but these shops are decidedly high-end. After that you cross a floating bridge to Willemstad’s Old Town. That pontoon bridge is designed to swing the entire structure to the New Town side of the main waterway so as to allow passage of large ships.

Pontoon Foot Bridge

Once you arrive to the Old Town you’ll find charming fishing boats floating on glassy, reflective waters as the fishermen sell their fresh catches at the local fish and produce market. Meander through the streets and you’ll find great little cafés with internet access, fun shops of all types, and wonderful little restaurants. But more importantly you’ll find picture opportunities at every corner.

Fishing Boat

Because of all these opportunities, I’ll be devoting two full days of this week’s blogs to Willemstad.

: Old Town

: New Town

: Old Town

: Old Town Willemstad

: Beach-Type Swimming Pool

: Reflections on Fishing

: Old Town from the Floating Bridge

: Curaçao

: Old Town Willemstad

: Curaçao Fishing Boats

: Curaçao Colors

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Filed under Photography, travel

Tagged as cruising, Curaćao, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, Willemstad

April 26, 2013 · 5:43 am

The Estate of Ian Fleming: GoldenEye

The name of the estate is GoldenEye. It is located on the Caribbean island of Jamaica. The person who gave it the name GoldenEye was Ian Fleming. The character Ian Fleming made famous over the course of some dozen or so books was British SIS Agent Bond . . . James Bond, aka, 007.

Equally famous to the main house structure were also Mr. Fleming’s personal beach and lagoon, where he spent many hours of the day snorkeling and entertaining guests such as his neighbor Noel Coward. Nearby you can still explore his personal cave. GoldenEye’s detached garage still stands as well, but has been converted into a entertainment room for the guests staying in the five-bedroom main house. The house still horseshoes around the small pond which so intrigued Mr. Fleming. Inside the villa most of the furniture is post-Fleming with one very important exception. Nestled against the back wall of the main living room is the desk at which Ian Fleming toiled to produce his literary works.

Many thanks to the GoldenEye staff (and in particular Ms. Geraldine Ridley) for allowing me to visit this historic site and to photograph it. I also want to thank a very special taxi driver who made the trip to GoldenEye an absolute adventure and a wealth of information — Mr. Desmond Callum. You can’t do any better in acquiring a fun and informative guide than Mr. Callum, who obviously relishes in showing guests his wonderful island of Jamaica. Desmond Callum can be reached at his cell number of (876) 381-9708.

And finally I want to thank the person who made this whole excursion a reality by coordinating the visit with the GoldenEye staff before our arrival. That would be my lovely wife Ursula, who understood exactly how much this pilgrimage would mean to me. Thank you, Ursula.