Klein Curacao - A day in Paradise...
Klein Curacao is a small island of 3 km2 (1.2 square miles) big which is just 10 kiometer (6.2 miles) South-West from the mother island Curacao. These days the island is an uninhabited island, but in the past fishermen and farmers lived here.
The island is a rather barren island, but in the past the island was green with grass. Farmers kept their goats on the island.
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Mermaid Boat Trips - Klein Curacao
Far away from the hustle and bustle of Curaçao's Punda and Otrobanda districts lies a remote, coral island with white sand beaches, crystal clear water, a spectacular reef and colorful sea life. The flat, wind-swept island of Klein Curaçao (Dutch for Little Curaçao) is a mecca for divers, snorkelers and sunbathers. The Mermaid, a sturdy sea-going vessel, awaits passengers at the Fishermen's Pier every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday mornings at 6:45am.
The island was till the 19th century a seabird paradise island. The droppings of the seabirds caused a chemical reaction with the limestone into phosphate which was a populair product in Europe (they used phosphate for feed for animals and fertilizer for the ground). In 1871 the English mining engineer John Godden came to the island by accident. From that moment until 1886, the phosphate recovered and shipped to Europe. The island became lot lower, not green anymore, and the seabirds never came back. Due to reforestation project of Carmabi, the island becomes greener and greener again.
There are also other forms of explotatie of the island. The West India Company (WIC) has many slaves brought from Africa to Curacao. Before these slaves came ashore in Curacao, the sick were taken out and put in quarantine at Klein Curacao. The remains of this first quarantine building on Curacao can still be found in the northwest of the island. The slaves and other passengers who did not survive the voyage, were buried at Klein Curacao. There are several graves in the southern part of the island.
During this activity of the Dutch West India Company were also given licenses to seal (the now extinct monk seal) on Klein Curacao allowed to catch and use for their skin.
In 1932, a crocodile was caught on the island. The crocodile was from Venezuela and, after a violent storm landed on the island. The former residents killed the crocodile and ate it.
Klein Curacao, like its mother island of Curacao, little affected by hurricanes. Yet in the course of time have been several hurricanes on the island left their marks. The first was the hurricane in 1877. This hurricane destroyed the first lighthouse on the island. Therefore people decided that the next lighthouse, which is the current lighthouse, must be build in the middle of the island.
Another phenomenon is the legend of an English captain who suppossed to be stranded in the 19th century and died on the island. After his death he was buried on the island, but the story is that his soul could not find his peace and that his souls is still on the island as a ghost. One of the spooky stories of the island.
* This page is supported by the foundation Stichting Carmabi and the Klein Curacao Specialist Mermaid Boat Trips
