I had the pleasure to meet two budding travel entrepreneurs: Sheedia Jansen (23), founder of The Hunt Curacao and Curacao Vacation Blog, and Jefferson Martina (27), founder of Curacao Trip, today. Both are grappling with Curacao’s relatively small size, and therefore, online/offline obscurity and trying to put our awesome island on Google’s map by creating fun, user-generated and user-friendly content to help tourists create an unforgettable experience, particularly as it relates to finding suitable hotels and car rentals, selecting delicious local restaurants, experiencing our coolest attractions, etc
Sheedia and Jefferson are looking to supplement TripAdvisor, the Goliath of aggregated online travel advice, by adding a warm, personal, krioyo insider touch as well as more user-friendly functionality (expert Q&A, interactive maps, fun videos etc)
- Sheedia’s The Hunt Curacao is a crash course in our picturesque, historic Willemstad by scavenger hunt. ‘Walk around the whole city in 2 hrs. Marvel at the buildings while answering questions and completing simple challenges along the way. Cross the pontoon bridge, see the oldest functioning synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, learn the bus system, know the local hot-spots and get to know the history of it all. Finish and feel like a local.’ Curacao Vacation Blog is still early days — check out posts on private vs. public beaches, how to enjoy a Curacao beach like a local, where to stay, and the many meanings of ‘dushi’.
- Jefferson’s Curacao Trip (in Beta) maps out a long list of activities (see ‘Things to Do‘) — from visiting our Ostrich farm to dancing the night away at Club Cinco – pampering at Laman Spa & Wellness to learning about Curacao’s history of slavery at our Kura Hulanda Museum (to name a few)
You may have already noticed… 1000 Awesome Things About Curacao‘s website isn’t very functional when it comes to ‘travel planning’… Instead I’ve been focusing my efforts on discovering and curating awesome bits about Curaçao’s rich culture, history and ‘experience’. (The Curacao Tourism Board recently described this as “all kinds of fun, weird, memorable, interesting and -of course- awesome things about Curaçao”) Needless to say, I’m very excited about Sheedia and Jefferson’s initiatives and look forward to collaborating with them in the coming months.
Here’s a list of my favorite ‘Awesome Things’ so far (in no particular order)… Enjoy 🙂
Awesome People
#767. The Evolution of Sculptor Helen Martina
#772. Epitomy of Class: Sir Hensley “Bam-Bam” Meulens
#893. First Caribbean Female Percussion Instrument Maker: Tatiana Saturnino-Felix
#831. Curacao Dream: Leonard B. Smith
#790. Governor Albert Kikkert’s Migraine Headaches
Rich, Multi-Cultural Cuisine
#812. La Mejor Ayaca La Hace Mi Abuela!
#816. Keshi Yena (Stuffed Cheese)
#801. Stoba a la Yaki (Yaki’s Krioyo Beef Stew)
#737. Sephardic Passover Charoset and Bolo Pretu (Bride’s Fruit Cake)
#770. Kala (Black-eyed pea fritters)
Being Krioyo = Being Resourceful
#788. Our Teduki Returns Better Than Ever
#746. Kas di Tabla (Clapboard Houses)
#726. Kadushi (Candle Cactus) Soup
1000 Awesome Things About Curaçao 