First stops are at the ABC islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao – the old Dutch West Indies. We actually only went to A & C – Willemstad, Curaçao and Oranjestad, Aruba. First stop was Curaçao – a beautiful old Dutch-like village. We took a trolley ride around the town, just taking in the sights of the old city. The graffiti is much nicer than what we have in Silicon Valley. It’s actually artful. Don’t be fooled by the next picture. I’m inspecting the texture of the plaster surface. By the time we got to Oranjestad we were more adventurous. We went to a butterfly farm, an aloe Vera factory and saw some fabulous wild seacoast. The large natural bridge (Mother Bridge) fell down last year, but the Son natural bridge is nice as well. The wind and waves are spectacular. The burial houses are quite different. Each family builds a house of their choosing, but the land is rented. Each house holds 4 to 6 “coffins.” They would fill up too quickly, so after a couple of years they scoop out the remains of each coffin into a box, putting it under the coffins, raising them up a bit, making room for new residents. When everything is full, it’s on to the next building. Next stop Cartagena, Columbia.