I have a brother and will never drive home in the dark again

Day 4:

When you think it can't get any better, the crown is placed once again and I even had to shed a tear because it's incredibly beautiful and I'm so infinitely grateful to have the opportunity to travel and discover places like Curacao. Not everyone, in fact few, have the privilege of being able to travel to the place of their choice. I already lost a few words on Instagram earlier. So: enjoy your life with every breath and realize how lucky you are!

But now - I will report with joy about this wonderful day again! Once again I woke up this morning, relaxed and of course had no plan for what the day would bring. I have to admit that I was a bit sluggish today and couldn't get going, but that doesn't matter, because I'm on vacation after all 😎 So I strolled off around 1pm: I definitely wanted to go to Punda (the hub of Curacao, where all the buses go and the floating bridge is). Arriving at the bus stop in the scorching heat, I waited .... and waited .... and waited. Just a reminder or for those who haven't read the other posts: there is no schedule 😀 After a good half hour sizzling in the midday sun, there still was no bus, but at least a local joined me who was also waiting for the bus - so a good sign. And then it raced around the corner in no time: the good bus. I reached Punda in no time, walked for only 5 minutes and arrived at a free beach where some locals were. Perfect, I thought and settled down. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a black local with dreadlocks and his white wife, who were already smiling at me. Of course, I smiled back, but didn't think much of it, ... more on that later 😁 It was definitely pleasant to be at a beach without any tourists and snack bars! After a few hours, hunger and a thirst for a cocktail came over me, so I headed towards the pedestrian zone. I wandered around until I arrived at a beautiful backyard where Coldplay was playing from speakers and two nice bartenders immediately invited me to sit down. I couldn't resist and honestly, it was exactly what I had imagined! No tourists in sight! At this point, I have to say that there are generally very few tourists here, at least that's the impression I have so far and I'm very happy about that, because there is nothing worse than an overcrowded beach where you are shoulder to shoulder with sweaty and loud people!

I enjoyed a Mango-Strawberry Sunrise and delicious Veggie Wraps. But since the place was so incredibly beautiful and atmospheric, I decided to stay for a beer. I didn't worry about how to get back home because I had the bus schedules from Punda and Otrobanda - so the return trip was safe! 😎 I mentioned the local from the beach earlier... he came out of nowhere and sat down with me. He said he had seen me at the beach earlier and that I looked cool! We got into a conversation and he, who calls himself 'Rastafari-Man of Curacao', has a good heart. We chatted casually for an hour about God and the world, and all the locals passing by our table gave him a handshake. He's like the island's colorful character, known and liked by everyone. He told me that he used to make a lot of money from drug dealing, but has been away from that for years and now earns honest money, has 5 wives and owns several hotels. I paid at the bar, then he showed me around a bit. We walked for a bit and stopped in front of a huge light blue villa with white shutters and he said this was his home! He unlocked the door and showed me around. I had never seen such a beautiful house before! I couldn't stop marveling, as if I were in a damn museum, and had to occasionally wonder if I was dreaming 😂 Since my bus was coming soon, I slowly made my way back towards the Otrobanda bus terminal. My brother, as he called himself, even accompanied me and gave me his number and we took some photos together. If I should have any problems, I could call him anytime and he would send someone over or come himself! So we said goodbye and made plans to meet again in the next few days to have another 'Jacky' together. He wants to introduce me to a German friend of his who plays the trumpet in a club here 😄 What the heck is going on here? I'm having incredibly amazing encounters with people here, it's insane!

The bus arrived on time and took me back home, everything went smoothly, the only downside: it was already 8pm and pitch dark. I've already talked about the street dogs and people!!! When I got off, I almost bit my hand off and wet my pants. Only barking stray dogs, some of them followed me. My only thought was: stay calm, walk slowly, don't run, don't make any strange noises and just make sure I get back to my accommodation quickly. I love dogs more than anything, but with the street dogs here, you don't know what's behind them, which is why I have so much respect for them! 😥 But everything went smoothly and I'm glad and cheerful that I arrived, no worries! But I really won't go home anymore when it's already dark, no kidding, I don't dare to do that again 😂 So another wonderful and eventful day came to an end and I am absolutely thrilled with Curacao and its residents. I've never experienced anything so nice in my life. I'm filled with incredible happiness every day here! See you tomorrow, my loves!