CURAÇAO, NETHERLAND ANTILLES, EASTERN CARIBBEAN



HABITAT CURAÇAO
June 14 - June 21, 2003

Join HUC and Mark Metz as we head off to Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles for your next underwater adventure, staying at Habitat Curaçao.  While there enjoy 12 single tank boat dives, unlimited shore diving and quiet sandy beaches.  Rooms have kitchenettes, A/C, private balcony or patio, pool, seaside restaurant, TV and phone.  Nitrox available and more.
Curaçao is the largest of the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles.  Part of the ABC island chain, Curaçao is 38 miles in length and located 43 miles north of South America, just above Venezuela.  Dutch is the official language and the Antillean Guilder is the official currency, but US dollars are accepted and both English and Spanish are widely spoken.  Willemstad is the capital of the Netherlands Antilles with colorful Dutch-Colonial architecture, open-air markets and narrow streets and is considered to be one of the best shopping destinations in the Caribbean.  Enjoy walking tours of the city and tour the Seniour Curaçao Liqueur Factory and the Amstel Brewery.  In the center of the town a “floating bridge” divides the city and throughout the countryside you can see the many landhuizen (plantation houses) that were built in the 1700s.  At night you can enjoy Willemstad’s extensive restaurants and casinos.  The coastline has sand beaches, secluded lagoons and coves.
Curaçao is dry, hilly, and surrounded by pristine coral reefs with over 100 dive sites and over 400 species of fish, crustaceans, sponges, anemones & invertebrates.  Like its sister islands, Bonaire and Aruba, Curaçao lies far south of the hurricane belt and offers clear skies and good diving year round.  There are a wide range of dive sites, including wall, reef and wreck.  There is excellent diving in the shallow waters with 50-foot brain coral, gigantic sponges, huge, perfectly formed trees of elkhorn coral and enormous and lush sea fan gardens.  Visibility is a dependable 100 feet.

WHAT IS INCLUDED:
We will be leaving Bush Intercontinental on Saturday, June 14, @ 6:30a.m. arriving in Curaçao @ 1:45 p.m. (Curaçao is in the Atlantic Standard Time zone).  Our return flight will be on Saturday, June 21, leaving Curaçao @ 2:35 p.m. arriving back in Houston @ 9:05 p.m.
Check out the July issue of Sport Diver magazine (Pages 56-61) for an interesting article on Curaçao.
Contact Mark Metz for more information.