Evening star., 1940-01-07

of Willemstad, the capital Of the
colony. Today, 1t is a favorite trek
of cruise visitors to 60 up to their
lookout fort on the cliff. Behind
this towering wall of rock, securely
hiding their vessels, the buccaneers
watched the approach OF the Span
ish galleons freighted with gold and
silver. Today the lookout gives one
a splendid view of the town, the
harbor, the sea and shore beyond.
Gives Glimpse Of Holland.
Willemstad, which Is the Dutch
name for what we would call VIII
Jamestown, is not only the capital Of
Curacao, but famous throughout the
Indies for at least two matters Of
curious interest. It is easily tho
greatest port of the Caribbean, and
it is the only place on this side OF
the Atlantic where you will see what
Holland looks like. It has quaint
toylike homes with the old Dutch
gables just like many an old town
in the land of canals. windmills and
wooden shoes across the Atlantic.
Indeed, its channel -harbor, called
st. Anna Bay, has the appearance
Of large, deep Holland canal. The
buildings are brightly colored red,
green and yellow, and the red tiles
and doll-like houses, the blue-eyed
Dutch policeman, and the pictur-
esque fishing boats, all suggest that
you are at Markem or Volendam in
brave little Holland.
1t may astonish us to learn that
Willemstad is the largest port Of
the Caribbean, but the explanation
is simple. 1t has all come about
through the growth of the Venezue-
Ian oil industry. Large quantities Of
crude oil are brought to Curacao to
be refined. A fleet of shallow-draft
tank steamers, sailing in groups of
IL, arrive daily with crude oil, and
large ocean tankers then transport
it to all parts Of the world. 1t Is
nothing for more than 5000 ships
year to enter. exceeding in gross
register over 20 million tons.
Souvenirs of All the World.
When the great cruise ships enter
the harbor, and it is a harbor that
can safely accommodate a whole
fleet, the passengers usually hurry
ashore to see the famous little streets
of gay shops where souvenirs from
all over the world can be purchased
Many of these streets are only Is feet
wide but on each side they are lined
with shops worthy of much larger
cities. So great is the variety of
goods, it has been said that if you
wanted to give friends back home
the idea that you had been on a
voyage around the world, you could
purchase in Curacao souvenirs from
all parts of the world to help prove
your deception.
Perfumes are the chief attraction.
and choice stocks Of cordials, but
there are silks from France, Japan
and China, Indian brassWare,
Spanish shawls, Irish linens, the
latest Partisan novelties. Viennese
shoes, Dutch dolls and tiles, native
oCI q W IIdIS, anu dll hlllOS VI GILL;
broideries, lace, carved ivory goods,
Buddhas, Monte Cristo hats and an
array of other articles too numer-
GUS to mention. They come from
Toxic. Shanghai, Alexandria, Rome
and the other islands and main
lands of the Caribbean. Nearly
every passenger one meets has tale
to tell of the marvellous bargains
to be had on Queen Wilhelmina S
funny little island.
Although the official language is
Dutch, the native language, called
Papiamentoe. prevails. In this. Ian
guage one will certainly find. some
English words. for it is a mixture
Of Dutch, Spanish, English. Portu-
guese, French and Indian. OF course,
in the shops and among the upper
classes on the island you will have
no difficulty in making yourself
understood, for the educated Of the
island are fluent linguists.