Curacao Soak It in

Flamingos, beaches, a rich and sometimes dark history—there's more to this Caribbean island than a colourful liqueur

- By Victoria De Silverio. Photographs by Michael George and Getty Images

I'M 12 DEGREES north of the equator and about 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela on Curaçao, a flat stretch of an island in the Caribbean Sea, so I shouldn't be surprised how hot it is. Curaçao feels like a secret paradise, where sunset-pink flamingos feed year-round in salt pans, where dozens of coral beaches beckon with ferociously bright-blue water, and where locals shoot off a rainbow of fireworks Thursday night, simply because it's almost the weekend.

It's autumn, and the trade winds have caused the divi-divis-stubby trees with dry, mangled trunks and flamboyant green tufts on top-to lean cartoonishly. But the winds are on siesta today, so I splash on sunscreen and prepare to explore the historic Unesco-listed capital city, Willemstad.

Founded by the Dutch West India Company in 1634, Willemstad has always been, by some measure, a cosmopolitan trading port. It was the capital of the former Netherlands Antilles until 2010, when Curaçao became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

After going through hard times and neglect, Willemstad is enjoying a massive rejuvenation, with artists and entrepreneurs helping to create a new spirit of civic pride. Today the city of 125,000 pulsates with a mishmash of 50 cultures and three official languages: Dutch, English, and the island's very own Creole tongue, Papiamentu.

I CHECK OUT of my hotel in the Pietermaai district, where slave merchants, bankers, and ship captains built ornate mansions in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of these buildings have been restored into trendy hotels and restaurants with airy courtyards. Their playfully painted exteriors are like flavours lemon, lime, blueberry-and the fancy white trim like icing.