Curaçao
for Hemispheres: United Airlines
In February, typically the coldest month in the northern hemisphere, Curaçao maintains an average high of 87° Fahrenheit / 31° Celsius. It is a place that understands heat and how to cool off, with the beach only minutes away from most locations. It is also full of surprises: fields of cacti, flamingoes, salt flats, and some of the brightest blue water I’ve ever seen. Curaçao is part of the ABC Island chain (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao) that sits right above Venezuela and has a feel somewhere between the wild west and a Dutch colonial city center. The people of the island are kind, passionate, and mimic the endless bright colors that paint the houses and buildings downtown. These locals try to produce as many items on island as possible: With aloe farms crafting everything from moisturizers to facial cleansers, to ostrich farms producing meat and eggs. Hemispheres, the onboard magazine for United Airlines, sent me to Curaçao to capture its essence for their January 2020 cover story.