Carlos, HK4CM and Herbert, HK4RB will be active from Curacao Island ( IOTA SA-099) 21- 28 December 2014 as PJ2/HK4CM and PJ2/HK4RB.
They will operate on HF bands.
QSL via home calls.
The reflection of Caribbean Curacao Island
Curacao is one of the islands situated towards the South of Caribbean Sea northern region of the coast of Venezuela and this one is noted for forming portion of Dutch Caribbean. Country of Curacao, which has the inclusion of Main Island and smaller uninhabited island Klein Curacao is one of the countries included in Kingdom of Netherlands. The estimates suggest that a total of 150,000 individuals live in this region, which is extending over 444 kilometer square. Name of its capital is Willemstad. In this section we will focus upon the details associated with this part of world as there is so much, which provides this region uniqueness and charm. It is believed by historians that original dwellers of this region were Arawak peoples as their ancestors migrated to this region from South American region centuries before the arrival of European individuals.
Etymon
There are many different explanations present as far as the origins of the term Curacao is concerned, then it’s one of the terms, which have been derived from a Portuguese word, which means heart. This indicates towards the fact that island has a central role to play in trade. The traders from Spain used named Curazao and this tradition was also followed by the Dutch. There is another detail, which suggests that Curacao was the term, which was actually used by Arawak people for identifying themselves.
In the year 1562 a map was created by the Hieronymus Cock in year 1562 inside Antwerp, the islet was noted as Quracao. Another interesting piece of information, which should be mentioned here, is that four ships of Royal Navy of Britain were named after this islet. It should also be noted that Curacao is a term, which shows association with blue shade. These are some prominent aspects related with term Curacao.
Geographical aspects
Curacao in a fashion similar to other ABC islands is situated towards continental shelf of the region of South America and because of this reason it is believed that it is situated completely in the South American region. Sint Christoffleberg is noted as the highest point of this region, which has a height of 375 meters. Coming towards flora and fauna of this island it can be said that Curacao’s flora differs from that of conventional tropical islets vegetation. Commonly found are Xeric, scrublands which contain different types of the cacti, everygreens, thorny shrubs and divi-divis.
Climatic conditions of the region
This part of the world is noted for having tropical savannah climatic conditions as a dry season prevails from January to September and there is a wet season from the month of October to December. Temperature stays constant and we can see small scale variations during the entire year. Cooling is introduced with trade winds during the days and during night warmth is brought with these trade winds. January is noted as the coolest month of the year and average temperature is 84 degree Fahrenheit. Mean maximum temperature of year is noted as 31.2 degree centigrade and mean minimum temperature is signified as 78 degree Fahrenheit.
The island is situated outside the premises of hurricane belt, but occasionally it becomes a victim of hurricanes. Coming towards the geological aspects important point to mention is that floor of northern sea drops is a steep manner in 61 meter of shore this drop off is noted as blue edge. There four prominent geological formations upon Curacao, which are being mentioned below
- Lava formation
- Knip formation
- Mid Curacao formation
- Limestone formations
Governing authorities
Curacao’s government actually works as parliamentary representative democratic country. Prime Minister is noted as the head of all governing bodies. The legislative authority rests with parliament as well as government. Coming towards judiciary of this region important point is that it’s independent of legislature and executive. Special preference is given to maintenance of law and order so that people can stay safe and secured.
Tourism
A prominent role is played by Tourism in the economy of Curacao, but in comparison to other countries of Caribbean this region is much less depend upon the tourism sector. Majority of tourists come from the East United States, Netherlands and South American region. Presently it is leading Caribbean in the cruise growth of tourism. The insular shelf of island contains sharper drop-off, which is noted as Blue Edge and scuba divers are attracted towards this place strongly. For snorkeling coral reef are there and there are many other prominent highlight, which bring tourists towards this part of globe. The coast towards south has peaceful waters and a number of smaller beaches. However, there are some coral reefs, which have been affected by the tourism activities. However, experiments are being conducted with the artificial coral reef for bringing improvement in the condition of reef. Many artificial coral blocks have been inserted, which are now acting as home towards larger array of tropical fishes.
Demographic detail
There is the presence of polyglot society and official languages are English, Dutch and Papiamentu. However, Dutch has an upper hand in a sense that it is the prominent language, which is used in all administrative as well as legal issues. Papiamentu is the language, which is spoken widely and almost all classes present in society give preference to it. In the history of Curacao Island English as well as Spanish have a very high impact and influence and during 18th century Spanish become an important language in this region.
Considering historical background the population of this island comes from many different ethnic backgrounds and you are going to find small groups belonging to following communities
- Dutch
- Latin America
- France
- South Asia
- Levantine
- Portuguese
The culture and traditional values, which are followed in this region, are greatly influenced by the above mentioned groups and we see a great combination.
Sports
League baseball is very much popular in this part of world in addition to this natives are strongly attracted towards a number of sports and show complete interest in them.
Video Curacao Island
