The Ostrich Farm and Hato Caves

Ben and I went on an excursion yesterday. First to the Hato caves, which were cool, but not as cool as caves I’ve seen in the Sequoias.

It was super hot in the caves since the rock walls retain heat.

  Obviously, it was dark in the cave. Sorry for the blurry picture.

Before we left for the excursion we had lunch at the resort’s buffet. Throughout the trip I tried to keep lunch on the healthier side since breakfast, dinner and alcoholic beverages were really adding up!

But, I couldn’t resist a fried plantain. Ben and I fell in love with these the first time we visited Central America and keep meaning to make them at home.

Okay, back to the trip – after the Hato Caves  we were off to the Ostrich Farm. It was a lot cooler than I expected and I’m really glad I went. 

We were able to see ostriches of all ages and learn a lot about them. Like, the female ostriches pluck and eat the feathers from their butts to get calcium. This helps them lay stronger eggs.

And adult ostriches can be aggressive and kick very powerfully. You do not want to approach an ostrich in the wild. One kick can leave you dead.

We took a jeep around the farm and got off a few times to see everything close up.  

I even fed an ostrich. This was scary because I was the first one to do it. It was amazing to feel their neck rubbing on my arms.

Ben did it too.

And then I fed them out of my hand. They bit my skin a little and it was just like a little pinch.   

Ostriches sit on their eggs to incubate them so the egg shell can withstand up to 400 pounds! It was really cool to hold an ostrich egg, they are very heavy and you can tell the shell is very thick. Fun fact: Ostrich eggs have less cholesterol than chicken eggs. Ben stood on it to show how strong it is. I was too scared.

Before we built up a meaningful relationship with the ostriches during the tour, we had time to just hang out on the farm.

They have a restaurant on property that sells different types of ostrich dishes. Ben said he didn’t know when he would be able to have an authentic ostrich burger again, so he got one.

It’s weird, even though they are birds – ostrich meat is like red meat.

I tasted it and think it was very similar to red meat too.

Plus a beer because that’s what vacations are all about.

The tour guide explained that they make a lot of effort to be ecological and don’t waste any part of the bird. Any parts that can’t be used for the restaurant are given to the pigs or alligators on the farm. A local artist even makes sculptures with the bones. None of it is thrown away.

Dinner – Thursday night the resort has a huge outdoor event with a bunch of international food stations. Ben and I scored a great table outside and hit up the different delicacies.

The highlight of this plate is the johnny cake in the lower left hand side. It’s basically a doughnut that is sold as a biscuit. There was also salad and dessert. But, just as we were about to dig in we were swarmed by bugs. At first we tried to bat them away, but that didn’t help. So, we grabbed our plates and ran into the indoor dining area. Everyone around our area had to flee too. It was crazy!

This morning Ben and I took a run walk around the local neighborhood. I didn’t run outside on this trip outside of today because there seemed to be a lot of stray dogs around. Getting stung by a jellyfish is one thing, but getting rabies in another country is another.

As soon as we got back we hit up breakfast. They didn’t have oatmeal today so I tried the “cornmeal” (it was not called grits). Oh.my.gosh. it was amazing. Probably full of butter and sugar, but amazing.

Plus yogurt, fruit and almonds. I finally broke down and had some peanut butter too. My body was super happy to have PB, even if it was the waxy kind.

Then, Ben and I spent out last day in Curacao on the beach. We did a little bit of snorkeling. And also tried the cycling boat thing. But, we had a disagreement with the current and lost. So, we returned the boat and relaxed. 

Ahhhhh, just take in the beauty.

Now that we’re gone I can talk about where we were staying. Ben and I stayed at Breezes Super Club in Curacao. I found it online after much research into a good beach destination vacation.

I think we got a fair price considering it is an all inclusive resort. We have never stayed at an AI before, so I don’t have anything else to compare it to though.  

The food and service were good

the rooms were good. I am pretty sure I reserved the cheapest room type they offer and we still got a distant view of the ocean.

Here are some other pictures of the room –  

and the beach was clean. 

This looks like a Corona commercial. Love it.

Overall, we had a great time. But,  I don’t think we would come back to Curacao as, I think the island is too touristy and there is not much to do outside of the resort.

Let me know if you have any questions about it.

I am currently blogging on the flight from Curacao to Miami. I won’t be getting home until super late (we’re hoping 2am). So, I’m not sure what that means for my long run tomorrow. I’ll be blogging on a normal schedule from here out though 🙂