{"id":3803,"date":"2023-06-02T00:00:34","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T22:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relaxedcuracao.com\/?p=3803"},"modified":"2024-05-08T22:46:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T20:46:33","slug":"chichi-in-wonderland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relaxedcuracao.com\/en\/snorkeling-diving\/chichi-in-wonderland\/","title":{"rendered":"Chichi in Wonderland"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Underwater<\/span><\/div>

A<\/span>lice in Wonderland is one of Curacao’s most famous dive sites<\/a>. It is accessible directly from Playa Kalki in the island’s far west. The shore diving spot is also the house reef of the local PADI diving center “Go West Diving”, which is run very professionally. The dive site takes its name from the children’s book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by the English author Lewis Carroll, which is set in a fantasy world. According to the Zeit-Bibliothek, the book is among the 1000 books one should read. Moreover, the same goes for this diving spot. We\u2019ll get into that in a moment.<\/p>\n

If you are not yet familiar with the friendly “Chichi<\/a>“: the Chichi is a cheerful and colorfully painted figure by artist Serena Janet Israel<\/a>. A Chichi stands for love and care and has become a popular souvenir. Each of the hand-painted Chichis represents the ideal of beauty on Curacao and is a one-of-a-kind piece of art. If you\u2019re looking for a creative break, you can design your own Chichi under the guidance of Serena in her Art Factory<\/a> and take it home with you as a unique souvenir<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With Alice in her wonderland<\/h3>\n

As we explore Wonderland, the corals stand out as a special feature. They’re pretty impressive at a depth of 5-20 meters! And they get so big with increasing depth (up to 18 meters) that as a diver you feel tiny and in a true wonderland. Honestly? I can’t confirm that! As a 20+ year PADI Open Water diver, I try to go underwater as often as possible and enjoy what I can experience and see at depths of up to 20 meters. It has rarely been deeper for me. So Alice and her wonderland will probably always remain a fictional world for me that I will never dive into. But it must be breathtaking! Please share your experiences. Furthermore, our partner Bryan<\/a> has more detailed diving information for you on his website divecuracao.info<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our Chichi plays the saxophone<\/h3>\n

However, we haven’t let our self-imposed depth limit stop Maike and me from diving Alice in Wonderland several times. Since December 2020, Wonderland has had a new attraction in addition to an underwater saxophone, which we wanted to check out. Into the water and off you go. Dive straight from the jetty along the rope to the edge of the reef. Then keep to the right and you’ll find the saxophone at about 7 meters. A few meters further on, you should find the new attraction. Where is it, the underwater Chichi?<\/p>\n

We started out too deep, which is typical of diving profiles. Oh my gosh, we simply dived past it. On the way back, we found them both: the Chichi and the saxophone. She was sitting there with her arms outstretched and looking into the deep blue. It was as if she wanted to say to all visitors, “Come and cuddle me.” What a great Insta motif!<\/p>\n

Speaking of motifs, an underwater reel with the saxophone would also be fun because it would let you really let off steam and pretend to play the instrument. We look forward to your saxophone bubbles video here in the comments or on Insta<\/a>\/FB<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Saxophone

The saxophone is already here – where are you as a player?<\/p><\/div>\n

Turtles and porcupinefish<\/h3>\n

Venturing further into the underwater world, in addition to the human-made objects that were sunk, the reef edge of Playa Kalki boasts a diverse marine life including fish, corals, sponges, and other beautiful underwater sights. And, if you are as lucky as we were, you might even come across an ancient turtle lady that you can accompany and observe for a long time. For me, the highlight was definitely a free-swimming porcupinefish, which always gets me emotional with its gaze. Unfortunately, my GoPro battery was drained, so I only have his picture in my head and can’t share it with you.<\/p>\n

Have a great time at Playa Kalki and say hello to Alice if you get the chance!<\/p>\n<\/div>