The iconic pink abandoned lighthouse now sits crumbling. Picture: fotoraph. Source: Flickr
LYING in paradise sits a ghost island, completely uninhabited and marked by a sordid history.
Klein Curacao in the Caribbean Sea is just 1.7 square kilometres in size, completely isolated and a two hour boat ride from Curacao.
Surrounded by spectacular coral reefs, the only signs of previous inhabitation are a crumbling lighthouse, haunting shipwrecks, abandoned houses and eerie graves.
The island was hit with ferocious storms that meant the lighthouse had to be rebuilt three times. Picture: mingo.nl. Source: Flickr
Just a few fisherman’s huts line its shores. Picture: mingo.nl. Source: Flickr
The island played a dark role in the 17th and 18th centuries slave trade with the Dutch West India Company which brought many slaves from Africa to Curacao. Sick slaves were placed in quarantine on Klein Curacao and it became the final resting place for many that did not survive. The remains of the quarantine building can still be found on the island today.
Its southern rugged coastline has become a graveyard for ships fallen victim to its treacherous storms. The remains of the oil tanker, Maria Bianca Guidesman, which ran aground in the 1960s is gradually being eroded, as well as remnants of other shipwrecks found along its shore.
Rusting and crumbling shipwrecks dot the southern coastline. Picture: Wouter Kiel. Source: Flickr
Not just ships, but yachts have also fallen victim to its ferocious waters. Picture: Wouter Kiel. Source: Flickr
Its iconic lighthouse was first built in 1850 and had to be rebuilt twice more due to devastating hurricanes. The coral pink paint is peeling and the lighthouse keepers adjoining rooms have fallen into disrepair.
Today Klein Curacao lies barren, stripped of the minerals and soils that kept it lush and green. Goat farming is thought to have contributed to its desertification as well as phosphate mining. In 1871, John Godden, an English mining engineer found that the droppings from the large colony of seabirds on the island converted limestone into phosphate. He mined and exported phosphate from the island until 1886, destroying the once fertile soils. Mining also lowered the level of the island and led to a plummet in seabird populations. In 1888 it served as a short lived German naval base.
The only occupants of the island were the lighthouse keepers whose rooms still stand today. Picture: wouter kiel. Source: Flickr
Today you can visit the island on organised day trips, which are popular with divers because of the coral reefs and underwater caves. However a walk around the island will leave you with a haunting chill.
Day trippers swim on its northern coastline with pristine waters and beaches. Picture: Peter van der Linde. Source: Flickr
Vandals have left their mark on the deserted lighthouse. Picture:mingo.nl. Source: Flickr
Remnants of shipwrecks litter its shore. Picture: mingo.nl. Source: Flickr
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