Swim for the Roses Curaçao

A rose handed to swimmers emerging onto the sand at Mambo Beach marks the finish of a 2.7-kilometre coastal crossing in Curaçao, continuing a tradition that began on island roads alongside a future Olympic open-water champion. The Swim for the Roses Curaçao is an open-water sea swimming event held between Jan Thiel and Mambo Beach outside Willemstad, organized by Ride for the Roses Curaçao. Swimmers take to open waters, tracing a 2,700-metre course, with an additional 500-metre sprint option available. The open-water crossing sets out from the shoreline at Zanzibar in Jan Thiel Bay and finishes across the bay at Wet & Wild on Mambo Boulevard. On race morning, swimmers gather on the sands of Jan Thiel Bay, where participants enter the sea together under boat escort.

The competitive swimmers position themselves at the front of the pack, followed directly by recreational entrants who take on the distance at their own pace. Timing takes place as you step out of the surf onto the beach at Wet & Wild. Out along the open coast, the course is protected by a dedicated fleet of marine safety craft keeping watch over every stroke. While wingfoilers, windsurfers, and kiteboarders once raced downwind from the remote offshore island of Klein Curaçao around the same time, organizers separated the surf race so that all safety escorts and rescue boats could be stationed exclusively alongside the swimmers at Jan Thiel. At the finish, every participant stepping onto the beach receives cold drinks, fresh fruit, and a keepsake rose fitted with a magnet. The event takes place in late January or February, fitting into the festive calendar between the island's Tumba Festival and the Children's Carnival.

Ride for the Roses Curaçao: from pouring rain to island tradition

The island event began in January 2003, when 273 cyclists tackled a 45-kilometre route across Curaçao under pouring rain and were rewarded at the finish line with a fresh rose. Among those pioneer cyclists was Dutch open-water swimmer Maarten van der Weijden, who would later go on to win an Olympic gold medal. What began on two wheels soon broadened into a full island festival encompassing cycling, running, walking, and open-water swimming. Over the years, the gathering swelled rapidly, drawing 8,000 participants by its tenth edition and reaching around 10,000 entrants in later years. During past editions of the Swim for the Roses, the midday sun greeted the competitive swimmers as they set off just after twelve o'clock, with recreational swimmers following right behind into the water. Across the city, runners navigate routes of 5 and 8.5 kilometres that traverse the Queen Emma and Queen Juliana bridges, with all routes converging on Mambo Boulevard for a shared finish celebration beside the sea.

Jan Thiel Lagoon: hypersaline waters and flamingo foraging grounds

The area serves as a critical foraging sanctuary for vibrant flocks of American flamingos. The lagoon and its fringing shores also provide important nesting grounds for breeding colonies of common terns and least terns.

Seaquarium Beach and the eastern shores toward Caracas Bay

Swimmers finish their crossing at Seaquarium Beach, widely known as Mambo Beach, situated south of Willemstad. The stretch takes its name from the adjacent Curaçao Sea Aquarium, fringed by sand. Caracas Bay holds Baya Beach and the stone bastions of Fort Beekenburg. Baya Beach previously served as a fueling and bunker port for Royal Dutch Shell, and historical reminders of that commercial past, including piers and storage tanks, remain visible along the shore today.

Sint Anna Bay and the colonial harbor forts of Willemstad

Sint Anna Bay cuts through Willemstad as a deep channel one mile in length and up to 1,000 feet wide. This natural waterway divides the capital and connects the open Caribbean Sea at its southern entrance to the inland Schottegat lagoon. Hot and semi-arid conditions characterize the island capital. Guarding the seaward entrance to Sint Anna Bay since 1634 is Fort Amsterdam, constructed after the Dutch West India Company captured the island from Spain. Built with four finished bastions and artillery aimed primarily toward the sea, the fort forms an integral part of Willemstad's UNESCO World Heritage harbor precinct. Just across on the eastern side of the bay mouth stands Waterfort, begun in 1827 to strengthen coastal defenses and eventually superseding Fort Amsterdam for defense.

Further into the channel, the historic Queen Emma Bridge spans the water between the two halves of the city. Originally constructed in 1888, this pontoon bridge is nicknamed the Swinging Old Lady because its floating pontoons swing open to let passing ships navigate into the bay. Between 1901 and 1934 it operated as a toll bridge with an exemption for barefoot pedestrians, and whenever the bridge opens for maritime traffic today, free ferries transport pedestrians across the water.