Parasasa Beach is located on the quiet midwest coast of Curacao, eight kilometers west of the old center of the hoofdstad van het Benedenwindse Eiland ; Willemstad. Parasasa Beach merges into Marriott Beach on its north side.
What does Parasasa Beach look like?
Parasasa Beach is a quiet beach that is mainly visited by locals. Curaçao families often gather on this beach on Sundays and enjoy a nice barbecue while the kids have fun in the ocean. Parasasa Beach is shielded at the front by a low breakwater and at the south by a high one. The result is that a beautiful lagoon has been created; protected from high waves and strong currents. This makes safe water recreation possible; especially if you add that the water is slowly getting deeper. The beach consists of fine sand, round pebbles and petrified coral.
The sun shines almost every day on Curaçao; this is also why the largest ABC island is so popular! Sunlight is healthy; if only for the fact that it produces vitamin D. But the sun can also be dangerous; skin burns and sunstroke are always lurking. That is why it is wise to only go into the sun properly prepared; cover the skin and apply a high factor sunscreen to exposed skin. In addition, it is wise to avoid the sun at the hottest time of the day and to look for a shaded spot.
Fortunately, these shady spots are abundantly available on Parasasa Beach; on the one hand because of the palm trees that grow on the beach and on the other hand because of the presence of so-called palapas, also spelled palapas. Palapas are wooden umbrellas with a roof of dried palm leaves. The combination of the swaying palm trees, authentic palapas, a snow-white beach and the blue lagoon, leads to a fantastic Caribbean atmosphere at Parasasa Beach!
Private or public? Public.
Opportunities : Sunbathe, paddle, swim, snorkel and dive.
Parasasa Beach is a very interesting location for divers. In front of this beach there is a historic diving location ‘The Crash’, also called ‘Crash Site’. This site contains several parts of a warship (USS Erie (PG-50)) and the reconnaissance aircraft (Vought OS2U Kingfisher) it was carrying. From the beach you first have to swim a bit to get to the reef; a coral reef that is filled with beautifully colorful marine life such as parrot, butterfly and angel fish. The drop-off starts at a depth of ten meters and slowly continues to about forty-five meters. The underwater visibility at this location is between twenty and thirty meters.
The USS Erie (PG-50) was a gunboat of the United States Navy that was torpedoed by the German submarine U-163 on November 12, 1942 during World War II (Battle of the Caribbean) off the coast of Curaçao. The badly damaged and heavily burning warship was towed to the beach to prevent it from sinking. A few weeks later, the USS Erie (PG-50) was towed to the inner harbor of Willemstad to finally be sunk in deep water in 1952.
The Vought OS2U Kingfisher was a US Navy reconnaissance aircraft that stood on the deck of the USS Erie (PG-50). The Vought OS2U Kingfisher was able to take to the skies via a catapult launch. During the German torpedo attack on the USS Erie (PG-50), the plane went overboard. So the Vought OS2U Kingfisher didn’t crash; as the name of the venue suggests!
Because the wreckage is covered with coral, they are difficult to find. To increase the chance, it is best to bring a dive guide who knows the situation well on site. The parts of the wrecks are between six and thirty-five meters deep. Because it is a historic location, it is forbidden to bring wreckage parts to the surface! Facilities
Palapas and picnic tables. Accessibility Parasasa Beach can be reached by car and public transport. There is a very spacious parking lot at the beach.
