Oh Bonaire! Even though we’ve only been there one night, there’s a lot to say. But I’ll try to limit myself to three things (linking up with Carole Knits’ Three Things on Thursday)
- It feels good to have seen it. My goals is to visit all six Dutch Caribbean islands in the future (this may take a few years). Bonaire was the second one. Aruba, St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustacius are still on the list. Visiting the other islands too would be even better, but I have to admit that I don’t even know how many there are…
— Oh, did a bit of googling. There are over 7000 islands. So maybe I should just focus on the bigger ones for now š
- What did I think of Bonaire?
Well, if you’re into diving or snorkling it’s a wonderful place. Really. So many diving spots and I hear they’re all lovely.
But if you’re not, like us, well…
We had one day to explore and were done exploring by noon. Granted, we both weren’t feeling too well, but still. It’s small (only 19.000 people), the city is crowded (two cruiseships, adding approx. 6000 people to a tiny place) and it just didn’t feel as welcoming as CuraƧao. But maybe I’m biased.
I don’t want to be too negative though: the hotel was beautiful (Marriott Courtyard), the food we had was great (we had lunch at Boudoir twice and diner at Cuba Compagnie).The sea is just as blue as on CuraƧao. We didn’t really find a beach where we could swim, but maybe we didn’t look close enough. We did have fun exploring the salt pans in the south and the hills in the north. You can easily drive around in a rental car (the traffic certainly isn’t as crazy as in CuraƧao) and we also saw lots op people in golfcarts and even on bikes (it’s quite flat) - The flight from here to Bonaire is only 20 minutes, but due to cancellations and delays, we spent 5 hours at the airport until we finally got on our flight back to CuraƧao. They told us delays are normal, but this was an extreme. The airline has only three planes and two of them needed repair. Oh well, we made it home safe, that’s what matters.
Only three pictures? Nope, can’t do that.
Ā Arriving
Ā The hotel
Ā Our room
Ā Bonaire is much flatter than CuraƧao
Salt pans in the south
Ā Hills and lots of cactuses in the north
Ancient indian drawings
Ā Old buildings in Kralendijk
NOT A STATION 
I love seeing your lovely Bonaire photos! We're in the depths of cold and gray winter in the eastern US and you've provided a reminder of warmth and sunshine to come.
LikeLike
Beautiful shots! And my goodness that would be a great place to be today!
LikeLike
Beautiful photos! Glad you survived the flight. Three airplanes, 2 broken down…. sounds a little scary!
LikeLike
That is a beautiful place — and especially to these winter-weary eyes!
LikeLike
five hours? that's a little nutty. Love the bright colored buildings and that interesting plant with the writings. Looks like a beautiful place to visit.
LikeLike
Ah, but summer will come! (and no, I don't mind missing winter…)
LikeLike
It is a great place to be! But CuraƧao is even better š
LikeLike
Thanks! And yes, I thought it was a bit scary too. They've actually gone down from twelve to three in a year, I heard. There's no money to replace them…
LikeLike
It is!
LikeLike
Nutty indeed. I thought those plants (there were actually more of these, with writing) were interesting too. I would never occur to me to carve in a plant, but I guess it only took one person to try and the rest followed his example.
LikeLike