Bonaire is a great winter getaway destination

The Caribbean island of Bonaire is 50 miles north of Venezuela and 86 miles east of Aruba.  The best thing is that it is out of the hurricane belt so any time of the year is a good time to visit. There is plenty of sunshine year round. 

1. Kralendijk: Bonaire’s capital, Kralendijk, is a colorful, port city with a population of 4000 making for a great walkabout. The architecture has been well preserved. Start at the Visitor’s Center to pick up a free walking tour brochure. Visit Fort Orange, the quaint churches and Queen Wilhemina Park.  
2. History: The original inhabitants were the Caiquetios, a branch

of the Arawak Indians. Rock paintings and petroglyphs from that time have survived in several of the island’s caves. The first Europeans to claim the island were the Spanish and then the Dutch. Near the town of Rincon is the newly upgraded cultural center, Mangazina di Rei (The Storehouse of the King) where slaves were given provisions.

3. Diving: Frommer’s rates Bonaire number one when it comes to scuba diving. The island is surrounded by reefs that are pristine and easily accessible. Go out on a dive boat or enter from the shore where the access to the sea is clearly marked by bright yellow painted rocks that names the dive site.  
4. Catching the wind: It is almost always windy on Bonaire

making it a mecca for wind surfers and kite boarders.  The clear water of Lac Bay is the perfect place for beginners to learn and for freestylers who want to hone their skills. Kite boarding takes place on Atlantis Beach. 

5. Salt: The salt of Bonaire is a natural product made by the evaporation of seawater by the sunshine and wind.  The brine is pumped into crystallizers where it remains for about a year during which the salty water turns green and then a beautiful rose. When it is ready to harvest it is piled in large mountains of salt. Nearby are replicas of the small huts for the slaves who at one time worked in the salt industry.
6. Donkeys: The Spanish brought the donkeys to the island to

use as draft animals. In 1993 Dutch Nationals, Marina Melis, and her husband, Ed Koopman, established a donkey sanctuary on Bonaire for sick, wounded and orphaned donkeys. Visitors are welcome to visit and interact with the donkeys for a nominal fee. 

7. Birds: With over 200 species Bonarie is a bird-lover’s paradise. There are migrating birds, seabirds, shore birds, and land birds but the iconic symbol of Bonaire is the elegant pink flamingo. Bonaire is only one of four areas in the world where flamingos breed. 

8. Shopping: There are

several art shops in Kralendij. There is a regularly scheduled art and craft market in the city. Paintings depicting Bonaire scenes, or a stone painted yellow with the name of your favorite dive site, and a piece of driftwood art make great remembrances of Bonaire 

9. Tours: There are a plethora of tours for those who want to bike, hike, kayak, fish, go caving, have an off-road adventure, go horseback riding, repel, plus Segway tours, and a city tour in a luxurious tuk-tuk. A glass-bottom boat tour is perfect for those who want to see the coral reef without getting wet. 
10. Wining and dining: Those who want to try something new should head to the historic village of Rincon. Cadushy Distillery uses the cactus that is found all over the island to make cactus liqueur in a variety of flavors.  Posada Para Mira, also in Rincon, is one place to sample local fare such at goat stew. 

Bonaire: A Great Winter Getaway

Planning a winter getaway – think Bonaire. The Caribbean island of Bonaire is 50 miles north of Venezuela and 86 miles east of Aruba. The best thing is that it is out of the hurricane belt so any time of the year is a good time to visit. There is plenty of sunshine year round.  

1. Kralendijk: Bonaire’s capital, Kralendijk, is a port city.  The colorful city is small with a population of 4000 making for a great walkabout. The architecture has been well preserved. Start at the Visitor’s Center to pick up a free walking tour brochure. Visit Fort Orange, the quaint churches and Queen Wilhemina Park.  

2. History: The original inhabitants were the Caiquetios, a branch of the Arawak Indians. Rock paintings and petroglyphs from that time have survived in several of the island’s caves. Near the town of Rincon is the cultural center, Mangazina di Rei where slaves were given provisions.

3. Diving: Go out on a dive boat or enter from the shore where theaccess to the sea is clearly marked by bright yellow painted rocks that names the dive site.  The waters of Bonaire have been designated as a National Marine Park so divers and snorkelers need to purchase a permit tag.


4. Catching the wind: It is almost always windy on Bonaire making it a mecca for wind surfers and kite boarders.  The clear water of Lac Bay is the perfect place for beginners to learn and for freestylers who want to hone their skills. Kite boarding takes place on Atlantis Beach. Both locations offer equipment and skilled instructors.

5. Salt: On southern part of Bonaire it is impossible not to be amazed at the white mountains of salt and the rose-colored salt pans. The salt of Bonaire is a natural product made by the evaporation of seawater by the sunshine and wind. Nearby are replicas of the small huts for the slaves who at one time worked in the salt industry.

6. Donkeys: The Spanish brought the donkeys to the island to use

as draft animals. When they were no longer needed the donkeys were set free to roam the island. They did not fare well. In 1993 Dutch Nationals, Marina Melis, and her husband, Ed Koopman, established a donkey sanctuary on Bonaire for sick, wounded and orphaned donkeys. 

 7. Birds: With over 200 species Bonarie is a bird-lover’s paradise. There are migrating birds, seabirds, shore birds, and land birds but the iconic symbol of Bonaire is the elegant pink flamingo. 
8. Shopping: There are several art shops in and around Kralendijk. Paintings depicting Bonaire scenes, or a stone painted yellow with the name of your favorite dive site, and a piece of driftwood art make great remembrances of Bonaire.  

9. Tours: Visitors can bike, hike, kayak, fish, go caving, have an off-road adventure, go horseback riding, repel, plus Segway tours, and a city tour in a luxurious tuk-tuk. ] Woodwind offers snorkeling and sunset tours. Many people rent a car and explore on their own. 

10. Wining and dining: Hotels and \restaurants offer international fare including the fresh fish of the day. Those who want to try something new should head to the historic village of Rincon where Posada Para Mira offers local fare such at goat stew. Cadushy Distillery uses the cactus that is found all over the island to make cactus liqueur in a variety of flavors.  

Things to see in Bonaire

The Spanish brought the donkeys to the island to use as draft

animals. When they were no longer needed the donkeys were set free to roam the island. They did not fare well. In 1993 Dutch Nationals, Marina Melis, and her husband, Ed Koopman, established a donkey sanctuary on Bonaire for sick, wounded and orphaned donkeys. Currently there are about 600 donkeys under their care including newborns.  They provide food, drinking water,

medical care plus a free-roaming area.  Visitors are welcome to visit and interact with the donkeys for a nominal fee. The Special Care area is accessible by foot behind the visitor center but the highlight is feeding and interacting with the friendly animals on a drive through the sanctuary. This was one of our favorite stops on a drive-about on the southern part of the island.

The original inhabitants were the Caiquetios. Rock paintings and

petroglyphs from that time have survived in the island’s caves. The first Europeans were Spanish and then the Dutch. Control seesawed between them until 1816 when the Dutch took permanent control. To learn about the history and culture visit the newly upgraded cultural center in Rincon called Mangazina di Rei (The Storehouse of the King) where slaves were given provisions. The museum was closed for upgrading while we were there.  It is the best place to learn about the culture.  So sorry we missed it. 

Frommer’s rates Bonaire number one when it comes to scuba diving. The island is surrounded by reefs that are pristine and easily accessible. We don’t scuba but went out on the Divi’s dive boat and went snorkeling.  The waters of Bonaire have been designated as a National Marine Park so divers need to purchase a permit tag ($25 for scuba divers, $10 for Snorkelers).

It is almost always windy on Bonaire making it a mecca for wind

surfers and kite boarders.  John took some more kite boarding lessons. There is also a place for wind surfing Newbies can be wind surfing after a few lessons whereas kite boarding requires more lessons. Both locations offer equipment and skilled instructors.

Bonarie is a bird-lover’s paradise. The iconic symbol of Bonaire is the elegant pink flamingo. Bonaire is only one of four areas in the world where flamingos breed. The flamingos are shy so it is important to not get to close and disturb them. For picture taking a telephoto is a help. The best place to see them is Lake Gotomeer in the north and around the salt pans.  The breeding area is off limits. We saw flamingos but I was hoping to see a lot of them together.

In the evening we would sit at the end of Divi’s stone pier to watch sunset.  The sailboat, the Woodwind, offers snorkeling and sunset tours. One of my favorite evenings was taking their sunset cruise that included snorkeling and a great dinner.  

Hotels and most restaurants offer international fare including the fresh fish of the day.  There is even a Subway and KFC.  We like to try something new. In Rincon we visited the Cadushy Distillery where they use the cactus that is found all over the island to make cactus liqueur.  Posada Para Mira, also in Rincon, is one place to sample local fare such as goat stew. They also serve conch soup and, the more adventurous should try iguana soup.  It tastes like chicken but is very boney. 

Bonaire - A Great Destination

When John and I told people we were going to Bonaire most people would say, “Where is that?” Bonaire is 50 miles north of Venezuela and 86 miles east of Aruba.  Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until 2010 when it became a special municipality within the Netherlands. Most people speak Dutch, English, Spanish, and Papiamento (the island language). Dutch, English, and Spanish is taught in schools and Papiamento they learn at home.

We met many locals who were originally from Aruba or Curacao and they all said they preferred Bonaire because it was much quieter with less development. There are no stop lights and you can walk around Kralendijk, the capital, in an hour. The island is only 24 miles long and no more than seven miles wide.  Most people are not aware that Bonaire is one of the few islands that is out of the hurricane belt so any time of the year is a good time to visit.  It is always warm and sunny.

We stayed at the Divi Flamingo Beach Resort and Casino which was perfect.  The hotel just finished a multi-million dollar upgrade and we could walk into town.  There are two pools but I loved the larger one that was only steps from my waterfront accommodation. Poolside there are cabanas with curtains for added privacy or to provide shade.  I heard one young girl say, “There’s music in the water.”  People just nodded with a raised eyebrow but there really is music under the water as we all found out. Very cool.

A morning tour to the southern part of the island
includes information on Bonaire’s salt production.  I have seen many things in my years of travel including the salt flats in Thailand but nothing compared to the salt production on Bonaire.  The sea water is pumped into shallow holding basins by fragile looking windmills. The wind and sun make it more salty and then it goes into other salt pans where evaporation continues and it turns a sea green. In the last phase it turns a beautiful rose color. When the wind blows – which is usually does – the rosy salt pans become rimmed with white salt crystals.  Eventually the water evaporates completely until only the salt remains.  It is harvested and piled into huge white, Pyramid-shaped mountains of salt awaiting the arrival of ships to take it to all corners of the earth to be used in chemical production, water softening, pool treatment, deicing and as table salt.

At one time slaves labored in the salt works. Nearby are replicas of the small huts that were built to shelter the slaves. They were not constructed until the last years of slavery. Slavery was abolished on Bonaire in 1862. The worker’s families lived in the north part of the island and when permitted they would walk seven to 12 hours to the village of Rincon to visit their families. Rincon is nestled in a valley making it a safe place for their families. There are a variety of island tours that take visitors to the salt flats, Rincon, the Donkey Sanctuary, and other Bonaire must-sees but many people rent a vehicle and never learn the complete story of the salt flats and don’t understand the significance of the small yellow slave houses. The salt works is owned by Cargill and it is a shame that they have not built a museum in the area.