An interesting place Bonaire is for sure. It was the SCUBA diving
that brought me to this remote island location, and after spending
8 days here, SCUBA diving is clearly the only thing that *should*
bring you to this island :)
The photo above is of a dive site named "1000 steps,"
clearly in reference to the number of steps a diver would need to
make in order to lug all their gear down and back up to complete
this dive. That certainly looked like way too much work for me and
instead Jen and I simply made it a photo opportunity.
We tried to stay as inconspicuous as possible. Clearly a rental
convertible would have screamed "tourist," and that was
something we wanted to avoid. Alamo was gracious enough to meet
our concerns.
This is the boat dock at the resort we stayed. It provided a wonderful
sitting place to take in the sunset or watch KLM airlines come in
for a landing at the nearby Flamingo Airport. It also provided Jen
a comfortable place to suntan and get acquainted with a new friend.
While Jen slept in the sun this iguana decided to jump onto the
chair and give a taste test to Jen's toes. From that point on I
felt threatened and did not appreciate the lizard making a move
on my girl.
Now I won't go as so far to offend the Bonairian's and call their
island boring, but I will say if you want to do absolutely nothing
on your vacation, or not even have the choice to do something for
that matter, this is the place for you. Need to take a break from
the excitement of laying in the sun doing nothing? Looking for a
heart-racing exciting good time? Go stare at the pink flamingos.
To watch a QuickTime video of the flamingo's feeding,
click here.
I suppose besides the diving the scenic beauty of the island is
where it was at. Naturally, a limestone shoreline pressed against
the turquoise waters of the Caribbean makes a wonderful backdrop
for photography and sight-seeing.
And how could one not fall in love with the turquoise water?
Obviously any tropical island in the Caribbean will have its share
of beautiful beaches like this one at Jibe City, but I don't think
I was prepared for the desert-like conditions that prevailed on
the rest of the island. Photos like the one below show what most
of the countryside looked like. Although I have never been to New
Mexico or Arizona, I have to think it must look similar to this.
Cactus easily outnumbered the palm trees.
The only locations of healthy and growing Palm trees were at the
resorts or private residences that heavily watered their plants.
This is the main drag oceanfront where most the bars and restaurants
line up against. Nearly empty mid-week, it becomes a zoo on Friday
night.
This was the most happening place on all the island - Karel's Bar
with the Cappuccino bar extending over the bay. Five nights a week
it closed at 10pm and was virtually a ghost town, but come Friday
and Saturday nights it was open until 5am and was nearly overflowing
with people.
When you get bored with the pink flamingos you could look the opposite
direction and find goats and lizards.
Then stop at Rose's Inn and order the Goat and Iguana stew. I found
it tasty and ate my entire portion, but Jen refused the home-cooked
meal. Maybe peeling the skin from the iguana was too much for her.
OK, one last photo... Does everyone know what a Yucca plant is?
Are you familiar with their size back in the Midwest? Have a look
at this bad boy -
To see the remainder of the photos from the Bonaire tour, please
view the Bonaire Photo Album.
If you would like to see photos from under the ocean's surface,
please refer to the
Bonaire SCUBA page.
Top of Page
