Colourful Bonaire: Part 1

Bonaire is a colourful island both in the houses, the street art, and the underwater world of the reefs and fishes. A hope you enjoy this short insight into the island.

Arrival

We had a good sail downwind from Grenada to Bonaire a few dolphins on the first day but not many other fish or birds.

The evening before our arrival we sat in the setting sun on the foredeck and discussed how great the spinnaker has been this year, how often we had used it, and would we replace it before the Pacific.

We went back to the cockpit as the sunset. Five minutes later we hear a ripping sound! Our good old spinnaker split along the head, down both side tape, and then dived under the yacht. A quick disconnect of the autopilot and a turn into the wind and we managed to fish most of it out of the sea and all the sheets. Unfortunately, it will not be going any further. A quiet night under headsail only followed. The next morning for the final few hours we hoisted the main again and sailed into Bonaire in 25kts. We watched dozens of kite surfers have a great day sailing as we passed them down the coast.

An easy arrival into the marina followed then off to customs and immigration. When the paperwork was finished it was followed by lunch at a dock cafe close to the town center.

The cafe juts out over the water and as can be seen below the water even in the center of town is beautifully clear.

Bonaire

Bonaire is administered by the Netherlands and treated as if it was a village(“a special municipality”). There are 20,000 residents. The island is 38.6 kilometers long from north to south, and 5–8 km wide from east to west. The island is much drier and they grow very little so all the food is imported. Therefore fruit and vegetables are more expensive and also depend on what has arrived on a ship and delivered to which supermarket on the day. There are many more large supermarkets and no street stalls.

A Dutch colony of old the main industry here has been salt with large lagoons in the south drying salt. Originally a labour intensive activity with slaves harvesting the salt and loading it onto ships from all over the world. Now it is a highly mechanised operation obvious on arrival with huge pyramids of salt shining in the sunlight with long conveyors to load the ships.

The official language is Dutch but most locals speak Papiamentu and are fluent in English and often Spanish. If you grow up here and want to go to university in the Netherlands then you have to have a very good level of Dutch which most of the locals don’t. The schools are trying to rectify this. The teachers may teach in Papiamentu which the children speak at home but then once the children understand the concepts they need to reply to the questions in Dutch. As you might imagine trying to teach a subject in multiple languages is not without its problems.

The reefs, beaches, and on-island reserves located on both Bonaire and Klein Bonaire are under the protection of the Bonaire National marine park and managed by Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA). Most visitors come to Bonaire for diving which can be done straight off the beaches or by boat. A common sight is utes driving around with dive tanks in the back as most dive sites are accessed off beaches rather than by boat.

There are over 100 dive sites on the island. The reef is very close to the shore and the colours in the water are as beautiful as those of the houses.

Kralendijk and Colourful Buildings

The waterfront of the main town, Kralendijk, has many very pretty and colourful buildings. The bright colours apparently came about because one of the colonial governors in the early 1800s decided the place needed to be something other than white which he claimed gave him migraines.

Even the courtyards of the cafes are painted and decorated. Many different styles.

There are also many good resorts scattered all the way along the coast, including a new waterways development.

Street Art

One of the most striking aspects of the town is the spectacular street art. This takes the form of painted murals on buildings and painted signs for shops or other notices. Where normally signs are made here they are all painted either on walls or on boards and hung up. Also, there is very artful graffiti. Later we found many more examples around the country. These really tell the story of Bonaire.

Flamingo’s are an island symbol with reasonable numbers living in the lagoons on the south end of the island.

Even the signs of political disagreement are painted.

Marinas, Moorings, and Cruisers

The Marina is adjacent to Harbour Village Resort.

It is quite a small marina next to the main road on the windward side and also an open undeveloped dry estuary. When the wind blows – which did all the time we were in the marina, the dust covers the yacht. The best thing about the marina was the two Pelicans that lived there and easily few around the yacht masts and dived into the middle of the marina catching fish. They were much better flyers than those we saw in Carriacou.

After a few days, we decided to shift out of the marina onto a mooring in front of the town which was far nicer. You can just dive off the boat into clean clear water on the edge of the reef which is very healthy and full of coral. You are not allowed to anchor in Bonaire as the whole island is a reserve. The moorings are placed and maintained by the park but administered by the marina.

There is a cruising community in Bonaire though not as big as Grenada. They also seem to be mostly returnees, Americans, Canadians, and Dutch cruisers. There are poker nights, dominos nights, and jam sessions. We have only so far made the last social event. They also have a Facebook page.

Nautica runs a small jetty close to a restaurant that is called ” It Rains Fishes”. They allow the cruisers to tie their dingy up there and drop off rubbish. The restaurant also has beautiful food and a lovely view over the harbour.

The next Blog will talk about the famous reef and underwater aspects of Bonaire. There is so much to say and so many photos that I need time to sort them. A third blog will be on a trip around the interior of the island. Enjoy.