Our next port was Kralendijk, Bonaire on Thanksgiving Day. Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved in 2010. The island then became a special overseas municipality within the country of the Netherlands. Confusing, I know. Kralendijk is the capital of tiny Bonaire. 

Bonaire lies fifty miles off the coast of Venezuela and is outside the Caribbean hurricane belt. It has a warm, dry climate with ocean breezes and temperatures between 78 and 86. In other words, perfect. 

Bonaire’s main economy is tourism. It is best known for snorkeling and scuba diving because of multiple diving sites and easy access to coral reefs. In fact it is recognized as one of the world’s best diving destinations. There is little agriculture and most of the island is covered in shrubs and cacti. The island is about 24 miles long north to south and 3 to 5 miles wide east to west.

The population is approximately 20,000. January 2019 saw approximately 71,000 tourists, a record, visit this island by ship and air.

Knowing that Bonaire doesn’t have a great bus system like Aruba, and is best explored by car, we booked an excursion. Walking from the dock to the bus it started to rain hard, not a good sign. 

On the way to our first stop, we passed through the small town and into the countryside. At one point we had to stop and wait for some goats to get out of the road. They were not fazed by the bus and not in a hurry.

We could see more of the cacti fencing around the homes, similar to Aruba.  

When we got to our first stop it was pouring rain. But we all know if you wait awhile, the weather will change. Sure enough the rain slowed to a light drizzle and we could get off the bus. Unfortunately even though this was known to be a very scenic spot on the island, it was not the best weather to take pictures.

The Millennium Cross Monument is located here at the Seru Largu lookout, one of the highest hills in Bonaire. The cross was built between 1999 and 2000 by the Catholic Church. On the monument are the words “Kristu Ayera Awe Semper” which means Christ, today, yesterday and forever.

Next up was the salt flats. As you can see, the weather improved quickly.

Kite Surfers

The low lying geography and Dutch dike design made much of the southern half of Bonaire into a giant system of ponds and pools which evaporate seawater to produce salt. The salt flats of Bonaire have been used for the extraction and exportation of salt for centuries. These natural ponds were first worked by African slaves who were brought to Bonaire to work the salt pans and plantations. Today, Bonaire’s salt works produce between 300,000 and 500,000 metric tons of industrial grade salt per year. After collection, the salt is washed and stored in pyramid shaped piles.

The ponds are a natural habitat for numerous species of brine shrimp which feed flocks of hundreds of pink flamingos and other migratory birds. This is the location of a flamingo sanctuary. We could see flamingos in the distance as we traveled down the road.

And One Donkey

Along the shoreline are four obelisks, one red, one white and one blue for the colors of their flag and a pink one representing the royal family.

Salt is Loaded on Ships at this Dock

The West Indies Company forced the island’s original inhabitants, the native Americans, to work in the salt flats before they eventually managed to escape to nearby Venezuela. We saw the slave huts, constructed in 1850 and which served as camping facilities for slaves working in the salt ponds.

The huts were used as sleeping quarters and a place to put personal belongings. Many black slaves from Africa worked in the salt ponds and on plantations. The slaves lived in the middle of Bonaire, a seven hour walk to the salt ponds. The West Indies Company built the huts so the slaves would not have to walk home each night. About 500 slaves worked here. Each small hut, meant for two, sometimes had as many as six slaves sleeping in one house.

In 1863 slavery was abolished in the Antilles.. The West Indies Company also used Bonaire as a penal colony for soldiers who misbehaved, forcing them to work in the salt flats.

Our next stop was at the Willemstoren Lighthouse located on the southern tip of the island. Bonaire has five lighthouses and this is Bonaire’s first lighthouse, built in 1837. It is now automated.

Bill quickly found a geocache just a short walk from the lighthouse.

Finding a Hidden Geocache

Our final stop was at Sebastian’s Beach restaurant, a little beach shack where we could get a snack and something cold to drink.

We really liked Bonaire, finding it smaller, less congested and with more of a quaint charm than Aruba. 

Dinner in the dining room was a grand Thanksgiving dinner. The servings were much too large, truly fitting the term of a Thanksgiving feast. I ate and ate and still had a lot of turkey left on my plate. Dessert was pumpkin or pecan pie, or both.

They had a beautiful Thanksgiving display on the Garden Café deck, including an ice sculpture. It was obvious the staff had put a lot of work into the display, making Thanksgiving Day for the Americans onboard something truly special.

Next up: Getting dirty in the Dominican Republic

The day after Jamaica was Bill’s birthday and a day at sea. He chose one of the speciality restaurants on the ship, a Japanese restaurant for his birthday dinner. The chef prepared the food at our table and even wrote “Happy Birthday Bill” using egg yolk. After dinner they surprised him with a big slice of birthday cake.

The next day was the port of Aruba. The cruise ship port is located at Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba. The flat island is known for its beautiful white sandy beaches. The continuous trade winds keep the temperature at a constant 81° year round. It has a dry climate with a yearly rainfall that does not exceed 20 inches and is located outside of the Caribbean hurricane belt. 

It is one of four countries that make up the Kingdom of the Netherlands. All the citizens of Aruba are Dutch nationals. The island measures twenty miles long and six miles wide.

This Trolley Circles Around The Local Shopping Area

It is densely populated with about 108,000 residents, with most of them living on the western and southern coasts. Dutch is the official language though English is widely spoken.

The Dutch influence is obvious in the tall multicolored houses with carved wooden doors and Dutch tile patios. 

We had read that Aruba was safe and easy to explore on your own using their excellent bus system called “Arubus”. So when we left the ship we asked at the tourist Information desk where we could find the bus station. It was a little tricky to find and we had to stop a couple more times and ask for directions, finally locating it behind a building. For $10 each we were able to buy a day pass to ride the bus all day.

Our main destination was the California Lighthouse on the northwest tip of the island. The main problem was the closest bus stop to the lighthouse was about a mile uphill walk. The very nice bus driver made sure we understood where the bus would pick us back up. Normally a mile walk each way is no problem for us but I was still sick with bronchitis and had a terrible cough. It was also a warm day and the 80° was pretty hot in the cloudless sunshine. That mile walk felt endless.

The California lighthouse was constructed in 1916 and named for the steamship California, which wrecked nearby in 1891. At 98 feet, it is the highest structure on the island. I was thrilled when Bill found a shortcut back to the bus stop from the rear of a restaurant located next to the lighthouse.

Before we caught the bus back we stopped at a little beach shack restaurant for lunch. The cold drinks sure tasted good. It was nice sitting in the shade watching families enjoying the beach.

On the way back we got off the bus once more to grab a couple geocaches.

A small geocache container hidden here

Don’t move the tree move the sidewalk!

The buses come by frequently so it is always easy to catch another bus. The bus drivers were so friendly and helpful. We were so surprised to see the cactus strewn landscape, with very large cacti. Many people use cacti instead of fencing.

When we arrived back at the bus terminal we decided to put our day pass to good use. We changed to a bus that would take us to San Nicholas, at the southern tip of the island. But we got more than we bargained for, with the bus frequently stopping to pick up passengers, local high school students and people getting off work. It took over an hour to get to the far end, which meant over an hour back to the bus terminal. It was a great way to see the island and the locals, but we were more than ready to get off the bus! 

As we walked back to the ship Bill gave our day passes to a local lady. The buses ran until 9:00 pm so hopefully someone used them the rest of the day. 

It was nice to get back to the ship and have some cold drinks and ice cream!!

Next up: Bonaire