Visit to Bonaire - September, 2005 
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Bonaire has balanced ecology and tourism into a very nice package.  It is surrounded by reefs and hosts abundant diving and snorkeling spots that are accessible from the shore.

We could hear the crew moving around and knew that we must be coming up to Bonaire.
The first thing that we could see were white beaches that looked somewhat rocky.



At first the island looked uninhabited, but then the buildings started to appear.


We could see a few small resorts that looked quite nice; there were no real tall buildings.


This is downtown, with the pier located in the middle ... cute!
We were the biggest ship in the area by far... although there were a few other boats around.


The harbor area was very small and quaint, 
but somewhat touristy... 
 
... some places offered so many 'specials' 
that it was hard to figure out what was going on!


The old man by the sea ... 
... a classic!
We decided to rent a scooter to see all of the island. 
It looks like many other passengers had the same idea! 
There are supposed to be lots of flamingos on the island, but we only found a few.

The roads were in good shape and we drove inland.
There were few villages, but many homes scattered around. 
Some homes looked as if they were vacation homes.  

This was an older building that fell into disrepair. 
This was a building that got a good start, but no finish.
I don't even know what to think about this place ... wow! 


Everywhere we looked there were cacti... to arid for me!

Many places used the cacti as a fence, which is a great idea...
... and it probably works better than barbed wire!


The west coast was nice & picturesque.  The beach was not sandy... more small stones.
The northern tip contains a large national park... again, where are the flamingos?
Surprisingly the East Coast was rocky and full of garbage... 
possibly from Venezuela? 


Are we lost?  Well, even though the island was small, sometimes we didn't know where we were.  

The easiest way to get oriented was to go up the nearest hill and look for the tall masts of the Polynesia... it was the tallest structure on the island!


As the day wore on we decided to head back to the ship and prepare for Happy Hour.

While relaxing on the ship we were treated to a nice sunset over Klein Bonaire, the little island just off the shore. 


As night fell the group headed out to check out the night life. 
Oh boy, karaoke... our favorite! 
Many windows were shattered that evening! 

Lonely Lighthouse 

The next morning we toured the southern coast and found the water to have a beautiful hue.


Mountains of salt; important to the economy. 


Great Reflection Shot 
(thanks Bill!) 
Small buildings for the slaves that worked at the salt flats.  
We had heard so much about Bonaire being a great place to dive and snorkel, so we had to check it out.  This place, called 1000 steps, was hard to find, but we liked it the best.
We were so happy that the beaches were empty ... we had the place to ourselves!

OK, enough time in the ocean, let's find our way back to the ship before it leaves.


We set sail on time and said goodbye to Bonaire 


Yup, another refinery... either it is not working or it is really clean! 


As we left port, we passed close to Klein Bonaire.  We did not get to the island, but many passengers had.  

We heard the beaches were nice and that, since it is a wildlife sanctuary, the snorkeling and diving was excellent...  
... next time!

After the sails were raised we sat back and relaxed for the 12 hour trip back to Aruba.

On this final night we enjoyed a 'fancier-than-normal' meal, which ended with a flambeau dessert at the bar.

Afterwards, we visited top deck for the last time... watched the stars, and got set for departing in Aruba the next day.
 
This concludes the Bonaire portion of our Trip to the ABCs.

To continue with the trip, and to see details of 'Aruba - part 2', click here

To return back to the main ABC Trip page, click here