Tuesday 20th nov 18
We caught our first glimpse of Bonaire, at sunrise, we had both the light houses in our sight well before that, but the sun lit up the rocks and the low land of the south of the island. Bonaire is the only island with a taste to it… salty. You can feel the tang of it in your throat even a few miles away from its coast. We soon discover why, there are mountains of the stuff, glistening as we pass by.
There is no anchorage in Bonaire, and we are lucky enough to find a buoy straight away … we just watched a catamaran leaving, so we jump on its buoy. We are so close to the shore and the town and still the water is crystal clear. Don’t think we have moored up in such a pretty town location. We don’t even bother with the outboard; we’ll row over to shore. Our first stop is the customs and immigration, done in 15 mn and for free. Easy.
Since we are on land we explore Kralendijk. As all the Dutch island, it has a very nice feel to it, clean and tidy with beautifully restored colourful buildings. It is a bit quiet this morning, no cruise ship in town. And we found the ice cream parlour… on par with the ice cream in les saintes, only less generous portion. On the way back to the boat, we call on Jackster, Jacqui and David, we met in Trinidad. We end up sharing a meal at one of the restaurant on the front, very nice it is too. They have just finished a circumnavigation and they both are a mine of useful informations as well as being excellent company. In the course of the conversation ian is invited to go and dive with them. They are extremely keen divers, going down twice a day.
Wednesday 21st nov 18
We need a rest and clean up day, the boat is always a mess after a passage of any length. Still the water and the view is absolutely stunning and there is plenty of distraction with the road so close to us that we could hold conversation with the pedestrians.