Finding the right words to express the beauty that surrounds us – is difficult. No way to really show you – pictures do not do Bonaire justice. Turquoise water that is so clean, clear, warm … we just slip off the aft step, swim under the hull and there we have it – the most serene underwater view! The sun casts her rays on the brain coral and the little sprouts of fantail coral that are just starting …. the sea cucumbers are waving with the current. The flora of the Caribbean sea floor is reviving … thankfully the local Bonairians realize this and the Marine Park is proactive.
Brain Coral attached to our mooring
Just snorkeling along the shore line – after 30 yards off the hull of Companion – Angel fish - black with yellow, white with black tails and fins, black with neon blue pock a dots, Puffer fish, Parrot fish (at least 5 pounds and 20” long) in shades of turquoise, pink, lavender (can’t help but thInk that they just had their makeup applied as their “eye shadow and lipstick” are perfect) … markings on their tail – oranges, greens, and shades of blue … Flounders that look little floor mats, Squids that look you right in the eye, millions of little minnows that swim in sycronization; as if they had practiced time and time again, Blue Tang (perwinkle in color) fish that glow, Trumpeters that wiggle thru the water …. I could go on and on … to say the least both Dale and I have been spending a lot of time with our backs to the sun, fins gently moving us along … peaceful …
A Blue Tang
Parrot Fish nibbling her dinner
Companion is moored (as all boats along Bonaire’s inner coast are) facing Kralendijk - one of the three villages of Bonaire… it is a active town with fantastic restaurants, local little food shacks and bars, good fruit and veggie market plus a “Budget Marine” store that Dale has frequented… We just dinghy over, have a look around – see what everyone is up to and then dinghy back to our little water home!! “Norca’s” for Thai and Indonesian food - Dale had a creole goat stew, “Paradise Moon” that had the most delicious pumpkin soup ever (had it twice!), “It Rains Fishes” an upscale and romantic dinner …. And of course Companion’s galley has produced a few good meals, too! Eating is our entertainment for the evenings in between rummikub games.
Rented a car for a day to tour the whole island – 20 miles by about 8 miles at the largest section – only takes about four hours of driving and stopping plus a lunch… so as we started out ... about five miles from town , we heard a little pop - then nothing – no engine, no moving, no nothing… called the rental place and they came to our rescue with a new pick-up truck… how fun for us…. back on the road again - we head north to find the flamingos,
east to see the wild donkeys,
the salt flats and more flamingos,
the salt flats and more flamingos,
south to see the lagoon with a hundred of wind surfers, and back north into town and a little grocery shopping in a regular supermarket (looking for toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies – some things never change!) …. At the wind surfing lagoon we had a delicious lunch at the “Jive Dive” shop – plus a couple of cold ones to wash it down …..
blissfully perfect! Bonaire is one of the higlights for us!
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