What is it about Carnival? We had a big one in Aruba on Saturday, arrived in Curacao to a mid sized one on Sunday, then today some things are shut in Bonaire as its Carnival Holiday here today.
Not many of the crew had enough time to get down the other end of Aruba on Saturday to see the big one, but lots went to watch last night in Curacao as it was near the port, and there are certainly some bleary eyes amongst them today. To make it worse, today is their staff practice emergency drill and inspection of their quarters, so keeping a smile on their dial is hard going.
The emergency (crew) drill occurred outside our room where a (pretend) fire was found. (At this point I could make a really bad joke about my wife being smokin’ hot, but I won’t.) Emerged from our room to find the corridor packed with officers, engineers, fire fighters and maintenance people in full hazmat suits. Next thing the captain called for lifeboat stations, and then abandon ship drill. By this stage we were sitting in the coffee shop on shore watching from afar trying to keep out of their way whilst sipping our lattes, unlike a number of passengers marching around the ship because ‘there must be one restaurant open!’.
After consuming a bit of wifi, we started on a tour of the town. Now I bet you’ve probably never heard of Bonaire. I hadn’t. And who knew that the ‘capital’ (actually the only real town) was Kralendijk, or how to pronounce it? The smallest of the three Netherlands Antilles. Very Dutch. Very compact. Nicely kept. Has struggled to be self sufficient since independence from the Dutch because of its size and lack of natural resources, but we enjoyed our wander around.
Did the city walking tour. Beats Aruba and Curacao hands down in its treatment of visitors. Didn’t take much. The Visitors Centre wasn’t open of course but there were signboards around the town with a numbered walking trail, and (shock, horror) a small explanation at each. Doesn’t take much. A lovely wander where we felt like we saw a lot, and helpfully ended at the gelati shop.
When the Spanish arrived in 1499 they shipped every last one of the indigenous people off as slaves to work elsewhere in their mines. Ironically when the Dutch arrived in 1634 they imported thousands of slaves to work in their salt production, which lasted till the 19th century when slavery was abolished. Basically a forgotten Dutch outpost then until 1962 when Captain Don Stewart arrived on the island and realised what a unique reef and marine environment it had. He devoted the next 50 years to creating marine parks and diving sites, and now there are more than 90 protected dive sites. The waters are that turquoise blue that goes with clear water and sandy bottoms.
So this is where you come if you like diving and snorkelling. No chain hotels. Haven’t seen an international airport. No big cruise ships come here, so its not awash with loud tourists. But there are all the necessities – accommodation, restaurants, ATMs, coffee, wifi, gear hire, t-shirts. You don’t need a visa, and they take US dollars.
BBQ dinner up on deck as the sun set.
Bonaire
BBQ Dinner on the Deck
Bonaire
Catholic cathedral