I always said that I didn’t believe in love at first sight… but after 2 days in Bonaire, I’m changing my tune. I love it here. This place is such a special mix of the Netherlands culture with island life and baby, I’m here for it! Big time.
I woke up early Monday to enjoy some quiet time and coffee on the balcony. There were some storms coming and going out in the Ocean and it was creating a lot of rainbow activity due to the bright sun shining over the island. I counted 8 different rainbows in the span of about 2 hours. I made an attempt at a time lapse video and caught two of them with that. What a way to start a day!
Next we ran down to Avis to exchange the truck they gave us for the Jeep we actually rented originally. I have to admit, I was skeptical it would be there. But it was, and we are enjoying that Jeep life!
From there we hit up the Van Den Tweel Grocery Store. Grocery store shopping in foreign countries is always a favorite for both Dave and I. We love all the different items, and it’s kind of fun not being able to read anything – I didn’t realize how weird we probably are until typing that sentence! But we had a good time. It was very similar to the Scandanavian stores we’ve been to in Iceland and Norway. Lots of the same foods, and a similar feel. We loaded up on stuff to make sandwiches/wraps, snack foods, coffee fixings and a couple of local brews – I grabbed an Islander Summer Ale that is off the charts delicious and Dave reached for the Cactus Spirit which tastes almost identical to Tequila.
After lunch we headed out to do some exploring. I really didn’t have a plan, other than to drive South and look for the Cargill salt flats. So we headed that direction and were not disappointed. The flats are surrounded by pink lakes. They’re really beautiful and something worth taking a drive through. Dave wasn’t a huge fan, I guess pink lakes aren’t quite his jam, but around the bend we found a sight to see! Kite surfers – lots of them. They were really good, too. We stood in our Jeep and watched for a while and took some video. I can’t believe the air those people catch!
We continued around the Southern tip of the island, only to run into a nice flock of Flamingoes. Just out there, in the wild. Seeing the wild flamingoes was one of the top things on our list so it was a real treat to stumble upon them in such a natural setting. And to that point, I think that’s the theme of this trip. So many other places we’ve visited in the world seem to be overrun with tourists but this place is not. We didn’t see another soul around while we photographed those leggy, pink birds.
As if all of that wasn’t enough, we kept driving towards a place called Lac Bay. We also passed the most dutch thing about this island, besides the people – 3 old-fashioned windmills. Lac Bay was another pleasant surprise. You drive down some dirt roads and finally come to Jibe City which is a bunch of shacks filled with windsurfing equipment. We found The Hang Out Bar and each had a local beer and watched the talented windsurfers on Lac Bay as the sun started to set. I think I’d like to try Windsurfing sometime. I’m certain it takes a lot of muscles that I don’t have but there were people of every shape, size and age out there on the Bay. And Lac Bay is suppose to be the perfect place to learn, as it’s crystal clear water and only a couple feet deep in most spots.
We ended the evening at a restaurant in town called It Rains Fishes. We went for the chef’s 4 course meal and it was even better than I could’ve imagined. We started with seared tuna, caught fresh that morning. It literally melted in our mouths. Dave was a first time consumer of seared tuna and I think he’s hooked. Next was a beef broth course that was super flavorful. The main attraction was fresh caught wahoo served on top of the creamiest risotto. The finisher was an apple tart, ala mode. Ummmm, yeah. So much for healthy eating. Fish is good for you, right?
I’d say the first full day we spent in Bonaire was one that will be hard to top. But we will give it the ole’ college try tomorrow!
Bon Dia!
-Stacey