Bonaire Day 2

This morning we went on our long awaited ATV tour of the island. This was a fan favorite when we were here in 2019 and we were all looking forward to this again. When planning this trip, I found out the tour company was only offering self guided tours via golf carts due to lack of available staff as a result of dang COVID.

I followed up a couple months ago to see if staffing had changed and was told they would make an exception for our group and get the ATV’s and a guide for us. We had an amazing guide, Steve, who agreed to take us on the tour as he had the weekend off from his other job. He is a 55 year old adventure sport enthusiast who spends time training on dirt bikes on the trails and paths in Bonaire. He’s lived on the island for 29 years and took us on one heck of an adventure! We did not do any beginner type trails and were definitely off the beaten path and saw some very unique areas of Bonaire. Because they have received a surprising amount of rain in the past several months, there was lots of mud, water, ruts and some areas which were unpassable. After 6 hours, we were thoroughly covered in dust and dirt and had an amazing time. We’re just bummed that Nikki and Chris couldn’t have been there with us.

Fun Facts:

• Bonaire, along with Aruba and Curacao, were created as a result of volcanic eruptions years and years ago. You can see the volcanic formations, fossils and such around the island.

• One area of particular interest was a ‘blow hole’ where water and air would seep through some of the porous volcanic ground and make a whistling noise. We have a cool recording of this.

• Donkeys and goats still run wild on the island and we saw many of both.

• Lizards like french fries. We went to an area and Steve told us to throw out some of our fries leftover from lunch and watch the lizards come out from around us to grab a bite…and boy, that they did. They seemed to come from out of nowhere.

• Bonaire is south (50 North of Venezuela) and does not receive hurricanes. They will feel impact from the back end of hurricanes with wind and rain.

• The island does not have a hurricane or tsunami warning system.

• According to our ATV guide, 29 years ago the population of Bonaire was approximately 8,000. Today it’s around 22,000.