Finding Our Groove in Bonaire

It’s been another eventful (and awesome) week here on Bonaire. We’ve settled in nicely to our routines of David’s internship, fitness classes, adventuring, laundry, groceries, etc. Speaking of which, let’s talk about food for a bit. Grocery shopping when you don't understand the language items are written in (Dutch) can prove interesting, if not a bit humorous. We’ve ended up with a few items we weren't expecting (ie: mashed potato balls, mystery spices, etc.) Most have ended up being a happy surprise (most, not all). Meat and fish items are usually easily identifiable and some item have very helpful pictures on their packaging. This is greatly appreciated! For example, spaghetti sauce lacks my preferred taste when made with hamburger versus Italian sausage and spice level really matters to me since I’m a spice lightweight! We’ve been those people in the stores on Google Translate trying to figure out what's what but that only works if you’ve able to receive cell service. ;)

Another observation is the collective minimization of the use of plastic packaging. Sure, you’ll see it here and there but it’s so much less than in the States. Juices, teas, milk, etc. often come in paper cartons…like the way we purchased milk cartons back in the day in the States. I’ve yet to see a plastic bag at any grocery or retail store. At grocery stores, you can purchase a recycled and reusable bag, use your own or just try and carry all your purchases out in your arms (I remembered to pack reusable bags...but could have packed more). Stores back home can, and should, do better with minimizing plastic use.

There are only 2 known chain restaurants here. Kentucky Fried Chicken and Subway. Anytime I happened to drive by the KFC, it’s had a full parking lot and a line in the drive through. After a little Googling, I learned the restaurant has been on the island since 1992!! I’m also told that unlike KFC’s back in the States, you can order beer at the KFC here. Thus far, we've been dining at local restaurants when we do dine out.

We’re told a favorite lunch snack of the Dutch on the island is a cheese sandwich with a sweet topping rounded off with a side of fruit and yogurt. There is a large variety of bread in all the stores and a HUGE selection of cheese. We’re buying a different cheese each time we’re at the store. I’ll also admit I had to get some American and pepperjack cheese as we were missing them. Potatoes are also quite popular. I’ve seen some new varieties here. If you have what we call french fries, steak fries or wedge fries they are served with ketchup and….mayonnaise. I’ve not experienced that before. David is a fan and I remain more traditional with ketchup only. We’ve yet to have Dutch apple pie but it’s on the list!

This week we saw a city on the sea. In other words, a LARGE cruise ship arrived and docked in front of us. I did a little research and the boat had 6,400 passengers!!! It had 19 decks and is said to have over 1,700 crew members. It originated in Miami and went to all 3 of the ABC islands. Fortunately, I found a schedule of when cruise ships come to port here and was able to plan around their arrival..somewhat. It certainly would not have been a good day to go grocery shopping, snorkeling or be on the road as people were everywhere enjoying their time on the island.

One experience I had been hoping to have while here was volunteering with the Bonaire Sea Turtle Conservation organization. This week I was able to join them as they traveled to Klein Bonaire (small bonaire) to conduct nest monitoring patrols. This included a 2km walk along the beach to look for turtle activity such as turtle crawls (where a turtle is looking for a place to nest), attempts (where a turtle attempts to make a nest), new nests (a hump or pile of sand) and evidence of baby hatchlings (baby turtle tracks, egg shells, depression in the sand, or even a baby turtle). On our second trip, we were rewarded with much turtle activity. Staff saw an area with what looked like some hatchling activity and sure enough, there had been a recent hatch. We saw one baby loggerhead sea turtle atop the compressed nest. We were told he was ‘taking a nap’. He was gently placed in a bucket, given time to wake up and was then released into the ocean. We were told we likely saved him from predation or perishing in the heat. The field coordinator said this little one probably had a greater chance of survival being released alone so as to not draw attention to himself as can occur when a large group of baby sea turtles enter the water together. It was magical to say the least. Please enjoy the pics and video. :) There’s more…we (the staff) also found a new nest…right under a shelter with benches where day visitors can rest or get out of the sun. Clearly this mama turtle knew what she was doing and picked quite a posh spot! The staff gently dug down to verify the presence of eggs and carefully replaced the sand, collected data about depth, size, etc. A dated and marked barrier was set up to advise people to avoid disturbing the area. Along our walk we also saw many baby hermit crabs, coral stones, and the shell of a LARGE lobster that had molted. I didn’t know lobsters molted so that was new information for me! I will be returning home with much merch from this organization as all proceeds benefit their sea turtle conservation efforts. :)

A couple new land experiences included attending an “Art Talk” at a glass art studio, MoltenWolf Glass. It was very interesting. The couple who own the business are from the States and described their foray into glass art as a hobby. This ‘hobby’ now has an ocean front store with amazing pieces of art. They have a passion for what they do and enjoy sharing and discussing glass fusion with others. I would very much enjoy watching the artists do their thing. Seems I missed some workshops that occurred earlier this summer but I’m hoping something pops up while we're here. Another fun event was attending a movie. We didn’t know there was a movie theatre on Bonaire so we were surprised when we stumbled upon it. They have both indoor and outdoor theatres. Think of the outdoor theatre like a drive in but with chairs instead of cars. I’m including a picture from their website. Due to the heat, the outdoor theatre was closed but it looked awesome and while we were waiting for the indoor theatre to open, the breeze outside was lovely. Anyhow, we saw Equalizer 3 in this cute theatre and enjoyed it very much. Note: the movie was in English and the subtitles were in Dutch. There was lots of Italian spoken in the movie so we missed the English subtitles on those parts. No worries, we got the gist though. ;) Barbenheimer is playing here so I hope to add those movies to my list of ones to see.

While David has been working away underwater, I decided to treat myself to a day pass at a lovely resort just a few steps away. It’s the same property where I attend my AquaFit class and each time we finish class I say, 'I wish I could hang out in the pool all day'. So, I decided to do just that. I had the choice of many pool or beach side cabanas. I chose the pool. I saw a young lady I had seen during a class earlier in the week and we struck up a conversation as soon as I entered the water. A little over 3 hours later, having not moved much from my spot in the pool with the wind blowing my hair back, I realized my forehead was on fire (my hat was in my bag in the shade). I now have a beet red, swollen forehead. You know the characters from the movie Avatar? If you replace their blue color with red, that’s what I look like. This is despite applying much sunblock too. My new friend, Shannen, and I had such a lovely conversation over a host of topics, I’d gladly do it again.

I’ve had a blast snorkeling and met a lovely snorkel buddy on a Bonaire Snorkeling Facebook group. She is from Amsterdam and we try to snorkel together 1-2 times a week. Fortunately, she speaks English since I know zero Dutch. We saw some fun stuff this week including several adult angelfish. They were quite large…and curious, with some getting a little too close for comfort to my buddy. I was able to snap a pic of one giving me an epic side-eye. ;) We also saw trunkfish, parrot fish, trumpet fish, a turtle and many other beauties under the sea.

I was also fortunate to meet 3 wonderful women on the turtle adventure. One had just moved here with her boyfriend and a charming couple from the Netherlands who were here on holiday. They shared the story of how they became a couple and it was lovely. We exchanged phone numbers to share fotos and enjoyed a bit of chatter and well wishes back and forth. I’ve always loved this aspect of travel. Meeting people, if only briefly, who share a passion for nature, adventure, kindness, unity and the joy that travel brings. We remain so incredibly grateful for this adventure. ;)

This & That

• David is plugging away on his internship and is enjoying it very much. He’s currently tasked with creating a map of a particular dive site (this involves drawing and using colored pencils) and and developing an emergency action plan.

• In his work, David has seen an octopus, several stingrays, more seahorses, a school of tuna (apparently they are very large) and many eels. We have no photographic proof of any of this since he’s been on work, not pleasure, dives.

• The children on Bonaire are required to learn 4 languages in grammar school….Dutch, Papiamentu, English & Spanish! I thought this was amazing. I sure wish I would have learned another language when I was in school.

• The iguana in the palm tree outside our balcony seems to be a resident rather than a visitor.

• Island time and life is interesting. We still hurry and David feels like he’s late for work unless he’s at least 20-30 minutes early…no one seems to share that vibe.

• The availability of items in stores is a tossup. If you see something you’re thinking about getting, get it…as it might not be there next time.

• The operating hours of stores and restaurants are more of a suggestion rather than set in stone. For example, there is a bakery not far away that I’m eager to try but they have a handwritten sign on their door that says, “Closed for holiday until Oct”. You might also think you’ll stop by a store before closing to find they called it a day earlier than posted. This is all quite fine. I find I enjoy the softer, more laid back vibe with no worries.

#bonaireturtles

#bonaire

#bonaireisland

#bonairetourism