Bonaire Photography travel

Beautiful Bonaire

by peterpecksen
Comments 2

Our second stop on the ABC island trilogy was Bonaire. The 20,000ish population are part of what is called Special Municipality of The Netherlands. We spent just over a week here and found it very much to our liking.

Salt Pyramids
The southern 10% (approximately) of the island is given over to salt production. The massive stockpiles of salt amongst the vast brine coloured evaporation ponds is quite a sight to see.

The laid back lifestyle, spectacular coastal views and SCUBA diving set it apart from the other two ABC islands. I will be doing a blog focusing on the diving here, but let me just mention here that they have done it right here, in my humble opinion.

Salt Pier and Salt Pyramids
The view looking north toward the Salt Pier along the coastline gives you an idea of what you have to endure when exploring the island here.
Yellow Slave
The orange obelisk was one of four (the others being blue, white, and red) that told ships where to dock to be loaded with different types of salt in the early 1800’s. The work was done by slaves who lived in the small stone huts you can see near the pillar.
Windmills
At the southern tip of the island you can definitely see the Dutch influence with the windmills that help control the dykes that facilitate the movement of seawater into the evaporation ponds.

One of the other features of Bonaire is that it is home to the largest breeding colony of American Flamingos in the southern Caribbean. The brine that lives in the salt heavy ponds is a vital food for the birds which are the reddest of all the flamingo species.

Flamingos
We saw hundreds of these flamingos on the island. Here they are feeding while the Royal Terns hang out around them. Everything between them and the salt piles in the background is all salt evaporation ponds.
Trusty Steed
We got great use out of our little rental pickup. It allowed us to explore all the areas of the island. And some of them were pretty rugged. If you are ever going to Bonaire the only logical choice for rentals is AB Car Rental. Seriously, full insurance coverage and zero deductible at no extra cost.
Lac Bay Sailing
We were told it was worthwhile to head over to the east side of the island to see the sights. Diving is challenging on this side due to wind and currents. However, it makes it a natural Mecca for windsurfing enthusiasts.
West Side Wind Farm
Also the windward east side is a logical choice of location for the wind farm which apparently supplies around a third of the islands electrical power.
Bolivia Caves
After what seemed like forever on a brutal path (I think we took the long way in) we found the Bolivia Caves. Worth the trip. Fantastic limestone features in this surprisingly deep cave in the side of the escarpment.
Sunset at Bachelor's Beach
On our second last night there we made our way down to Bachelor’s Beach and enjoyed the sunset with several of the locals. Pretty spectacular.

 

Tags • • • • • • • • • • • •

About peterpecksen

Welcome to our travel blog. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to say, "I'm out of here?" Well we did, and in 2013 we made it a reality. We sold or gave away all of our possessions other than what fit in our luggage and we set off on an endless adventure. Part of our goal is to share our experiences with others and hopefully provide some information, motivation, or just a moments escape. The general idea was to look for a place that would be ideal to settle down in. However in the meantime it is about experiencing life in different countries amongst different cultures and learning how to understand and appreciate each other. A large part of our time is spent housesitting which provides an excellent opportunity to experience more of the "normal" neighbourhoods as opposed to the tourist locales. Though we make sure to enjoy those as well. So through plenty of photographs and a running commentary come and share with us our life on the road.

pecksen.wordpress.com

2 comments on “Beautiful Bonaire”

  1. Kevin Pattison
    November 3, 2019

    That looks absolutely beautiful.

    Reply
  2. Anonymous
    November 8, 2019

    Stunning…love the salt mounds…they look like snow…:)

    Reply

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: