Thursday 15th November
We said “Cheerio” to our friends aboard ‘Wings’ ‘La Aventura’ & ‘Starsteam’, plus everyone who plays Mexican Train Dominoes on a Sunday afternoon, then a last minute change of plans to stay for a meal with ‘Andromeda’ and the managers cocktail party on the Wednesday. So it was Thursday afternoon before we slipped for St Georges, Grenada. The trip was memorable in that we had the new Yankee sail to try for the first time and we Flew! Mind you we didn’t have any reefs in the main to slow us down and the current was with us. We arrived while I was asleep and Malcolm had even had to slow down to be sure that Customs etc were open when we arrived. We haven’t been back here since the fiasco with the dirty fuel last year and our dear friends John & Mary– who are back in France doing the Med this year.
We decided to leave for BONAIRE on Tuesday quite early (0800) and once again we had a good trip, It took just over three days. No rain and no calm for motoring. Since it was downwind Malcolm poled out the Yankee and put 3 reefs in the main so that it was comfortable and manageable for the whole trip. We arrived 13.30 ish on Friday and found a mooring buoy easily and close to the main town of Kralendijk. We checked in at C & I and were made very welcome. Next a short walk along the seafront before an afternoon beer, swim and early night.
By Wednesday we needed to find green veggies and other essentials so strolled into the largest supermarket. This was quite a walk but well worth it. The Dutch have all the products from home in one store plus extras like the peanut sauce mix we tasted in Suriname last year, ready mixed Chinese stir fry, and ‘Heavy duty Mayonnaise’...whatever that is ???
Back aboard for a light lunch and cool snorkel then Malcolm went to book a car. I decided to make a cake for T and had just begun when the bilge alaarm went off eeek! I switched the fresh water pressure system off and then looked under the sink only to find a drip , so turned all handles the other way to try and stop it. (which it did) and the alaarm also went off so I finished the cake in peace. When Malcolm returned we had T and lemon cake before trying to trace the intermittent squeak from the bilge pump. By 8.30 that evening the bilge was dry and the pump was making no squeaks even with the fresh water system ON. - but we hadn’t found any leak…. So decided to call it a night and eat.
Next morning no further problems so left the F/W pump off and went ashore to the National Park.
Bonaire by Truck.
We drove out along the West coast road into Rincon hoping to get coffee but nowhere was open. Next we checked in at the park office with our paperwork and photo ID and were told to have climbed the highest mountain by 12 noon. This being Put Brandaris at 241m /748 ft.
I almost made it but the breeze was so cool I waited while Malcolm strove for the final ascent, in all it had taken about 1 3/4 hours. We then continued around the short route to find a spot of beech to cool off in. Malcolm snorkelled here .
Day 2 with the truck we set off for the Eastern coast at Washikemba Pink Flamingos were minding their own business in the Lagoon near the coast so we stopped to watch for a while. They are phenomenally well adapted to their life style. Their necks are long to reach under water and filter the mud, which they stir up with their feet and their bill is adapted with fine filters to sort either algae when they are young or small molluscs when they are older. Of course everyone knows that their pink colour comes from eating prawns so there is a lack of these delicacies in town restaurants. We passed the island land fill tip which has had an impact on the other tourist attractions around here. Whatever is blown out to sea is driven back by the prevailing currents all along the eastern coast as far as Lac Bay and beyond. We next missed out on the canoe around the mangrove swamps and snorkel session. The 2.30 session did not run on a Thursday. So we dropped by at the Butterfly Farm—and found that it closed early on a Thursday so even lunch there was out. We continued to Lac Bay to have our picnic and found a beautiful beach with white coral sand and azure water. We snorkelled here before driving round to the other arm of the bay to do more snorkelling off the inside off the reef. From here we made tacks for home stopping briefly at the light house and slave quarters. Most of the Southern end of the Island is below sea level. Consequently it has been used for salt production for its entire known life—and still is. There is a Flaming Sanctuary in the middle which no one can get to , rather more of a token effort than a tourist attraction methinks, still its fine for the birds who get peace and quiet.
We stop for a final beer at Karols Bar before Malcolm whips up a stunning Chinese meal.
Day 3
Return to the National Park. We return by driving the easy route via the North East coast to view the Indian inscriptions painted on the rocks. Today it’s torrential rain until 11 o’clock so we are slowed down by bad visibility. We arrive at the park office to sign in and then do the Lagadishi walk This is cooler than normal due to the rain and the ‘Blowhole’ is magnificent, my camera work does not do it justice! We pass more lakes with Flamingos and stop at all the viewpoints. Including the Playa Chikitu a dune and sandy beach area which is used for nesting sea turtles. Seru Grandi made of two rock terraces, the highest is 1 million years old. The lower is merely 210,000 years old both were caused by the rise and fall of sea levels. Boka Kokolishi this beach has pulpit like structures which provides protection from the strong waves and spectacular splashes. Pos Mangel a freshwater bird watching area with bonus iguanas added. Then back to Playa Wayaka where we have our best snorkel session yet! Crystal clear waters and such a mirad of huge fish which have no fear of being in the wave breaking area around the underwater coral. The Park wardens catch up with us as we are leaving to tell us that we are late leaving this area and follow us back collecting other late leavers.
Saturday 1st December practice dive off ‘Piano’ all went well however Malcolm is still not happy with the old BCD. He persevered but has decided to get a new one on Monday.
Monday 3rd December. First into the dive shop and bought a new BCD for the Captain together with some clips and new wet shoes for me. Coffee then another practice dive with Malcolms’ new BCD. The problem now is that with a 1/2 empty tank he hasn’t enough weight to get down so yet more strife , still it’s all a leaning curve and we will remember in future. Monday evening we went to Captain Dons dive place and had sundowners and a BBQ with many divers who are on holiday here. Then along to a brilliant talk on Coral by Dee who had plenty of slides and many stories of her life as an eco diver. She has written books and done various research with sea life and since there were only 4 of us had time to talk and answer questions.
Tuesday we took the tanks to be filled and had a chat with 'Asko' who is the general manager for 5 dive shops and speaks English like a Londoner! Wednesday we went back to show that we could do a buoyancy check and our instructor told me I only needed 2 Kg! Which I can carry in the BCD pockets instead of having a dive belt!
Then we took ‘Crescendo’ over to Klein Bonaire Island and did our first real dive on our own. We were down for 20 minutes and neither of us had any problems with buoyancy or water filling our masks. No images taken (sorry) but the water was clear and we saw plenty of coral and fish. The swim back to ’Crescendo’ was the worst part but no pain no gain as they say ...
All other photos are in a new folder called Bonaire, so do have a look and ask if you need the URL- smileXX
