We left Los Aves in the early afternoon and arrived at Bonaire just after midnight. The next morning we woke up to sparkling, flat, crystal blue water framed by a boardwalk to a quaint, Dutch colonial town. It was like parking in a swimming pool- a fancy one that has a base of metallic aqua paint.
The town itself was a swanky outpost consisting of good cafes, restaurants and boutiques overflowing with designer French and Italian resort wear. A lack of Dinghy docks and a seriously anal, policy driven, Dutch, law abiding sensibility kept us on our toes, but otherwise our stop in this island was fabulous and delish.
We went out to Klein Bonaire (Little Bonaire) for two days of snorkelling and beach time. Bonaire is a world class dive spot and Russ the free-diver enjoyed some of the deep walls minus a tank. He can be a bit of a smart ass my Russ- and he likes to wave at scuba divers as they swim passed him ( at 20m depth) Kai is also becoming a pretty impressive free diver in his own right…
Bonaire is teaming with tropical fish. I found a massive school of tiny swimmers that moved around like a mammoth shape-shifting shadow. The form danced in a mesmerising way as we swam around and through it. At one point they circled me and they were so thick that I would not see anything but glittering, writhing bodies moving and teaming as one. I would have been quite happy to play with them for hours!
Bonaire is the windsurfing capital of the Caribbean. If I lived here and got to sail in these tranquil, shallow, protected waters everyday, I think I would succumb, join the dark-side and contentedly call myself a real windsurfer. The wave sailors may get bored, but the super cool beach shack/cafe/bar, MASSAGE hut, instructors (patient, happy people that I am not in a long term relationship with 
) ready and waiting to give lessons, gear galore, consistent wind and the perfect ambient temperature, makes Bonaire an idyllic place for windsurfing bliss. Kai went so hard that his hands were trashed with blisters after 2 days!
Below; this lucky girl has a big brother who taught her how to stand start…
Below left; The Bonaire scene…and Below right; Russ getting to relax and watch his family sail for a change!
Perth people: can some-one please do this with Lancelin???
Jaiya officially got the windsurfing bug in Bonaire and was the last one off the water…We were all tired and content after 2 big days sailing. If it wasn’t for a rare forecast of no wind for the following week we may have changed our schedule and stayed for a while (I saw an opportunity to nail jibing here but it wasn’t to be- got water starts licked though!)
Next Post: Hola Columbia! Did you miss us? the remarkable city of Cartagena
This entry was posted in The Sail.
Wow, spectacular!
Hey Andrew Douglas Glass glass – yeah Bonaire’s fun…dives are all so well organised (dutch and all that)
Well…. enjoy your tropical waters and temperature. Melbourne is freezing at the moment with gale force squalls. Fiji is looking good. Dad & Mum
Russel Morris lovin’ your travel blog! Anything like that is still a way away for me, we’re having our ‘surprise’ 3rd tonight, finally a daughter!
Congrats bud.just as well you like surprises – and being outnumbered, eh mate :)!…plenty of time then for you to break out yet – before they all run away.