Mini-Van-Mike arrives to take us to the airport…
Where we find long lines and unhappy people.
Killing time in Jamaica waiting for our connecting flight.
Rob and I stood on the plane the whole way from Jamaica to Bonaire drinking rum and Coke….
But with the plane ready to land, it looks like the flight-dame is coming to tell us to sit down.
Bon Bini!!!!! Welcome to Bonaire!!!! For more info, Click here
Ed was supposed to pick us up, but the wires got crossed, so this local chic gave us a ride….
but I had to ride in the back.
She actually runs the motorcycle shop, so Rob and I rented bikes for the week.
If you’re gonna have fun, have lots of of fun!!!!
Arriving at the room….
Just some pics to give you an idea of what we lived in for a week.
It was a one bedroom with a living area…
and kitchen.
The window from the living area.
Bathroom…
and bedroom.
We passed Ed on the way in, and he met us back at our room.
BTW, this was the view from our balcony!!!
We had to share our condo with a friend.
Our first morning there, and we met up with Rob and Jenny for breakfast.
A crab under the dock.
I was so busy doing SCUBA classes, that I didn’t take any pics during the first day, and this is everyone about to eat dinner.
So tired….
But not tired enough that I can’t steal a kiss.
You can only get this in the Caribbean. It tastes kinda like a Corona, and it’s the only beer we drank while we were there.
Barb and Ed. (Ed is the Dive master for the trip)
On to the next evening. (once again, too busy to take pics)
There was a party going on at Buddy Dive Resort, and it was Barb and Ed’s anniversary.
Rob, however, choose to reflect on the sunset…..no wait, that’s the other way around.
We were all dog tired.
But with all this rum to drink….
and this rum…..
Well, all THIS rum to drink, there was no time to waste.
So as the night went on, we enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere of the caribbean.
The next day, and Rob and took off on our own to grab some beers.
You could spend the guilders in Amsterdam!!
On the way home, we stopped at the store for some supplies.
One case of beer and some munchies in the backpack.
A local shows me how he rolls his own cigarettes.
Wild cats everywhere, and Kelli felt the need to help out.
YES!!!!! With the training done, and the certifications at hand, we were ready to have some real fun.
We celebrated by going on a rum cruise.
We all piled into the back of Ed’s truck, and went down to the pier.
Our driver and driver’s helper.
Rob shows the proper way to orient yourself.
This is Capt. Mike, and it’s his boat we’ll be sailing on this evening.
This is his boat.
Although Barb thinks she’s the captain.
We’re just waiting for the rum to start running.
But with drinks in hand, we’re all much more relaxed.
The boat from the bow….
And me from the boat.
Kelli asked if I’d buy this house for her….um….sure.
I bet you wish you were there!!
No wishing for them, they were there.
The blue of the ocean seems to be taking over.
Our captain again, this time with his wife Jules.
At this point I must have been drunk and taking pictures of everything.
Alright, one more of the evening, then on to other things.
We thought this was funny.
We walked around Kralendijk and did some shopping.
Kralendijk is the largest town on the island that has a total population of about 40,000.
Each of the reefs on the island is marked with a stone painted yellow with the name of the reef.
It happened to be the reef we dove at the most.
Rob lent me his camera on our last day of diving so I could get some pictures.
My camera is not suited for underwater, but his is, so it made it ideal for this environment (duh).
It’s my first time really doing this….
With a camera I’m not familiar with….
So needless to say, most of the pictures are a little blurry.
An eel. He was about four feet long.
This guy was about 3-4 feet long with incredible color.
My favorite shot of all the underwater ones.
The reef at this spot was a wall that extended from about 30 feet below to 130 feet below.
It was a steep decline that was full of life all the way to the bottom.
The entire waters surrounding the island are a protected marine park.
The rare and beautiful Kelli fish.
While I was on the surface, this pelican swooped down and ate a fish, right in front of me!!!!!!
Kelli floating on the surface.
One of the other inhabitants of the island.
These crabs were all along the beaches. I thought their color was really cool.
These were also all over place. Man were they fast.
The flower smelled like…well…carrion and it attracts flies to pollinate it.
The next few pictures are just some flowers I found that I liked.
Nice color.
These had a nice smell.
It was getting dark or this would have been a better picture.
Check out how the root of this tree grew through the wall.
You may ask what the people on the island are like……read the sign.
Rob has apparently had lots of rum.
Read this if you want the background for the next few shots.
We took a ride to see the slave huts and the salt fields.
A reflective moment.
As you can see, they are not very big.
I couldn’t find anything saying how many people there were in each hut, but I’d bet it was 5-10.
The black spots in the white area are Flamingos, the national bird.
The pink is the salt drying fields. They pump sea water into the fields, then let the sun evaporate the water, leaving the salt.
An egret.
The salt is then collected and loaded onto ships for transport around the world.
The obelisk marks where the ships come to collect the salt. More of a monument today then of its practical use a hundred years ago.
Bonaire’s climate is very dry, not much rain at all during the course of the year.
This is what makes it an ideal area for collecting and drying salt.
When we went back and dropped of the girls to go on a beer run. They were adamant at telling us to come home soon.
Not being good listeners…..
We went to the bar first….
Then to the store for another case of beer.
Mmmmmm, beer.
With the fridge stocked, we were ready to go.
Rob giving a lecture on the evils of alcohol.
Rob puts in his favorite music, Yanni, for our last night in Bonaire.
BTW, this the swinger door from Rob’s place…
To mine. Kelli and Rob kept joking they had the key.
My “Elvis on drugs” impersonation.
Our last day, and time to pack.
Kelli has patience for one more picture.
The I join her while Rob takes one of both of us.
On our way to breakfast, we fed the fish…
Then met up with an old friend.
Leaving bonaire, the obligatory group pose, and the end of the pictures. Hope you enjoyed.