bonaire

bonaire was fantastic. we moored in the lee of the island between the main island bonaire and a little island across. the little island across had no buildings at all. it was a park with plenty of diving and snorkeling spots. the water was great and we did get to see a little of the underwater sights. on the main island, there were many pretty buildings and most of them looked like the typical dutch architecture.

the island is very dry and we enjoyed the scene with cactus and lots of pink flamingos.

we were also very pleased to do a one stop only immigration and customs, with no lines and absolutely free. definitely a sailor friendly place. not to mention there were plenty of moorings for us to choose from and grab, as anchoring is strictly forbidden in the entire island, to preserve the coral of course.

diving here is a main attraction and people do so from the beach. it is a unique spot for that. we also felt very comfortable as we heard a lot of spanish. being so close to venezuela, seemed to us that spanish was the common language, but of course is papiamento, which if we concentrated a bit we could understand. in fact we even laughed because it sounded to us like a funny spanish but with a slight variation, but still easy to understand.

we enjoyed going around some canals in our dinghy and a beautiful marina complex with incredibly pristine beaches and water.