Services

Now that we have a working bank account, bank cards, and money it is time to get some services done. We are very proud of ourselves that we could locate services on the island that we need.

First, we got our island car serviced.  We hadn't had anything done to the car since we bought it so it was overdue. This was a nice English speaking garage. We got a 7:30 am appointment...aaargghh.  We never get up that early let alone get somewhere. 

The air conditioner in our master bedroom decided to start leaking water. Rick looked at some You Tube videos and was convinced he could fix it himself.  His quest was cut short because he could not get the housing off the unit.  So we called an air cooling service.  The technician took two seconds to take the housing off, clean the filters, pull out a clogged tube, gave it a blow (literally blew into the tube) and it was fixed.

Each room in the house has an air conditioning unit.  Since our master was not working, it gave us the opportunity to try out all the beds. It was a good exercise to make sure each was well equipped and comfortable.  We want to make sure our guests are happy with the accommodations.  I am glad to report that when you visit us you will love the well appointed rooms, comfy beds and quietly working air conditioners. 

Keeping up with the landscaping needs of the compound is a full time job.  We located Marco and he is coming this week to trim all the palm trees, plant some trees that are currently in pots, and give everything a trim. I am hopeful he will come regularly to keep the place looking good. Marco runs a landscaping business out of his home that is about two blocks from our house and on the same street. 

Car Serviced ✔

Air conditioners serviced ✔

Gardener Employed ✔

Time to go to the beach ✔
 

 
 

Bonaire Culinair

It's Restaurant Week in Bonaire.  Bonaire Culinair is a 15 day event to showcase the islands' culinary wealth.  We made reservations at three of them we have not yet experienced. 

Cuba Campagnie was first on our tour.  Featured mushroom soup, chateaubriand for two and a small taste variety dessert plate.  This place features open air seating on the central plaza.  Besides great food, there was lots of people- watching  activity.  We saw the Dutch coast guard walk through the plaza in full fatigue uniforms, back packs and guns.  As you may recall, the military is on the island to cut down on drug traffic and illegal's. The service men posed for pictures with kids. Probably not bad duty to be stationed on Bonaire.

Second, was Sebastian's.  We had a table for two right on the ocean.  Watched the sunset and then had appetizers of sashimi and carrot ginger soup, entree was grilled barracuda on risotto, dessert was sour lime-rom ice cream (so sour it made us pucker).  Wine was paired with each course. Lovely evening.

Last stop on the tour was Oscar Lighthouse. Oscar Lighthouse is a landmark that can be seen from much of the island. Great spot at the marina. A grouper dinner was a rare delight as grouper is a protected species in Bonaire.  This came from Curacao. We had a nice view of the marina and celebrated our neighbor's birthday.  Our waitress spoke perfect English.  We made a bet that she was not Dutch.  I lost.  She perfected her English by watching American TV and listening to 70's music.  

 

                                                            
 

Island stuff

I am sure this is culturally inappropriate for anywhere but Bonaire.  This is a wall mural at a boutique hotel near our house.

Everything is flamingos in Bonaire.  The airport is named after flamingos, everyone sells flamingo statues, and houses are painted flamingo pink, mailboxes are flamingos, there are flamingo purses, chairs and mobiles.

Many open air restaurants are surrounded by sand.  So they provide paint brushes to wipe the sand off your toes. This one is at Blennies near Buddy Dive Resort. 

These orchids are in our garden in front of a statue of a child. 

 

Roads

The roads on Bonaire are hideous. Very narrow, no aprons, bad pavement, and full of pot holes. The roads are constantly under construction. Seems like miles of trenches are dug through the already crumbling pavement only to be patched over the cuts.

This is the pot hole division. It consists of an old, small pickup with asphalt mix in the back and two guys with shovels filling holes.  We laughed watching them fill pot holes with this rag-tag group.

The transportation group recently built a roundabout at a busy intersection.  When the project was nearly completed, they discovered that the roundabout was too small for trucks.  They are now in the process of tearing out the roundabout and making it bigger.  This will cost  $1.2 million dollars according to the estimates.

Bicycles, scooters, and golf carts will back up traffic with 20 cars because the road is too narrow to pass. Some of the narrow roads have been made one way. When you go to a dive site on a one-way road, you get to drive all the way around the island to get back to town. The one lane roads that are not one way, require drivers to drive half way off the road so two cars can pass going opposite directions.

The government is studying the road issue.  I am sure they will find a good solution after all they have been studying for years.

 

Selling Stuff Again

It has taken us a few months to get used to our new house.  Not all the contents in the house suit our style or liking. It is like staying in a hotel. We like some of the stuff but it's not ours. So we have been changing it up. Since I love selling stuff, I decided I could do it in Bonaire like I did in Colorado.  There is a robust market for used items and a special site for selling things on Bonaire.

This house is full of pillows and throws.  Why we have throws in 80 degree weather, I can not understand. So many of them are being sold.

I am also the owner of a steam iron and ironing board.  I decided when I arrived I was never going to iron anything again. So this Dutch iron is for sale. It's huge and heavy.

The dining table chairs were rickety and dirty. I put them on Facebook Marketplace and within minutes, I had people wanting to buy them.  Fastest sale I ever made. Furniture is super expensive on the island so used furniture goes fast if it's priced right.

We brought a food scale to Bonaire.  The house had two scales both in grams....that doesn't help anyone.  The packaging is in Dutch, again no help to anyone that lives at this house.  It's gotta go.

I am hoping the sales can pay for our new dining room chairs.  I got to sell a lot of stuff to make some cash because we still can't access our bank account.


 

Rosemary

We found a garden store on the island. We were so excited to find a place that could give us great advice and sell us plants and pots. They have a yard full of local plants. We strolled through the lot and enjoyed every minute.

We have been looking for herbs and tomato plants.  We have not had any luck in finding these plants. We resigned ourselves to the fact we will probably have to grow everything from seeds.

Rosemary is an herb that we use consistently.  We thought we could grow it in Bonaire because it likes hot, dry weather.  We had seen hedges of Rosemary growing in Phoenix and wanted to duplicate that scenario here. We ask the nursery guy if he had Rosemary.  He replied: " I have tried to grow it but it doesn't grow very well on the island". We were discouraged.

Our landscaper guy, Marco, who lives down the street from us, told us he has some and will bring us a starter plant next time he comes. He also asked what else we needed.  He is a master grower and must have a huge garden.

When you want something on the island, it all depends on who you know and who you ask. 

 

Crime

The Dutch Coast Guard has docked at Bonaire.  They are starting a several month program to capture drugs and Venezuelans, both of which are illegal on the island. Military personnel were unloading on the dock.  It was the first time we have seen military present on shore.  

This program is in conjunction with the Dutch Navy, US authorities and the Caribbean drug enforcement  agency.  They cruise around the islands and try to pick up drug runners from South America and illegals trying to come to the island without appropriate documentation.

Last week, at the airport, a Colombian man was apprehended with a large sum of money he couldn't explain, and he had not gotten an appropriate visa for visiting the island.  It amazed me that he was apprehended because the security at the airport is like a vacation hotel.  Looks must be deceiving because they really are stopping the undesirables.

Drugs and weapons are against the law on the island.  It is interesting that drugs are legal in Amsterdam but not here.  Nevertheless, drugs are present on Bonaire.  Yesterday, we were swimming at Bachelor Beach (the closest one to our house) and the occupants in the truck next to us were smoking pot.  We suspect it is grown here. Although, it is possible that it is brought in via the airport or by sea.

The police reports in the local paper, "The Bonairian" , often report fights that break out using knives.  It seems only the police carry guns. It is interesting to note that Bonaire had only one homicide victim in the last five years. 

Petty crimes seem to be the biggest problem.  The dive sites are always being hit by thieves.  So when we go to the beach we take nothing but car keys and towels. We leave our phones, drivers license, money and anything that can be taken while we are in the water. Better safe than sorry.

 

Original House

This is one of the original houses that face the ocean on the seaside road.  It is still occupied but has not been maintained.  It is surrounded by three story condo buildings.  Must be worth a fortune.
 

This is the back of the old house.  There is a charming walkway that leads to the sea. The island boasts that the ocean and beaches are open to everyone but in reality private beaches are becoming the norm especially in town.

This is a wall that separates the condo building from the original house in the first photo.

The dive site " Something Special" is hidden away in front of the old house.  You really have to search for this one. The dive site is the main harbor of Kralendijk.  It is located at a dead end street.

Next to the old house is a storage container that has been painted by a local artist.  

This is the view from the front of the old house. We hope it doesn't change as this is part of the charm of the island.

Residency

We are now official residents of Bonaire, Netherlands.  We got our passport stamp from the immigration office today.  In six months we will get a letter to go get our picture ID...  nothing happens fast on this island.

We celebrated with lunch at "Between Two Buns".

Getting residency required collecting documents with Apostilles while we were still in the US. Marriage and birth certificates required apostilles at the tune of $200 a document.  Apostilles are these certifications that say the document is real and certified. We also had to get FBI finger printed and background checks that could be no more than three months old when we applied for residency.  Also had to show that we had a reliable income (social security and Freedom Environmental pay stubs), bank letters of reference, deed to our house, bank statements for the last six months and every other document we could produce they took.

We used an agent to help us through the process. Our agent, Agnes, worked at the immigration office and has since retired and now runs the Multistore retail store selling tourist trinkets. We visited Agnes at her store two years ago. We met in the back storage room and she gave us the directions for getting residency. It was like going to a 1920's speakeasy and giving a code word to get it.

Agnes completed our application and submitted it in February. This morning we got a call to come to the immigration office and show our passports.  We dove there right away and got our residency.

Residency allows us to have free medical care.  This includes doctor visits, hospital visits, medicine, operations and any other medical care we need. We also get resident fees at the bank which is quite a savings.  We will also get a discount on the  duty we paid on our shipment of stuff to the island. Our house taxes will be at the resident rate.

Banking

 

Getting a bank account on Bonaire has been a test of patience (of which I have none) and tenacity (I do have lots of this).

It all started in March with a call to the bank.  We were told that we would get an email within one week to tell us what we needed to open an account. It's not like the States.  

The email outlined the documents required and a list of questions for the application to get an account opened. Documents included social security payments, pay stubs showing monthly income, passports, residency papers (which we have not received yet), reference letters from our US banks signed by an officer of the bank, proof of address not older than 3 months,  and notary deed of property owned on the island.

Questions asked to complete the application included: How much will be wired to the account on a monthly basis? Will you deposit cash in the account? What is the highest amount that will be given out from the account? What is the highest cash amount that will be withdrawn?

The question that really chapped me was: Why do you need a bank account? Really?

By now, it is April.  We have sent documents to the bank multiple times and been promised an appointment at the bank to get an account. I have emailed weekly to urge the bank to open an account for us. The bank finally scheduled an appointment to sign the application.  The application is about 30 pages and must be signed or initialed on at least 15 of the pages. 

The application is sent to Curacao to the central bank.  It is supposed to take two weeks for approval.  I email the banker weekly.  Each week the email gets more insistent and curt.  Four weeks go by and no account.  I threaten to go to another bank (there are several to choose from) to get an account.  We are so far down the road with this bank that we have no intention of starting this whole dumb process again! The banker answers my rude emails pleasantly but with no account open.

In the meantime, we are having to pay bills with cash (which after 4 months on the island is running out), stand in lines to pay bills (because we can't pay online without a bank account) and have not been able to make service purchases that we need for the house. With a bank account everything can be done electronically.

It is now mid-May. The banker has gone on vacation for a week and I get automatic replies to my hate mail. Upon his return, he finally notifies me that an account has been opened.

You would think our troubles were over... they are not.  We fill out the online application for our account to do online banking.  It, too, must be approved before we can use it.  It might be several weeks.  We were also informed that our bank cards that allow us to use the ATM and debits will not be available for two weeks (which means a month in bank speak).

We now have a bank account. We have no way to access it, our wire transfer from our US bank will take 3-7 days, we don't have bank cards or online banking.

Costs

The pool boy (aka Rick) has had to pick up the pace lately.  With the Sahara dust and the high winds the pool is constantly full of dirt and palm tree trash. Cleaning the pool is an every day chore. 

Our pool cover in Colorado helped keep the pool clean and warm (although the pool heater did most of the work). This pool is exposed to the elements.  It is a saltwater pool heated by the sun. The pump that circulates the water is electric. The pool boy runs on Mojitos and fish sandwiches.

We got our water and electricity bill from WEB (our energy company). It was around $300 for a month. This includes air conditioning which is like heating during the winter months in Colorado, other electricity and trash pickup. Its been an even trade with utility costs.

We have cut our communication costs.  The VPN and Netflix cost about $30 and month and we don't have cable.

Our Google Fi phone service costs are the same.  Using WhatsApp has kept that cost down.

Drinking Bailey's on ice and watching movies in paradise...pricless!

 

Salt

Salt is a big deal on Bonaire.  We are constantly amazed at how they harvest, move and store salt. The Salt ponds are also a constant source of beautiful and interesting photos.  This one was taken on a calm day...and not by me.

Photo by Kent Thomas

They pile up the salt using end loaders and conveyer belts. 

They collect a bucket of salt and dump it into a box that dumps it onto the conveyor belt.  The belt takes it across the road and out to the dock and into the waiting ship.

It is a constant process of piling and moving salt. Boats are coming and going weekly to receive the salt and ship it around the world.

It's a really cool process.  We always stop to watch when we are in the area.  It's fascinating to us to see the operation in action.  

 

Storage

Our storage room is a hall way in between the house and the guest house.  It's perfect. Shelves built floor to ceiling, hold ladders, tools, lawn equipment, suitcases, paint and all the stuff you need to maintain the house. The previous owner left all of his tools, and handyman equipment.  We have power tools, power washer, drills, dollies, saws, paint, plaster and shovels.

The last several weeks we have cleaned it out and pitched boxes of wire, electrical outlets and junk that we don't need or want. There is lots of room on the shelves.  We also have this nifty door that hides a neat storage area for tools and supplies.

The rest of the island buys containers and have them delivered to their yards for storage. Containers are everywhere.  

This container is a block away. It houses stuff from the duplex across the street.  They seem to park them everywhere.  Some are painted to match the house and others get painted by local artists or taggers.

  

 

Hair Cuts #2

Rick and I have been giving each other haircuts. Although we each gave it our very best, neither of us was deliriously happy about the results.  

Going on the recommendation of friends, I made an appointment at "Scissors" a cute little salon on the north end of Kralendijk. Aranska, our new stylist, is from Holland and has lived on the island of a year.  She learned English in high school and also speaks what ever they speak in Finland in addition to Dutch. Her English is not great but enough to communicate with us.

I also made an appointment for Rick the following day. Now looking at the picture we are really getting grey.  I also scheduled a color as I am not ready to be all grey, yet.