The Wave

We have been watching the Tropical Wave action heading toward Bonaire.

A Tropical Wave, is an atmospheric trough of low air pressure oriented north and south and moves from east to west across the tropics.  

The Tropical Wave is causing cloudiness and rain storms over Bonaire. It seldom turns into anything more than clouds and rain.  It has to navigate dry air, fast moving wind, and a lot of elevation in the islands of the Caribbean to become a bigger storm.  I sound like a meteorologist. 

Since we mostly live outside, the weather is a big concerns to us.  We track wind, cloud and moisture activity to plan our days and outings.  For example, I planned on washing sheets today. This is an all day event since the washer takes two hours to wash and drying in humidity is not a fast process. This morning we had a rain storm at about 5:00 am.  Undaunted, I started the first (of two) loads of sheets.  Rick informed me that we have a 50 percent chance of rain this afternoon. The sheets will never get dried. 

To hell with it.... I think we will go to beach.  The storms usually pass quickly and it doesn't get cold, just a little cooler when the clouds pass over. 

The shallow water is bright turquois. The deeper water is dark blue.  The sun is out and it's a beautiful day on the island.

Hope your day can measure up!

 

Coffee Creamer

I take milk/cream in my coffee.  It has been a long journey to find something that will work for me since the island milk products are not the same as in the US. 

All dairy products are shipped into the island.  The fresh milk products have a short shelf life and come in gallon jugs. This means that the milk goes bad before I can use it all.  I have been on a quest to find a coffee creamer that comes in a small amount that tastes like milk or cream.

The island also ships in "dairy" products that don't require refrigeration until they are opened.  This doesn't seem right.  What is in those bottles and packages that keeps them from spoiling?

I have tried Chobani coffee creamer.  It is too sweet and comes in a big carton. I tried the store brand Barista Amandel. This is almond milk that has no flavor, not even almond. Then I tried Koffie Melk which is an evaporated milk product from Holland. It comes in a small bottle but tastes like evaporated milk. YUCK!

I have settled on Bonaire Cream. Comes in a bottle with screw top, tastes exactly like Irish cream, lasts a long time, and makes my coffee taste great.

 

Guest House

We have a guest house. It's a stand alone studio apartment.  It has a separate entrance and has access to the main house. We originally thought we would rent it to vacationers.  Now we are thinking that we are too lazy to  be landlords. I thought you might like to see what it looks like.

King size bed, sitting area, fully equipped kitchen with a glass top stove and fridge, and a separate dining space. It's air conditioned.  The bathroom has a shower with hot (not always standard in Bonaire) and cold water.

Glass doors open up the full width of the wall to an outside garden. The seating area is full of tropical plants and is covered by an awning. There is also an outside dining table.

We have been working on extenders to get the internet to be available. Our internet comes in on the opposite side from the guest house and is not strong enough to extend to this area.  

If we don't have guests,  it may be time to reconsider it as a rental. 

 

Birds

My wildlife photography sucks. I am going to use it  anyway to tell you about the Birds at the Beach.

The pelicans are good at fishing, diving for fish and scoping out where the fish reside. Sea gulls are food robbers and take every opportunity to get a free, easy meal.  We watched the drama play out at our last beach visit.  The sea gulls would circle the pelicans. When  the pelican dove for fish, the sea gulls would land on the pelican's head and try and steal the fish before the pelican could swallow it.  How rude!

I don't know the name of this bird.  I will just call him "Beggar".  We were sitting at the beach and Beggar comes within two feet of me and lands on a sea fan that washed up on shore.  He eye balls me, turns his head, and looks over all of our equipment (towels, chairs, water bottles, snorkels) to determine the edibility. He has obviously been fed by beach goers in the past.  He didn't get a crumb from us. Disgusted, he flew away.

These are bananaquits and commonly called "sugar thief's". The bar at Sorobon always has a cup with sugar to feed the bananaquits. They are tiny birds but big squawkers.  When they eat the sugar it is all over their beaks. They go crazy over the sugar and I am sure it's like crack to them.

I am still working on getting photos of the more interesting birds on the island... flamingos, parrots, hummingbirds and herons, to name a few.

This is the KLM bird that lands everyday at 3:00 over Te Amo Beach. St Maarten has nothing on Bonaire as we too have planes that fly low over the beach to land. It is a tradition of ours to watch KLM leave Bonaire everyday at 5:00 for Holland.  No matter what we are doing, we can hear the plane engines windup and then lift off within seconds. It signals the start of cocktail time. We stand on our patio and watch it ascend into the sky and disappear in the clouds.  One day we hope to be on the 5:00 KLM to Holland.  For now we just enjoy watching it take off.

 

Gardener

I never thought I would have a gardener.  I like growing plants, trimming bushes, cultivating blooms and growth. However, our trees and bushes in Bonaire are way beyond our capabilities and knowledge.  We really just want to putz with our plants not make a full time job of keeping the garden trimmed and growing.

We haven't yet learned what to water when and how much.  We have things turning brown and yellow and some are just loving life. Apparently, some plants and trees need fertilizer that consists of dish soap and water. Others need the real stuff made specifically for palm type plants. So, we have a gardener.

Our gardener shows up periodically and on his schedule. In between "professional"  visits my inhouse gardener has to pick up the slack.  I am not happy about him being on a 30 foot ladder.  In extreme circumstances it has to be done.  One of the trimmed palm trees keeps growing spikes of flowers that wreak havoc in our pool filters and patio.  So Rick has to do some trimming.

 

Doctor Visit

Once you get residency on Bonaire, health care is free. We registered at the health agency and got appointments with a local doctor. Our purpose was to get medication refills because we only brought a limited supply to the island. 

The doctor has lived on the island for 22 years.  His office looks pretty much like US doctor offices. Examining rooms are similar and nurses are doing the administrative stuff. The doctor, Jan Schrader, sits behind a plexiglas wall (Covid protection) wearing a mask and types all your info into the computer.  He sends your prescriptions to the pharmacy at the hospital. He ordered blood work and lab test that are taken at the hospital lab.  In less than 15 minutes everything was done.

Our appointments were at 8:15 and 8:30 am. We were up so early and done with our appointments that we decided to go to breakfast. We headed over to Rum Runners at Captain Don's Dive Resort . This was the first restaurant we ate at on Bonaire 3 years ago on our first trip. We met a group from Colorado, actually Silverthorne, that had come to dive a week ago.  No one else was at the restaurant.  Tourism has not yet gotten into full swing.

Breakfast was a full two course meal.  It starts with typical Dutch/ Scandinavian food: yogurt, fruit and cold cuts and tuna salad with toast. Then come the eggs, meat, cheese, pancakes and French toast.  I think we won't need to eat again for days.

 

Wind Surfing

Off to Sorobon for wind surfing.  Sororbon Resort sits on Lac Bay a huge shallow (3-4 feet) bay protected by a coral gate.  The water is warm, lots of amenities (like cabanas and drink service on the beach), and a friendly staff of young hospitality school interns.

Rick signed up for lessons and I snagged a cabana and ordered a glass of Prosecco. It proceeded to down pour.  And wind...lots of wind! We headed to the bar and had a couple of beers, then lunch and waited for the sky to clear.

The lessons began and soon Rick was windsurfing. He spent two hours falling off and getting back on the board, lifting the sail out of the water and learning to turn.  His teacher, Storm, said he was a natural.  He probably is paid to say that to all the tourists.

It was a lot of work to learn this sport.  As a result, Rick's body was sore and bruised. He is not deterred and we will head back to Sorobon in a few days.

The resort was empty.  This is usually a busy place for Dutch tourists and families. The cabins for the resort open right onto the beach and give you the beachcomber feel. Dutch schools are out for summer break next week, so the staff was expecting things to pick up.

It was a perfect day for us. 

Herbs

Remember the starter plant of basil?  It has gone crazy and grown into a huge plant.  We cut a gallon bag full of basil on a weekly basis.  We make pesto regularly, give it to our neighbors or trade for their garden fresh herbs. 

We also wanted to grow Rosemary.  Our island connections have not come through. 

Van den Tweel, our local grocery store, sells a wide variety of fresh herbs.  They come from Kenya, Mexico, and Holland. I decided to take the fresh rosemary and put it in water in hopes of getting it to grow roots. Our local cream puff baker/supplier said that he tried it and it took two months to get it to root. He now has a spindly plant of rosemary.

So here goes. I have put grocery store cuttings into water with the hope that they root. 

Wine

We have always wanted a wine cooler.  In Bonaire a cooler is imperative for red wine storage because room temperature is 80+ degrees. Our fridge has a shelf for wine bottles and is perfect for white wine cooling.

We went to the local home appliance store and discovered they had ordered wine coolers.  Excitedly, we gave them our contact information so they could notify us when the merchandise arrived.  We have learned not to count on quick shipments or fast delivery. To our amazement the cooler came in within 3 weeks.

We had expected a mini-size fridge cooler that held 24 bottles. In reality it was an 8 bottle counter top model.  We are learning that smaller is good and everything doesn't have to be bigger to be better.

The cooler made the rounds.  It was made in China, shipped to Panama and then to Bonaire by a company, headquartered in Connecticut with distribution centers in  Arizona and New Jersey. 

The appliance runs on 110 electricity.  As you may remember, most of our house is on 220. We purchased a small transformer because our 110 power fluctuates and can damage appliances.

Rick quickly emptied our cardboard box of wine bottles into the cooler.  He is now limited in his ownership of red wine.  His wine collection remains at Best Cellars wine store where he can tap into wine from around the world  8 bottles at a time.

 

Translations

I read Caribbean Netherland news from Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire.  I also read articles from St. Maarten, St Eustatius and Saba. These are all islands associated with Holland. As a result, most of my news feeds are now in Dutch. I will see an article in English one day and the next day the same article will appear translated into Dutch.  I am also offered spell check in Dutch. 

Google, apparently, owns me. It knows where I travel, where I visit, what I buy, what I read, what I research and now it knows that Dutch is one of my languages...NOT.

Our BBQ vendor (who is a Dutch engineer by day and a BBQ'er by weekend) said there is no reason to learn Dutch because there are so few people that speak it and they are all in Holland. There is no reason to read translated Dutch because the translations are so bad that one seldom knows what the translation to English really means. 

Once in a while the Bonaire News will have an article about paying taxes, road closures or some change in procedure. Since we are new to the island workings we are always interested to learn about the government and rules. Yet the translations leave us with more questions than answers. 

I recently read an article about what sets Americans apart from other countries.  Our expectation that everyone speaks or should speak English was at the top of the list.  Frankly, its true.  English is widely spoken on Bonaire and that is why we don't need to learn Dutch.  Our translator works well enough that we can get the gist of something with a few translated words.

Ants

I now know more about ants than I ever wanted or needed. Living in a tropical location means you have to deal with these little buggers.  Here is what I have learned....

The houses in Bonaire are built with cinder blocks. Electrical channels are built into the walls. The ants use the electrical system to travel throughout the house to find water and food. They build nests inside the walls.

I had three types of ants at the house:  carpenter, ghost and crazy ants (crazy was the exterminator's term for the ants name, not mine).

The carpenter ants live on the outside of the house and were hanging around our front door which is wood.  They were sprayed. I hope they all die immediately.

The ghost ants are tiny creatures that travel in gangs.  They show up out of nowhere and pounce on any crumb that is on the kitchen counter.  The crazy ants run fast in all directions.  I can never tell where they come from or where they are going because they just run around on the counters.  Both travel through the electrical system and live in my walls.  Yikes!

The exterminator did not spray inside the house.  He placed dots of killer gel on the outlets, walls, corners and around the bathrooms.  The ants will walk through the gel and take it back to the nest for the kill. Ingenious.

I hope this all works and fast.  I will keep you abreast about my pest control efforts.

 

Umbrellas

This cute restaurant and bar is called Umbrellas.  It overlooks the industrial pier. It has a good view of the container ships unloading and the new extended pier. 

While we were there, a power boat came up to the shore loaded with people singing "Happy Birthday" to someone at the restaurant.  And yes, they sing the Happy Birthday song in English and it sounds just like our rendition

We had a couple of their specialty drinks and appetizers.  We were actually on our way to get pizza from a street vendor. The vendor never showed so we were forced to go to our regular pizza place, Pasa Bon.

It was such a nice evening we walked down the boulevard in Kralendijk.  The after sunset  colors were spectacular.  My picture taking skills do not do it justice. Look how calm the water is in the harbor.

Another beautiful evening on Bonaire.

Bonaire Opens

The first direct flights from the US in 15 months landed in Bonaire this week.  American and Delta arrived with full flights bringing 600 people on the island. They will have regular flights on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They returned to the US with less than 20 people on the flight.

The island came out to greet the first flights.  People lined up around the airport and cheered when the flights landed.  The island has been decimated by the economics of Covid and the lack of American tourists.  Most are excited about the Americans returning. 

We have mixed emotions about the island opening.  We have loved the quiet island with no crowds and easy access to restaurants, shopping and beaches.  We know the island needs the tourists to survive but we lose privacy and tranquility.  The wildlife and sea life are also affected by the number of tourists.  So it's a trade off.

It looks like even the flamingos are exhausted at the prospect of returning tourists.

 

Sunset

We haven't been to the beach to see the sunset for a few weeks.  So we headed to Pink Beach which is covered with tons of Elkhorn coral that has been worn smooth by the sea. We packed up the cooler with beers and snacks, took our lawn chairs and set up shop on the beach.

It has been cloudy for several weeks.  We think this is a result of the Atlantic storms. Sometimes the clouds make a dramatic sunset.  Sometimes the clouds totally obscure the sun so there is no sunset to watch. Today was the obscure type of sunset.  We did, however, get some great cloud action.

Clouds or not, it is still a pleasure to watch the sun and sea.  We never tire of the views.

 

Murals

This is the Art Hotel.  They have been painting huge murals on it over the past several weeks.

A coffee shop painted a fish mural on their building above a bench that encourages coffee friendships.

And yes, another flamingo on a mural wall. This one is 10 feet tall and has no feet.

 

Smoothies

Smoothies are everywhere on the island.  They make them with fruit, berries, green tea, ice cream, powders, energy drinks or whatever can go in a blender.

Most smoothies are made at food trucks or coffee shops.

Smooth Operators is located on a dirt road in front of the owners house.  He was watering plants when I stopped in for "the best smoothie on the island". I ordered my usual mango smoothie. He puts it on a wood trolley and it comes to you behind the fence to keep the 1.5 meters for social distancing.  Of course, the whole place is decorated with pink flamingos and the Dutch gold paint that everyone uses.

Maybe not the best smoothie on the island, but for a road side stop it was worth the experience.
 

 

Health Care

Getting residency on Bonaire has some perks. It would have helped to get a bank account quicker, residency rates for car registration and road tax would apply, our shipment from the states would have been at the residency tax rate and our property tax on the purchase of our house would have been at the residency rate.

The biggest benefit of residency is free health care.  This includes doctor visits, hospital visits, surgery, and prescription medications.  Does not cover dental and we are not sure about optical care. Island health care services also cover travel for you and your spouse when treatment on a different island, like Aruba, is required or they ship you to Columbia for Covid care. 

Once you have residency, you must register for health care at a government office.  You all know of our experiences at government offices getting permits, paying taxes and registrations.  So we were prepared for the worst.

The fog lifted, the clouds parted, the sunshine came out and residency smiled on us.  We went to the government health care office.  There was no one in line, we filled out the application, showed our residency stamp and it was done. We spent 10 minutes in the office with no problems, no additional documents just a quick registration and we have health care. We were speechless and amazed.