National Park

The north end of the island has been designated as a National Park.  Washington Slagbaai National Park is made from two large plantations that covered the north end of the island.

This is the most famous and picturesque spot.  Looks like a grand Dutch house on a spectacular beach.  It was, in fact, a slaughter house operation (Slagbaai in Dutch translates to slaughter bay) and a main port center in the 1700's. Wealthy plantation families lived on Curacao and had operations on Bonaire. The roof in the picture was the customs house.  Now it rents out as a hotel.

Lighthouses on the north end of the island have spectacular views of the sea and the surrounding land.  This one still operates although it is automated and unmanned. 

The east side of the park looks like moon scape. Tsunami rocks (rocks that were carried inland from an ancient tsunami) litter the beach. Some of the rocks are bigger than a large truck. 

The highest point on Bonaire is Mt. Brandaris at 784 feet.  It is a 3-4 hour climb because of the volcanic rock and rock climbing is required to each the summit. We opted out of the hike and settled for a photo.

The dirt road through the park is full of ruts, rocks, steep inclines, hills and bumpy passages.  It is a one way road.  Once you start on the journey there is no turning back. We entered the park at 8:00 am and left about 4:00 pm. 

Bonaire has two springs where freshwater can be found year round. The birds are usually at the springs in the early morning.  You can see flamingos, parrots, and birds of prey. The park has one of the fresh water springs.  We saw this Caracara on top of a cactus looking for food. It is one of the native birds of prey on the island.

Flamingos were everywhere.  As usual I couldn't get a good photo.

We snorkeled at several spots.  The water was crystal clear, Caribbean blue and comfortably cool. For those of you that dive or snorkel, we saw an Ocean Trigger which is very unusual.  Also our guide found octopus for us.  We could never have found it on our own because they are hiding

experts.

 

The entrance of the Park features the skeleton of a baby Baleen whale. The whale was impaled on a cruise boat and removed when the boat docked on Bonaire. Gory story but interesting exhibit.

Bonaire was divided into six large plantations. Each area was named after a foreign country. The park entrance is located in the America area.  The slaves called the center of the plantation where they went for pay and supplies, Washington, because its the capital of America.