Local Phone

We decided it was time to get a local phone.  Doctors and some suppliers will not call us, even on WhatsApp, to set appointments.  As you know, there is no instant gratification on this island and nothing is easy to get done.

We had visited one of the local providers, Digicel, to get instructions about what was needed to get  services.  We had a used smart phone that we brought with us to Bonaire and wanted to put a SIM card into the phone with local service.

And so it starts.....

Rick and I show up at Digicel and see a line of 8 people and one person behind the counter.  Nothing is moving.  We decide to leave and come back when it's less busy.

We show up again a few days later and we are the only ones in the store. We were told we needed to provide a bank statement and a utility bill to get phone service.  How those are related we don't know.

Come to find out, we need two bank statements, proof of income, and a bank card with our account number on it. None of which we had in hand.

Off Rick goes to our bank to get a bank card with our account number and another bank statement.  Rick is denied entry into the bank because he doesn't have a face mask.  The bank and the hospital are the only place on the island still requiring a face mask.  Rick returns to the car to get his mask and heads back to the bank. After a 30 minute wait in the bank, Rick gets to a customer service representative.  They print a paper card with our bank number and provide a second bank statement.  He heads back to Digicel.

He is armed with the bank card, the two bank statements, utility bills and a used phone all in order to get phone service.  A contract was signed. Monthly deduction to our bank account was completed and yet we have no SIM card. The manager, who is not present in the Digicel office,  has to approve our phone service. We are told that it takes one to three hours for the approval and we could come back at 5:00 pm. Rick convinces them to call us when the approval is complete.

Two hours after we left the Digicel office, we get a call that we were approved for phone service.  Rick returns to have the SIM card put in the phone. Voila! We have a local phone number and service.  Plus Rick's Google phone synced with the local phone with no effort or action from us.  Now all his contact information is on the local phone.

Google decided to take away our roaming service because we don't reside in the US.  We will now take the Bonaire phone with us when we are out and about on the island so we can receive and make WhatsApp calls and use the map feature. Our only problem: the phones look exactly alike.  Duct tape and a "B" for Bonaire solved the problem. Duct tape fixes everything.