Laundromat

Our little Dutch washing machine just can't handle towels. It has shut down several times with wet towels inside.  We called the repair man but he is in Holland on holiday and won't be back for a month. I had a bunch of towels to be washed to get ready for my next set of guests. These circumstances forced me to go to the Lavanderia (laundromat).

Things have changed since the last time I was in a laundromat which was when I was in college.  We used to do wash with four quarters. On Bonaire a large wash cost me $10.00 and dry was $8.25.  This does not include folding according to the sign. At this laundromat you pay your money to the attendant and she turns on the machine.  No feeding quarters into the slots. 

It was interesting to me that the machines' instructions are all in English. I happen to have a Dutch washing machine with instructions in Dutch.  How does this happen?

 

Boats

There are some interesting boats/ships/yachts that come to dock at Bonaire.  

This one is "Game Changer" owned by Karen Lo the heiress to the Vitasoy (soy milk) fortune from Japan.

Billionaire (owner of the video game company Valve) Gabe Newell's yacht "Rocinante" docked here for a day or so.

Bonaire can only accommodate two ships at a time at the piers.  With a cargo ship in port, sometimes these yachts have to anchor in the ocean.

A Green Peace boat the "Arctic Sunrise" was in port for a week.  They opened up for tours.

We often see coast guard ships from the Dutch Navy that dock here in between their duties catching drug runners and illegals from South America.

The "Melissa"  a wooden ketch, is a permanent resident in the Bonaire Harbor.  She sails a nightly gourmet dinner cruise. We have been on her several times and its a delight to see the island from the sea.

Yesterday we were out on a snorkel and dinner cruise with our visitors.  We came across another sail boat full of our gang and they took this shot of Rick and I on our boat.

 

Blackout Drapes

Our bedroom faces east.  We have this beautiful sliding glass door that opens up to our patio. The house came with a lovely sheer curtain that covers the sliding glass window but does not block the sun.

In the mornings, around 6:30 am the rising sun blasts Rick out of bed (I sleep on the other side and I am not affected by the sun).  This has gone on for the two years that we have lived in this house.  It was time to do something about this for Rick's sake.  I looked all over for black out drapes but couldn't find the right size or the type of drapery I wanted. I found a custom drapery guy that ordered my drapes from the Netherlands.  It's been 3 months since the order was placed and they are finally here.

The installer came and put up a new double rod for the old and new drapes.  The interior designer guy measured the length of the new drapes and sent them off to be hemmed.  In two days he came back to hang the drapes.

We now have beautiful blackout curtains. No more getting blasted out of bed at the crack of dawn.  We can sleep in!

Dia di Rincon

Dia di Rincon is an annual event in the oldest town on Bonaire.  Rincon was a slave town in the 1600's but now all the island politicians live in this town.  The streets are paved in Rincon.  They have sidewalks and paved streets.  Unlike the rest of the island that has dirt roads, pot holed pavement and no sidewalks or nice streets. Typical for the banana republic on Bonaire.

But enough whining.  After all, we live in paradise. 
 

Dia di Rincon was a blast. A bunch of us got together at a snack bar and had a great time.  We drank beer, ate festival food, visited, took lots of pictures and thoroughly enjoyed the day.  The highlight was the parade.  Their costumes are wonderful and the music was loud.  Best way to share the day is through photos.

Men and women, girls and boys, young and old all dressed in group outfits, danced and sang their way through the streets of Rincon.  The streets are lined with tourists, locals and expats that cheered the groups, sang to the music and danced.  You will often see people on the sidewalks enter the parade to dance with their friends. 

This party starts at 8:00 am and goes well into the night.  They party in the streets and have live bands in the parks. the parade has huge trucks with bands playing.  Their speakers will blow you away...literally. We have been to Dia di Rincon before and it keeps getting bigger and better.

All the parade groups are drinking water and adult beverages as they dance down the street.  The drink carts (made from shopping carts) follow each group and are decorated to match the dancers.