Sahara Dust

Every March, Sahara Dust makes it way to the Caribbean. With winds of 24 mph or more, the entire island of Bonaire is coated in red dust.

A volcano recently erupted in St. Vincent. It seems that the volcano ash would be blown west over Bonaire and on to central America.  The weather reporters said that the ash has to be blown high enough to be caught by the trade winds. We have not gotten any ash or smoke from the St. Vincent volcano.

We do have Sahara Dust everywhere.  It coats the cars, patio, floors, furniture and even clouds the swimming pool.  We have had hazy days for a week now.  Today was the first day of blue sky and sunshine.

The dust does make for great sunsets.

 

First Guests

We had our first guests for dinner. The government lifted the quarantine from Level 6 down to Level 5.  So we were sort-of allowed to fraternize.

Two years ago we rented Jan and Steve's house while visiting Bonaire.  We loved the layout of the house, the position of the house on the lot and the swimming pool.  We wanted something similar.

It just so happened that the house adjacent to Jan and Steve's was for sale.  It was the house we bought.  

Steve and Jan (also expats) moved into their house full-time, three days after we left the vacation rental. Steve and I had stayed in touch throughout the last year.  He would keep us apprised of the island opening, weather conditions and general activity around the neighborhood.

Once we arrived on the island, we invited Jan and Steve over to see the house.  The neighbors had never been here because the previous owners kept to themselves. 

Jan is a gardener.  She has supplied me with cuttings from her garden. She and I take walks together and evaluate other neighbors yards and learn about native plants.  Sometimes we even take cuttings from the neighbors plants.  Jan also digs up plants in the open space.

We all had such a good time after several bottles of wine that we had to take a selfie to remember the event.

 

Flowers

All the flowers on Bonaire seem exotic to us.  This is a bloom on a heliconia.  It's bright red and big.

The orchids are blooming as well.  This one in our backyard is growing out of pot set into a palm tree. It looks like a daffodil but it's an orchid.

This orchid is growing from a palm tree.  It is stapled to the tree with no pot and it's roots just hangout. And it blooms!

When I was growing orchids in Denver, I would water, fertilize and fuss with the plants to  get them to bloom.  Here they just grow with no attention.  

This orchid looks like it should be dead.  But it blooms and has heart shaped flowers.

Cabana

We love our Cabana.  We didn't think we would ever use it but we do.  Rick gets up early to work and sits in the Cabana.  I join him later (much later) for coffee. It gives us a whole new prospective of our house.  
 

In the evenings we lounge in the Cabana. It's a perfect time to have an adult beverage and wind down after a busy day of relaxing.

The Cabana is like living in an Arabian nights movie.  The lighting is done in middle eastern style.  Pillows pack the queen size bed.  It is covered with throws and blankets to complete the ambiance.

Hair Cuts

We have set up a hair salon station at the house.  None of the hair salons or barber shops are open by order of the government.  So we have to take care of ourselves.

I had started cutting Rick's hair when we were in lockdown in the US.  I was practiced.  Although I still haven't gotten the hang of getting the length the same each cut.  Sometimes my cuts are too long and sometimes too short. Getting each side even is the real trick. 

My hairdresser in the US (you know who you are and I miss you terribly) gave me instructions and even told me about the supplies and equipment to get.  All of which I brought with me. 

Rick has a learning curve. He is not used to cutting hair. I keep telling him it's only hair and it will grow back. The cut wasn't perfect but it was his first attempt.  It's nice and short....Yikes! 

Now I am going to have to teach him how to do color.

   

 

Palms

I always thought I liked palm trees.  They have really cool flowers that hang down like tails from the center of the tree.  I am not a fan, however, when they drop all their blooms into the pool and all over the patio. 

 

The pool boy is tasked with cleaning the pool and its a constant project to keep the pool clean. So far only one tree has bloomed with multiple tails.  We have six more trees ready to dump their flowers.

The pool skimmers are working over time to collect all the junk on the surface of the pool. The pool boy may go on strike.  It's a real problem.

The only thing saving the palms from getting a drastic haircut are the orchids that are also blooming on the trees. 

Like Rick always says, " If this is the worst thing that happens to us this week, than we have no problems at all".

Vaccines, Covid, Hospitals

We got our second vaccine last week.  Twenty-four hours after the shot, we were feeling exhausted.  We just laid around for a day. By day three were were good. 

I am sure these shot cards look different from the ones in the US.  These are what they look like in Bonaire.

The island has over 10,000 people signed up for the vaccine.  That's about half of the population.  They are making progress to get everyone vaccinated and stop this surge in Covid cases. On April 12 the island had 109 active cases of Covid with 330 in quarantine.  These numbers are way down from a high of 400+ cases a month ago. Fourteen people have died.

In Bonaire, 10 people are in the hospital with five in intensive care. The hospital is small but has intensive care units and respirators.  Holland sends nurses and doctors to help out the local staff. We have also had a medical military boat visit the island in one of the previous outbreaks.  

They have sent five people to a hospital in Columbia because they are overloaded here on the island.  I told Rick that I would rather die than go to Columbia for treatment.  I can't imagine being in a third world county hospital. They also send people to the Aruba and Curacao hospitals that are also supported by Holland in both staff and equipment. Hospital and medical care is socialized and provided without charge to residents of the island or Holland. 

We hope lockdown will end this week.  We are anxious to get back to living our lives in Bonaire.
 

Propane - Part 2

We got a propane tank! With propane!

If you recall from a previous blog, we purchased a grill  a month ago and tried to get a propane tank from the government owned supplier.  We were told it would be three weeks before we could buy a tank and propane.

 It is never easy to get anything done on this island.  The number we had Curoil to call about tank availability was wrong so we had to drive back to the boonies to check. We were under no illusion that they would have tanks and/or propane.

The demand is so high during the lockdown that they can not keep tanks or propane in stock.  The propane comes from Curacao as Bonaire has no refinery or production facilities. God forbid that they bring more propane onto the island during times of need. No supply and demand economics here. As you recall, only one tank per family is allowed. Rick got a tank with his passport. Yes, you have to show an identification document when buying a propane tank on the island.

Although we got a propane tank, we didn't have the fitting that connects it to the grill.  No one told us that there is special fitting and regulator for these propane tanks and it is not the one that comes with the grill.  We got directions in Spanish to the local hardware store. After a few loops and around the block we found Boomerang Hardware.  Boomerang, of course, has two different fittings and only one of them in stock.  We drive back to the house to get the grill part so we can show it to the hardware girl.  

It turns out that you have to cut off the regulator that comes with the grill and put a new one on that fits the propane tank.  Why do they sell grills with fittings that don't work with the propane tanks on the island? Geesh.

We are so excited to have a grill with propane. It's been three weeks in the making and finally we have it set up and ready to go.

Saturday steak night is back, baby! 

 

Cloudy Days

We love the sunshine and warm weather in Bonaire. The bright blue skies with floating clouds are fabulous.  However, sometimes it's nice to have a cloudy day.

The  daytime temperature does not change in Bonaire more than one or two degrees.  It is almost always 84 degrees...rain, shine, clouds or clear.

Our favorite time to walk on the beach is a cloudy day.  The breeze is perfect, the sun is not intense and it's not as hot. 

Rick and I laugh that we like cloudy days. We always loved the bright sunshine when we were on vacation.  So vacation is different than living somewhere full time. And, yes, you do get your fill of all the things you love about vacationing in the Caribbean. Now, we can enjoy those things at our leisure instead of packing them into a week or two of vacation.

Sunshine or clouds, life is good on Bonaire.

 

Architecture

Houses on the island come in a rainbow of colors.  Most are single story, except on the beach where they sometimes are as many as three stories. Buildings on Bonaire may not be higher than the Authority House (a government administration building).  High-rise is therefore not really found on Bonaire.

In our neighborhood, Belnam, houses come in crazy colors. The houses are 1970's vintage with flat roofs and surrounded by walls.  Some have tile roofs and other even have thatched roofs. We don't know if there are building codes and/or restrictions.  To us, it looks as though anyone can build anything they want, particularly in residential areas.

The colonial Dutch houses have double pitched roofs with narrow dormer windows and white shutters.  Also painted in bright colors.

This is the Marriott on Bonaire.  The suites were built to mimic the colonial Dutch architecture typically associated with the water front buildings on Curacao that show up on all the tourist information.

Lockdown Activities

Lockdown means you entertain yourself at your house. Curfew is 9:00 pm...no one can be on the streets walking or driving. We have entertained ourselves with various activities. 

The wind blows in Bonaire. Sometimes it is strong enough to blow food off your plate.  Actually, let's be real, it can blow chips off your plate.  So we have a magnetic set of cards and a mat on which we can play card games without the cards blowing away.  Last night it was Gin...or Gin Rummy...who knows the difference. Rick had to Google it to get the rules straight.

We swim or dip in the pool several times a day.  Rick and I both swim laps.  We also swim in the ocean.  It is much, much harder to swim in ocean water than the pool.  The ocean waves and currents are often difficult to over come.  Although the ocean allows buoyancy, it seems like its a drag on swimming.

I also do yoga via Zoom once a week with my sisters.  I have a sister in Arizona and another one Colorado so it nice to see each other once a week and do something together. Yoga by Zoom is great because you can lay on the mat and slough off whenever you want and no one knows.

Walking on the beach is a favorite past time.  There is a long beach near us so we often take our walks on what is called Pink Beach.  We also take our lawn chairs and watch the sunset several time a week.  Since there is no drinking in public allowed during lockdown, we fill our water jugs with adult beverages and head for the beach.

Snorkeling is one of our favorite past times.  We try a different site every time we go.  That is how we sort out the good and bad sites. Good sites have easy entry and exits, lots of fish and critters and are close to the reef for extra fun stuff to look at without scuba diving.  Rick's ears just won't tolerate the pressure of descending and ascending in deep water. We do, however, look at all the photos people post on the expat site of their dives so we feel like we are still diving. 

Flamingo

I finally got a photo, actually a bunch of photos, of a lone flamingo wading near the road. And I got more than just butt shots with a head in the water.

So enjoy these photos.  It may be the last time I ever see a flamingo close to the road when I have my camera with me.

 

Cactus

 

The Kadushi cactus grows all over Bonaire. It is particularly plentiful in the interior and on the eastern coast. It's protected because it a vital food source for the Lora parrots in times of drought.  These cacti are on all three of the ABC's.

There is a distillery in Rincon (a small rural town in the central part of the island) that uses the Kadushi cactus to make a liqueur out of the plentiful cacti. The Cadushy Distillery harvests the cacti and make liqueurs and spirits in their 1500 square meter mecca. 

The liqueurs are named after the Dutch Caribbean islands and made using local flavors. We were not fans of the liqueurs that are served at the tasting room. The rum, gin and vodka, however, are really good and have unique flavors. 

The distillery has a toasting sign.  It shows all the words for toasting in different languages. In Dutch the word is "Proost". Good first word to learn in a foreign language.  Next we will learn "where is the bathroom".

Fences are also made from planting the Yatu cacti in straight lines.  These are all over the island.  Very effective for keeping everything out or in. And decorative too.

 

Easter

I didn't know there were seasons on Bonaire.  But the last few days I have seen everything blooming. Even the palm trees.  I think it is Spring time in Bonaire. 

This is the Kebrahacha tree only found on the ABC Islands.  The natives say it is good luck for the island when these bloom every spring.  These trees cover the island in yellow blooms.

This Century Plant is blooming next door. 

It is also Easter.  The island usually goes all out for Carnival with parades, passion plays and festivals.  Except this year.

Roman Catholics make up 60% of the island. So the island observes the religious holidays related to Catholicism. There are also a Mosque, LDS (Mormon), Pentecostal, Seven Day Adventist, and Presbyterian churches.

In addition to closures because of Covid, everything closes on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  Everything...grocery stores, Chinese markets, restaurants (only opening in the evening serving fish for all the Catholics), government offices, banks, service companies...I mean everything closes.  Sundays are usually very quiet on the island.  Easter with Covid makes the place a ghost town.

It's tradition here to go camping for "Spring Break".  The schools are closed for a month and everyone heads to the hills and the beaches to relax. However, the lockdown does not allow for drinking in public places or gatherings of unrelated people.  This has put a damper on outside activities. The beaches are quiet and the roads are not loaded with vehicles. Everyone is staying home.

After snorkeling, we observed good Friday with a red snapper fish sandwich from Pablo's downtown.  We took our meal to the boulevard (across the street from Pablo's) and ate seaside.  We ended the evening on the beach in our lawn chairs watching the sunset.

Happy Easter Everyone!

  

 

April Fools

Oh no, it snowed in Bonaire.  

I had to trade in my flip flops for boots.

 

April Fools 

Bonaire is still as sunny, warm and beautiful as always.