Mango Wars

It's been war with the parrots and our mangos. They are smart adversaries. They wait until the mangos ripens and munch a big chunk out of the perfect fruit.

We are happy to share the spoils of war on the top of the tree.  We can't reach them even with a ladder.  The parrots wait until the mango is just golden and juicy before they hang upside down to eat their bounty.

We humans typically wait until the mango easy separates from the stem or until it hits the ground. 

When a mango falls the parrots strips it to the pit with the skill of a surgeon. Nothing is left but perfectly aligned beak marks on the pit. They even peal it.

The battle rages on....

Our new strategy: hang laundry bags around the clumps of mangos. These bags usually hold my delicates in the washing machine.  Somehow, this seems to be be a better use.

Take that parrots! One for the block.

Corrosion

Everything on Bonaire that is metal eventually corrodes.  It must be the salt sea air. Plus the humidity plays a role in the "rust-belt" look.  nothing is immune. The stainless steel sink has not yet shown signs of deterioration.

 We have 14-20 wall lights that look exactly like this one.  We think the lights are maybe 2-3 years old.  They look like they have been here for eons.

 

We purchased a gas grill about four months ago.  It was new and shiny.  Now rust marks cover the surface.  When we had rented vacation homes on Bonaire, we always remarked about how old and rusty the grills looked.  Now we know why.

It used to bother me that everything was plastic, treated wood and glass.  Little did I know about the power of the sea and the corrosion that follows.

Painted surfaces are not immune.  This is the top of an air conditioner that has rust spots.

I always thought that people in the Caribbean just didn't care about their houses, cars and equipment.  I chalked it up to being poor and lazy.

I judged them not knowing that I would find myself in the same position.  I am not poor or lazy but I still have corrosion issues.

It's HOT

The last few days it has been stifling hot. The breeze, which usually keeps us cool, stopped for two days. It was eerily quiet and still.  Most of all it was hot and humid. Tropical storms (Fred and Grace) in the Caribbean heading toward Haiti, Cuba and the eastern coast of the US have stolen our air.

This must be summer in Bonaire.  August, September and October are purported to be hot, really hot. Yes, I know I said the weather never changes.  I was wrong.  It gets hot.

The boats in the harbor all turned north to south. They are usually turned east to west with their bows facing the shoreline as the wind blows east to west. This is a wind reversal.  It usually heralds a change in the weather. This is very unusual and is a result of the air changes due to the storms.  As you can see, our skies remain clear.

We only have air conditioning in the bedrooms of the main house.  We retreated to the guest house which is fully air conditioned. Seems we may have another project for the main house.  That is a story for another time.

Although the wind keeps us cool, it also wears things out.  The awing shade on the guest house was torn into shreds.  We ordered a new one online and got it delivered in three days!

It is currently tied down at the corners.  The last one was screwed to the beams to keep it on during high winds.  We are testing the tie-down method,  We are hopeful it will be sustainable.

The breeze is back.  We walked on the beach this morning and it was comfortably warm. We are still camped out in the guest house during the day because it is still hot.  We return to the main house at 5:00 to see KLM leave the airport and start happy hour. 

 

6 months

August 15, 2021. We have lived on Bonaire for 6 months! 

We moved from the US to Bonaire in the Dutch Caribbean. We bought a house and we have been granted residency. We are living our dream.

Here is what we have learned:

• We love island life.  We love warm weather,  walking on the beach and playing in the ocean.
• We like living the indoor-outdoor life style. Being outside 90 percent of the time is perfect for us.
• Exploring a new place is a worthwhile passtime.
• Experiencing a new culture gives you an expanded look at the world. 
• We can live in swimsuits and flip flops.
• Trying new things keeps you interested in life and interesting to others.
• Everything happens on island time no matter your schedule or how much you try to make it go faster.
  
• When the trade winds stop blowing it gets really hot.
• There are seasons and weather changes on Bonaire.
• You can see the Milky Way in all its       glory when there are no city lights.
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• It doesn't matter when you go to sleep or wake up when you are retired.
• Efficiency and innovation are not worldwide traits.
• We miss Amazon.
• We miss "tex-mex" food.
• There are a lot of countries that are not trade partners with the US.

• Donkeys will pose for photos.  Flamingos and parrots do not.
• Dealing with the government is hard regardless of the country or the government.
• If you want mangos, you have to get them off the tree before the parrots steal them. 
• Fluency in a foreign language is probably never going to happen for us. If it does, it will not be Dutch.

Chef Surprise

Last night we went to, what we thought was, a typical Italian restaurant. It was called La Terrazza. Decorated in outdoor bistro style with paintings of ocean coast lines and wine bottles.

 

There is not a menu.  They serve small plates of what they call the "Chef's Surprise".  You tell them what you won't or can't eat and the chef prepares dishes to match your palate. They keep bringing small plates until you tell them to stop.  Our plates included fish, pork, and pasta.  And dessert, of course! We have run into restaurants on the island that also prepare dishes in this style.  La Terraaza is certainly a notch above the other places that serve surprises.

We had a great table overlooking Grande Boulevard (the main commerce street in Kralendijk).

The Dutch born Sommelier paired wines with each dish.  She seemed to be an expert in Italian wines.  She said there are 365 different grapes in Italy and only a few are known to most people.  

She asked us what varietals we liked and matched up a great Italian wine that we both liked. Her claim:" if you don't like it, I will drink the whole bottle and you can try something different." Of course, we had one glass and                                                   then finished the bottle.

It was a hazy sky by the time we were walking along the ocean front after dinner.  This is the Moon with Venus directly below. They cast a beautiful reflection on the water. 

Look at all those stars!
 

Greenhouse

We have been searching for a greenhouse for our back yard.  Rick has always wanted to grow veggies and he loves planting and growing things.  We think we can grow some of our food.  A screened structure is necessary so that the critters (iguanas, lizards, birds, frogs) don't eat the veggies.  So we set out searching for the ideal set up.

As usual, it became a treasure hunt. Each stop sent us to another possibility. We asked our network who they knew that could build a greenhouse or would have a pre-fab for us. We asked our gardener, liquor store owner, electrician, and neighbors for leads.  We discovered that the language barrier (English to Dutch) was a problem.  It seems that everyone thought we were looking for a commercial greenhouse to buy produce.  

Our first stop was an industrial site that made structures for commercial use. The admin person sent us to the commercial growing house on the island. Krusada was a locked and secure facility that also didn't understand that we wanted to buy a green house not produce.

We went to Kooyman (the Home Depot of Bonaire), Dijtham (a new hardware store), Green Label (our plant and landscaping store), and we Googled it and looked on Amazon thinking we could get one shipped. We also researched small construction companies that do carpentry and small projects. No luck. 

We were walking the neighborhood and saw a greenhouse. Eureka! It was exactly what we wanted.  We met the home owner who allowed us to measure and photograph her greenhouse. The photos and specifications are going to our friendly handyman. It will be built onsite since our door ways will not allow a structure to be moved into our garden. 

Another successful treasure hunt.

 

Mundu

When we are not walking on the beach we walk in the Mundu (Papiamento for the world used to describe the native countryside). It is composed of low growth trees and thorn bushes.  Most of the trails have been created by donkeys or goats that roam free in the Mundu.

As we were walking through the neighborhood we discovered these trail heads.  These trails take us through the bush up to the airport boundaries and back through the neighborhood.  Makes a nice two mile-plus walking loop from our house.  Our property is convenient to the Mundu. 

At one point on the trail, it goes into the bush over sand hills.  If you miss this turn you will be forever lost in the Mundu.  Someone has nicely marked this trail turn with a blue visor and a pile of rocks.  No matter how many times we walk this way, we are always thankful to see this marker.  We would miss this turn without a sign.

We do duck under the low bushes.  It's perfect for four foot tall donkeys but not a 6"2' guy. The trail is just wide enough for a donkey.

Most times, we have the trail to ourselves.  Once in a while we see dog walkers.  We walk at 7:00 am or 5:30 pm because it is cooler at those time than the middle of the day.

Sand piles left from the construction of the airport add some topography to our walk. We also get to see abandoned planes, rusty construction equipment no long in use and the rock and sand quarry used for the airport.

 

Mail Box

We have this mail box that hangs on the outside wall. It had a lock with no key.  The previous owners said they never got a key from the first owner. We have been unable to unlock the mail box.

We get one bill a month from the utility company. Once, we got a couple of tax bills addressed to the previous owner.  We don't really need a mail box but we have it so we keep checking for mail in case we actually get something important. We also want it to work properly, for some unknown reason.

For months, we have tried to "fish out" mail  from the small slot at the top of the box.  Our hands are too large to actually fit into the slot to retrieve mail.  We can reach down just far enough to touch a piece of paper.  We can't retrieve mail.  Nor can we determine if there is actual mail in the box. Rick has used my makeup mirror and long tongs to retrieve items from the box.  

We had a brilliant plan to remove the lock and get a new one from the hardware store with a key.  Rick started fiddling around with the door on the box and discovered that it was held shut only by a small spring.  All we had to do is pull the door open...with or without the lock.  

All this time of struggling with that mail box and all we had to do was pull it open.  Geeesh!

 

Interior

We have been exploring the interior of the island. We have found some high spots that gave us a great view. As you can see it's pretty flat with a few mountains (hills) in the background. 
 

We also discovered a Flamingo preserve and interior water ponds with mangroves.

Bonaire has a mini-golf facility that is located just a few miles from this pond.

This is a view of Lac Bay an interior bay. Century plants grow all over the island.  They have these tall tree like blooms that grow to 15-20 feet tall. 

We love the sunsets here when there are clouds to pick up the colors of the setting sun.  We call it the "after burn". This was taken from the street by our front door. Probably its the only sunset photo we have that does not include the sea.

Sedula Saga

As you may recall, we were approved for residency on Bonaire. We got the official letter, we think.  The letter was written in Dutch.  We went to our next door neighbors who translated it for us.

The next step is to get an identification card which is called a Sedula. We head off to yet another government office.  This office gives out drivers licenses, passports and identification cards. We stand in line. It's just like the drivers license bureaus in the states;  only two people working and 50 people sitting in chairs waiting to get their documents.

We stand in line outside the building because only 9 people at a time are allowed in the waiting area. We get up to the receptionist, hand her all our paperwork and ask for our Sedula.  She made an appointment for us to come back in one month to get our card.

The day of our appointment, the entire island had a power blackout, and all government offices closed.  The following day, we arrive at the license bureau, only to be told that our appointment was moved to Saturday.  The government actually was going to open on Saturday to make up for being closed during the blackout.

We arrive Saturday to no crowds, no lines, no people waiting.  This was going to be slam dunk. We walk up to the service window and handed  in all our paperwork.  It was copied for the 6th time. We were handed a business card with a website on it and told to schedule yet another appointment to get our Sedula photo and card. 

We come home, get on the web site and schedule an appointment.  It is another month out.  We got an appointment for September.

It's not like we need this card for anything. We have all the benefits without having the card.  It's just a check the box thing for me.  I like to finish things to their conclusion.  However, I am much calmer about the long process than I was 6 months ago.  Island life is making us stress less and accept things we can't change. We go with the flow even though its a small trickle in Bonaire.
 

Harvest

Our herb garden is going crazy.  I cut a huge bowl of basil and the plant still looks huge.  I am thinking of starting to sell this stuff because it grows so fast and plentiful. We have made pesto, we put it in salads, we use it in everything.  Still can't keep up.

After trimming.

This is the Thyme harvest. I am drying this batch to replenish our spice bottle.  We usually use this fresh on chicken, fish, steak and potatoes.

This was Thyme before harvest.

Our tomatoes, grown from seed, are coming up.  We planted half with dry packaged seeds and half from seeds out of our tomatoes we bought at the store. It took four days for the seeds to germinate on pop out of the soil. Things grow really fast on the island.

 

Patio Rennovation

We have completed the renovation of our back  patio. We took down a palm tree that was growing through the bamboo roof and getting too tall to trim by ordinary means. Our gardener took a chain saw and cut sections of the tree down and carried them off to the landfill.

This is the before photo of the tree going through the roof.

This is the after photo.  We made the palm tree stump into a table, covered the roof hole with bamboo, and rehung the bamboo hanging chair. We also had the lighting redone.  Now, we have a nice seating area without a tree blocking our view.  It is also a cleaner space since we don't have the palm tree dropping all it's blooms, seeds and fronds.

We repurposed a wood table top for the palm stump table. It fit perfectly which never happens for us when we are renovating.

Project completed.

Oh Crap

I know that talking about sewage is not very socially polite. However, for those of us that live with septic tanks, it's a big deal.

Bonaire does not have a wastewater system that reaches all parts of the island. Most houses have a septic system that needs to be pumped out periodically. The trick is to figure out when it's full and when it needs pumping.  You certainly wouldn't want it to over flow...ever!

We have a big-ass septic tank that collects all wastewater from toilets, washing machines, dishwasher, and showers. It is located underground and has three chambers with large outlet pipes. 

The only way to figure out when it's nearing capacity is to look inside the three chambers that hold the waste.  As new home owners, we have no idea how long the capacity will last and how often we must  empty it.  So we called the "honey-dipper" (actually, they are called Damascus Disposal Services). You get an immediate response and they come to your house within 24 hours and usually on the same day you call. This is one service that does not have any dilly-dallying....thank God.

The guys come and snaked a huge pipe from the truck to the septic system and suck out all the sewage in a matter of 15 minutes. They also look in the tank to see how full it it.  The two guys that came were not conversationalists. First of all, they didn't speak a lick of English. Secondly, I don't think they are used to people talking to them because of their line of business.

We are no longer full of shit.

 

Sunset Moonrise

The skies are very different when you are so close to the Southern Hemisphere.  Bonaire is located about 12 degrees north of the equator. Many of the planets and constellations that are seen from the Northern Hemisphere are below the horizon here and visa versa.

We had never seen the Southern Cross before. Crosby Stills and Nash sang about it and we were finally able to see it from Bonaire's southern sky. The North Star, which has guided sailors for centuries, is seldom visible from the island.

This day, we were able to see the sunset and the moonrise in less than a few minutes.  We watched the sunset and turned 180 degrees to see the moon rise. It was also a full moon which made it even more interesting.

Venus, which we could often see low in the sky in Denver, now is  also low in the sky in Bonaire.  It seems to stay in the same position. The Big Dipper is upside down from what we had been used to seeing. We have not seen the Little Dipper at all. 

The most interesting thing is seeing the Milky Way.  With so little lighting on the island the galaxy is bright and large.  It fills the night skies.  I am the one that can see it as Rick is night blind and can only see the brightest stars.