Pool Cleaning

We love our pool.  We spend time almost everyday hanging in or around the pool. 

It is a Magna pool which means its salt water.  It requires very little chlorine and never has that smell and feel of pools with a lot of chemicals. Every 6 months or so the pool company dumps a bucket of salt in the water. We have to add water to it on a weekly basis because of evaporation.

 

But it is not maintenance free. The pool company comes once a week to vacuum the pool and clean the filters.  The pool does get a film on the walls that has to be scrubbed off.

Rick has developed his own style for cleaning.  He puts on his snorkel and mask, hangs on the side of the pool, and brushes/cleans the walls.

When he is done, he rests under the mango tree. Life is good on Bonaire.

Cactus

We had two cactus growing in pots on the corner of our lot.  I have watered these cactus exactly once in the two-plus years we have lived here.  They survive on their own.  They are such good survivors that their pots have expansion cracks and their roots have grown through the bottom of the pots.

Instead of replanting them in pots, we decided to take them out of the pots and plant them in the ground. Well not us...I called my trusty gardener who made quick work of the project.

Jose and his crew broke the pots, extracted the cactus, trimmed the roots, dug two holes and placed the cactus in their new resting place. It took them less than an hour and cost us $50 which we think was well worth the money.  We would have been broken and bloodied had we tried to do this ourselves.

Replanted cactus.

 

Detailing

The decorative furniture at our house is all distressed wood.  Some more distressed than others.  Many of the pieces had no paint.  The weather had stripped the wood.  In an effort to protect the wood and keep the pieces from deteriorating, I hired a painter to refinish several pieces.  As you recall, my last painting experience was not positive.  I didn't want to repeat the bad experience.

After power washing, the painter discovered the wood bench had a carving of two elephants and the "OM" symbol on the back. The painter proceeded to highlight the symbol which fits in with my Zen décor.

The “AUM” symbol (or OM) symbolizes the Universe and the ultimate reality.  

The front door (the part facing inside the compound) is surrounded by antique wood carvings. These wood panels were also deteriorating.  Two days of power washing and two weeks of hand painting with a tiny brush produced the finish product.

After painting.

And here are my future projects.  Looks like painting will be my new hobby.

Curacao

Each night while we were in Curacao we went to a new restaurant. Rick would hold my hand, because I was still unsteady from my surgery and couldn't see much, and lead me through the streets of Willimstad.

This is the famous floating bridge (locals call it the "Old Lady Bridge") that allows you to cross the sea to the other side of the city.  The bridge swings open when a large boat comes into the harbor. You can stand on the bridge while it swings open and even walk from one end to the other...you just can't get to land while it is moving. It is light at night with bright arches of florescent colors.

There was a Baskin & Robbins ice cream store right outside our hotel. We took full advantage of the location on a daily basis. Rick did manage to walk the streets until he located an Italian gelato store in a little alley off the main street.

Lunch was usually Subway.  We haven't eaten at a Subway since we left the US.  We got our fill for a few days.  Plus it gave Rick a place to get cookies.

One of the restaurants puts your name on a chalk board to reserve your table. It was cute but hardly necessary as the restaurants don't fill up until about 8:00 pm...we usually go at 6:30 pm.

 

This is the famous skyline of Curacao.  We were pretty enamored with it when we first saw it 4 years ago. Now it seems ordinary as we are so used to this architecture. 

It was mostly cloudy while we were in Curacao.  The wind was really strong and the waves were splashing up on all the seaside restaurants.  This made it necessary to sit about two rows back from the edge of the restaurants that hung over the sea.

The sunset was very soft and pretty.  Rick was able to capture the wave action too!

Selfie on the bridge about 4 days after surgery on my eye....

 

And a bonus selfie with the Curacao skyline behind us.  

 

Retina Surgery

The two laser treatments to correct my retinal detachment didn't work.  My Ophthalmologist on Bonaire called her associate in Curacao to get me into surgery pronto.

The wheels of the island medical care usually turn slowly.  Not this time.  The government insurance agency booked a flight for me and Rick within 48 hours to Curacao. 

Bonaire has good medical care and a hospital full of specialists.  However, some things have to be done by experts in Aruba, Curacao or Columbia. There is an agreement in place that all the  Dutch Caribbean islands share medical care and specialists.  So they send patients to where the best doctor is located. I was in surgery within 24 hours.

The government insurance pays for everything  and arranges for everything you need while you are away. They book the airfare for you and a companion.  The transport company picked us up at the Curacao airport and took us to a wonderful hotel in the heart of Willemstad. The transport company took us to doctors office and on to the hospital and back to the hotel after surgery (which was outpatient). The insurance also deposits a daily stipend in your bank account to pay for meals. All of this is completely paid for through the medical insurance we have as part of the benefits of being residents of Bonaire.  

Everything was perfect.  The surgery was done exactly like I had it done in the States.  A gas bubble is placed in your eye to hold the retina in place while it heals from surgery.  This requires you to lay still for a week with your head back to keep the bubble in place on the retina. I spent a week recovering in the hotel.  

Usually they don't want you flying after the gas bubble is placed in your eye.  The doctor prescribed specific instructions for the airplane.  I realize its in Dutch but it says to fly in an

non-pressurized airplane.

The insurance agency has medical transport planes that shuttle patients to and from the islands.  The plane they booked for me was a pressurized model.  The airport doctor, the onboard nurse and the pilot all confirmed that the medical transport was pressurized and advised against travel. I really didn't want the gas bubble expanding in my eyeball causing excruciating pain.  I declined the flight and asked to be flown in a non-pressurized cabin as the prescription stated. Much to their credit, within 2 hours they had me on an old prop plane that was not pressurized and only flies at an altitude of 3,000 feet.

The Divi Divi (airlines) plane is a rattle-bag old turbo prop plane that takes about twenty minutes to fly from Curacao to Bonaire. It's all open and you can see directly into the cockpit.  It's loud, its been well used, and the seats are tiny... but it is non-pressurized just like the doctor ordered.

During the flight, my bubble did expand  and caused some pressure to my eye and my eyesight went dim for about 15 minutes of the flight.  We returned back home safe and sound. 

How nice it was to have a companion to help me through this surgery.  Rick was a dream.  He took care of everything for the week.  I relied on him completely through my recovery.  I am so thankful he was with me during this "adventure?".

 

Snack Tour

Bonaire has little shack-type construction bars and restaurants in each of the Barrios.  They serve local food and beer at lower prices than the tourist places.  We have been on several, actually many, snack tours to experience the local culture, food and neighborhoods.   We have a tour guide that knows all the best spots and she drives the van while we all eat and drink at each snack bar.  It is a really good time!

Our tour guide tells us all about the owners and highlights the best "eats" at each snacky.  The food you see on their menus includes goat, fish, chicken and iguana stews, funchi (fried polenta), whole fried fish, beans, rice and soup. Each place has a business permit but I don't think the health department does much inspection.

On the back porch of one of the snacks, they were drying goat. Goat pieces are hanging from a rope and drying in the open air. They will reconstitute the goat when making stews and soups for added flavor.  

Food is prepared in outdoor, rustic kitchens and rudimentary indoor kitchens.  This used to be quite shocking to me.  Now, we embrace the cooking preparation and local food like it was a delicacy.  We seek out these small community snack places to eat and drink.
 

Many local snacks grow their own vegetables.  This is a squash plant growing in the back of one of the snacks. They use iguana eggs in some of their soups and stews and those are found in the mundi (the Papiamentu word for open, wild land on the island). They also raise goats and chickens used in their dishes.  Goats mostly run free on the island so it a matter of catching a goat for slaughter.  No guns on the island so it is not like an American hunting event.

Here's our selfie (really not a selfie but a photo taken by a fellow snack tour attendee) for the day.  By this point Rick and I have had many beers.
 

Men, Ladders, Trees

Rick is notorious for using a ladder to trim palm trees.  As you may recall, we hate Royal Palm trees because they bloom incessantly and drop blooms, seeds and junk in the pool and all over the yard.  Which makes us both crazy.

We have taken out three trees last year and recently took another two down.  This in order to keep Rick out of trees and off the ladder.
 

Our gardener Jose, who stands about 4-1/2 feet tall, came with a roll off and a manlift to take down two trees.  They had to park the manlift on the road outside our house and extend the arm over the cabana to reach the two offending palms.  They made fast work of the job and had them down in 4 hours.  Our neighbor called them over to take one of his down as well.  We all have trees that are too tall to trim.  Most landscapers and gardeners will not trim the tall ones.  I certainly don't want Rick on a ladder.

Now we get to shop for new trees....ones that are easily trimmed and maintained.  We are trying to get the house to a point that it is less labor intensive and gives us more time to do nothing. 

We noticed that it is much quieter at our house with less palm trees.  The trade winds blow through the palms and apparently make a lot of noise. The street light, which used to be obscured by the palm trees, now reflects off the patio and into our bedroom. Now we are getting black out curtains.   

Karnaval

For the first time in two years, *Karnaval is back!  Parades, beauty queens, drinking, dancing and partying in the streets.  It marks the fun time before Lent. It's been going on for two weeks and will end on "Fat Tuesday" before Ash Wednesday. 

Today, we went to the grand parade.  They close the roads from one end of the island into Kralendijk.  People line the streets for about 2 miles.  The parade takes about 4 hours to get to Playa ( downtown) because they are drinking, dancing, and talking to all their friends.  

Families set up awnings along the parade route 3-4 days before the parade.  They have a viewing stand, vendors selling drinks and treats, and even private privies  But the big show is the costumes. The women are wearing three inch heels, everyone is covered in feathers and sequins, and the skin is covered in glitter. Young and old wear Karnaval costumes complete with head dresses of tropical birds, capes, clown outfits, with see through material.  

A huge truck covered with large speakers is in between each dance group. A DJ is selecting music that blares into the crowd. We think its local music but we are unsure of the genre.  It's loud and danceable which is all that is needed for a good time on the streets of Kralendijk

The burning of King Momo on Tuesday at midnight signifies the end of Karnaval season on the island.  It is a way to literally burn up all the crazy fun and excess of Karnaval before they have to behave during Lent.  This event occurs in the stadium in the middle of town.

King Momo (Rei Momo in Portuguese which is also used in Papiamentu- the island's local language) is considered the lead in Karnaval

festivities. So they burn him in effigy at the end of all the fun.

**Karnaval is the spelling in Papiamentu for carnival
 

This and That

After two years on the island fighting mosquitos, we decided to try something new.  We have become very adept at applying "Off" bug spray at 5:30 every evening.  Now we have a second tier of defense.  We purchased citronella lamps that produce whiffs of  black smoke to haze the bugs.  We are somewhat immune to the bites as our bodies have gotten used to the bugs...it's an island thing that happens to everyone that lives here for a while. 

We found a welder to reinforce our double wide chase lounges the metal frames for which had degraded from the salt air.  The only catch: he only speaks Spanish. We enlisted the help of our neighbor who teaches English and Spanish at the Dutch school. Rick had an engineered drawing which he explained in English, while the neighbor translated to Spanish.  The welder responded in Spanish and she translated to English.  After several rounds everyone shook their head yes, agreed on a price, and shook hands. The welder showed up the next day with all his equipment and spent two days building a steel frame for the chairs. He modified the engineered drawings to make the chairs stronger and better build. He was an amazing talent!

I now have paint clothes.  I had the bright idea that I could paint some of the smaller items around our house. My house painter got me primer and paint and gave me detailed instructions about sanding, primer, clean up and sent me on my way.  Before you knew it, I had paint everywhere. The door has carved designs which make it impossible to get paint to cover everything.  I worked on it for two days. It's done.  I will not be doing any further painting. I called the painter back to get an estimate on doing the door panels by the front door and a bench.  They will be here next week to save me from what I thought would be a fun experience. I will be spending my time taking mineral spirits baths to get the paint off of me.

King Visit

The Royal Family of the Netherlands (King Willem, Queen Maxima and Princess Amalia) visited Bonaire this weekend. It was a big deal to have the reigning King and Queen visiting this tiny island. They are making the rounds to all their municipalities:  St. Martin, Aruba, Curaçao, St. Eustatius, Bonaire and Saba.

They landed at Flamingo Airport in a private jet to fanfare and waving tourists. Their motorcade traveled around the island so they could see how the natives live.  The island prepared for their visit by patching the pavement on the road to their hotel (the patching stopped after the hotel), sprucing up the fishing pier on Lac Bay ( the fisherman have been asking for this for years) and allowing a motorized boat in the mangroves (usually only kayaks are allowed) for the Royals to view nature. They visited the slave huts and made speeches about reparations for slavery. The Taste of Bonaire was this weekend so the Royals visited the street fair with all the commoners. 

The checker at the grocery store told us about all the events planned for the Royals and a funny story about the King. She said that the King once ditched his security detail in St. Martin and went drinking in a local bar.  Now everyone tells that story and thinks that King Willem is just a regular guy who likes to drink Heineken.

 

Hot vs Cold

I used to think that soup was for cold days when it was snowing outside and you had a fire in the fire place. It is usually 80+ degrees in Bonaire and eating hot soup just seemed wrong. 

I gave it go this week. Our local lunch spot had a special of Sopa de Pollo (chicken soup).  They chop up chicken- bones and all, cook with whole potatoes in a rich broth. A side of rice is served with it. It was delish! And Yes, you can eat hot soup on a hot day.

We used to shovel snow all winter.  We shoveled snow for 30 years. We traded our snow shovel for a squeegee.  After it rains, Rick now uses a big squeegee to get the water off the patio and walkways.  Instead of taking hours, it takes minutes to clear the water from our patio. There is no shoveling!

We traded our snow skis for scuba and snorkels.


 

The Melissa

We took a gourmet dinner cruise on The Melissa, a wood sail ship that tours the west side of the island. 

It was a Birthday cruise because the gang had missed celebrating December and January birthdays.  Our gang was partially gone due to holiday travel and the other delegation was sick for two months.  We finally got everyone back from travel and feeling well for a make-up birthday celebration. 

The ship serves a 6 course, small plate dinner.  We had sushi, soup, fish, beef, ice cream and something else I can't remember.  The wine, beer, prosecco and cocktails were freely flowing.  My glass was never empty.

They motor down to the southern part of the island and sail back to port.  We got to see the island from the sea and point out all our houses, empty lots and new builds that you can't see from the road. We left in the light and returned well after sunset.

We followed up the cruise with an impulsive side trip to Little Havana, a hopping little dive bar with the crowd pouring out into the street. The live band of Dutch musicians were playing American rock songs.  They didn't know the words so they had a gal with cue cards so the band could sing with the music.  We laughed, and laughed and laughed.

Our selfie on the boat deck before we drank too much.