Let’s take a trip down memory lane this week, as I was in the mood to reminisce. In late December of 2017, Frank and I joined my parents on their favorite island: Bonaire.
Part of the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) and an island municipality of the Netherlands, Bonaire lies just off the coast of Venezuela. This gorgeous island attracts adventure-seekers and, more specifically, diving enthusiasts. In 1987, my parents honeymooned on the island of Bonaire and fell madly in love with its diverse marine life and relaxed Caribbean vibe. Roughly every five years since, they have gone back for more diving excursions and to revisit their favorite spots. I have enjoyed the privilege of accompanying them twice now, the second time, of course, joined by Frank!
Most people tend to not have even heard of Bonaire; it is less flashy than its more well known neighbor of Aruba. Thanks, Beach Boys. Truly an underrated gem in the Caribbean, the government fiercely protects its marine ecosystem. Roughly every inch of the western side of the island is composed of easy access dive sites. One can often find rows of tents lining the road, as many diving fans seem to be comfortable roughing it and zealously pursue as many dives as they can. My parents only partially fall into this category. They love diving as much as possible, but years ago they found a vacation rental that they keep coming back to again and again. When Frank and I stayed with them, we took the spare room at this rental, and off we went!
Getting There
We just reviewed our itinerary for how we got to Bonaire, and man oh man was it a doozy. So, Frank and I had just moved to Chicago right before this trip. Thus, about mid-December, we drove from Chicago to Toledo to leave Augustine with Frank’s parents and celebrated an early Christmas. We then drove an hour north and we flew from Detroit to Orlando. After driving to and staying in Cocoa Beach for a few days, we drove down to Miami and flew to Curaçao, where we stayed overnight in a hotel. The following day, we took a “puddle jumper” kind of flight and FINALLY made it to Bonaire! My parents picked us up from the airport and brought us to the vacation rental. Our weeklong Christmas in paradise officially began!
Christmas Eve
We spent Christmas Eve watching several water-based sports and soaking up a lot of sun. On the southeastern side of the island, we pulled off on the side of the road and watched a bunch of kite-boarders for a solid 15-20 minutes. Several of them caught air and flew for a moment or two! I hope one day we can go back and try kite-boarding ourselves! After that fun, we continued on to one of my favorite spots on the island, Jibe City. This magical place provides the perfect conditions for windsurfing. In a tiny little lagoon, the shallow water and high amount of wind allow both novices and experts alike to cruise around on boards for rent to their hearts’ content. We chose to simply relax and watch, and we shared some delicious food from The Hangout Beach Bar. Jibe City is an absolute must-do for anyone visiting Bonaire!
In the evening, my wonderful, loving father treated us to a delicacy I will always be in the mood for: Santa Maria-style tri-tip steak. On a convenient outdoor grill, my dad basted and grilled the beautiful roast until it was charred and black on the outside, and pink on the inside. A similar recipe can be found here for anyone bold enough to try it for themselves. If you love beef, I heartily suggest you do!
Christmas Day
On Christmas Day, we started with Mass, and then went back to the house and fed our iguana friend, George. He came by for scraps nearly everyday; we loved George, and his slightly bigger friend, Fred. We eventually spent most of the day on this little beach where many conch shells had been harvested. It provided easy snorkeling, wading, and lite swimming opportunities. We greatly enjoyed the peacefulness and laid back atmosphere, though the conch shell hill was a little disconcerting. We finished our night by going out to dinner in the capital of Kralendijk. There, we sat by the water and engaged in good conversation while we ate more yummy food.
Washington Slagbaai National Park
The following day, on my parents’ anniversary (30 years!), we took a self-guided tour of Washington Slagbaai National Park on the northwestern coast of the island. This park covers nearly 22 square miles and houses a myriad of species, including Caribbean flamingos, iguanas, sea turtles, parrots, lizards, and cacti. It offers hiking trails and two driving trails, the “long route” (which we took), and the “short route.” The route we took rides the coastline and allows for stops along the rough, eastern “windward” side, as well as the north and northwestern coasts before cutting back through the heart of the park. We saw a ton of the flamingos, multiple types of cacti everywhere, and the gorgeous and untamed beach of Playa Chikitu (BL ✅).
Playa Chikitu has the distinction of being the only beach on Bonaire with true sand dunes (every other beach is made of coral, it’s wild), and sea turtles regularly nest there. While it is very well known, that day we were the only ones there for quite some time. It felt like our own private beach, and we had a blast exploring the rocks and cliffs surrounding it!
Interior of the Park and Donkeys
We paused for a picnic later in the day and shared bits of our meal with the hordes of lizards that swarmed our table. The overcast sky and growing winds warned us of the oncoming rains, but we lingered for a while nonetheless. We wanted to soak up as much of the glories of nature that surrounded us as we could! Eventually, we had to drive back to the house as the rain was coming down hard. It had stopped raining when we arrived, and lo and behold, a donkey from Bonaire’s Donkey Sanctuary had escaped and was hanging out in our driveway! We were too surprised to take any pictures, however, and it wandered off before we could. Oh well, still a great memory!
The Windward Side is WILD
On our last full day in Bonaire, the four of us went to the eastern coast of the island to contribute to the detritus-based “art.” On a map, you can see that the Atlantic Ocean borders the east coast of Bonaire. With the way the tides work, all kinds of trash and personal belongings wind up on the eastern shores. My dad had identified a particular stretch of “beach” and wanted to erect a structure highlighting how many flip flops had ended up there. Thus, after a light breakfast, we made our way to the middle of absolute nowhere). We spent a few hours collecting flip flops and found a Really long stick to attach them to, and a pile of rocks to place it in. It was gross, it was sad, and it drove home a deep desire to reduce waste and clean the oceans!
We followed up that exercise with a couple of snow cones to cool off! Finally, we went back to the rental and collected our things to get ready to sadly leave the next day.
I mentioned in the beginning that diving remains the primary attraction in Bonaire, but as you may have noticed, I did not mention any diving trips for us. The explanation is simple: we had no time for Frank to get certified to dive, and he wears glasses and would need a prescription mask to be able to see. Also, I had not dived in quite a few years and was rather rusty. Thankfully, my parents dove plenty before and after we stayed with them. Basically, this trip served as the perfect introduction to the island for Frank! Next time we go back, we will have a proper mask for him, and we will have both Frank and Victoria certified!
Kleine Momenten
Other random little precious moments stuck out when thinking back on this amazing trip. I had flashes of the sweet taste of raw, dried coconut chips bought from a local market. Memories flooded back of laughing hysterically while playing the Bimini Ring Game, especially watching my dad and Frank try and catch the ring on the hook. I remember the smell of salt as we drove past the salt flats and massive salt pyramids. Fun fact, salt is a major export of Bonaire! Who knew? More information here.
While we were only there for five days, we filled every one of them with a perfect blend of excitement and relaxation. We cannot wait to go back and share this beautiful, meaningful island with our own little one!
