Late, but not forgotten !!

Here’s the beginning of my trip report for my visit Jan 24 – Feb 1:

Getting there:

I flew Air Jamaica and had a smooth, peaceful trip.

I decided to use my snorkeling bag as a carry-on to keep all my baggage with me instead of checking baggage. The only snag I ran into was the length of my fins. The check-in folks said they were too long for the overhead compartment. I unpacked them from the snorkel bag and carried them in my purse (actually across my purse which was a large canvas bag with long carrying straps). Somehow this made the fins smaller – lol - and the snorkel bag smoosh to a size they considered reasonable for the compartment and they let me pass. No one questioned me beyond that point, though I did get some inquisitive glances – especially from the passengers. One of them asked me as I passed going to my seat, “So, you’re expecting a water landing?!”

Boarded in Baltimore BWI at 7:30 AM. Arrived Montego Bay, Jamaica, at 11:15 AM. Switched to another plane – a short walk across the tarmac and through the terminal, boarded immediately and departed at noon. Arrived in Bonaire at 3:30 PM. No fuss, no rush. The flights were smooth and uneventful – I slept peacefully part of each flight after I realized that there was not much to see - most of the scenery out the window was water and more water. (This was my first flight out of the States, and I didn’t realize there was so much SPACE between the islands!)

Bonaire:

I arrived in Bonaire at 3:30 PM and picked up my Toyota truck from Total Car Rental. I had it booked in advance, but it still took an hour before I had the keys in my hand and was on my way. This was my initiation to ‘Island Time’ – and as I was standing in line waiting I realized that I didn’t have anywhere else to go for the next 10 days – I was already THERE! So, the wait was a chance for me to breathe in the warm breezes, listen to the cadence of the different languages floating in the air around me and just enjoy the newness of Bonaire.

I laughed out loud when I saw the sticker on the dashboard of the truck! I could just imagine the ruckus it would cause in Baltimore!



I left Flamingo Airport with my little map provided by my travel agent, and in my new ‘no hurry’ way, immediately got lost on my way to the Sand Dollar.

After driving around in circles on the outskirts of Kralendijk for awhile and realizing I needed a little assistance, I stopped to ask directions from a policeman who was chatting with a woman in a car along the road. As I walked closer, I realized the language wasn’t English and hoped he could understand me. He did – but I couldn’t quite make out his directions except for him saying, yes, he understood that I was lost and pointing way over there in ‘that’ direction... The woman in the car was smiling and shaking her head as she listened to our conversation, and finally motioned for me to follow her, which I did. She drove me all the way to the circle just before the Sand Dollar, pulled over and motioned me to pass. She smiled and waved as I went by – and I felt welcomed and safe on this little island - my new temporary home.

I checked into the Sand Dollar at 6:00 PM. I was greeted with a warm welcome and given my key. My room was a ground-floor studio with very comfortable furnishings. It was the only unit in that building with large flowering bushes surrounding the porch and it was a little piece of paradise to me.

I wandered down to the dock to see what I could see, and ran into a couple who had been diving. We struck up a conversation and they told me they were also staying at the Sand Dollar and were leaving at 4 AM the next morning. After sharing some tips on good snorkeling areas (like the ‘Aquarium’ and Bari right there!) they gave me some groceries that they couldn’t finish. So, within my first hour in my ‘home’ I had a fridge stocked with watermelon, kiwi, salad greens, tomatoes, peppers & onions, soy sauce, and a new half gallon of milk! And - 2 large bags of charcoal (*this was the most important item*) that would become the motivation for a ‘stone soup’ evening barbeque with my yet unmet new Bonaire friends!

It was a beautiful evening - no wind, no rain - with enough clouds to make the sunset soft and lovely. I had a wonderful dinner at the Lion’s Den – pasta with shrimp & scallops in a cream curry sauce topped with shredded coconut completed by a glass of wine and berry-topped flan for dessert. I lingered at the restaurant sipping my wine and savoring the sea air ‘til almost 11 PM.

I unpacked and went to sleep about midnight feeling as if I was already dreaming! I was falling in love with this little island. And, I knew it would only get better...

---- I’m going to post this now. I’ll try to complete the trip report more concisely in the next few days. It was a life-expanding experience for me, and I’m thoroughly enjoying reliving the memories as I write. Please forgive me for the length – I’m still in love! lol

Hello & Hugs ! to my new Bonaire friends: Josie, Ann, Annie & Maggie, Michael, Stewart, Jake & Linda, Bas & Yana, Renee & Bryan, Benny & wife, and Gibi (please pass my hello on to him – loved his goat stew! – and Jake’s HOT sauce!).

And now, I can honestly say, “I’ve been there, done that, and have the T-shirt to prove it” !!!

Here’s my email address: pendancer@pa.net. Drop me a line if you get a minute - I miss you all very much!

More to come....

Ann,

Great report thus far - I can't wait for the next installment!

Belinda

*** I have some pics I'd like to share with you, but they are too LARGE to upload! Can anyone help me reduce the size of a 438mg jpg to 50 mg? I don't have photoshop, only the microsoft suite applications - will any of them work? Thanks!! ***

more soon!...

Hi Ann, great trip report!
I cannot wait to read the rest, thx 4 sharing
If u only have the Windows tools, u can resize your pictures with Paint.
Open Microsoft Paint.
Open the picture you want to resize.
Select the menu-option "Image".
Select the menu-option "Stretch/Skew"
On the "Stretch"-panel enter a percentage in the "Horizontal" box and the same percentage in the "Vertical" box. Save the picture to a new name ("Save As") and check if the filesize is under 50 Kb. If it is not small enough yet, than repeat the process but with a larger percentage.
I hope this helps.
Looking 4ward 2 your pictures!

thanks!! for the help Igor!

And now, here's the pic of the car sticker that I know would have would-be car thieves here rolling on the ground laughing! (I just love this!):


more soon...

Ann - love the start of your trip report - You are correct with how welcome you are made to feel as soon as you arrive in Bonaire!!! You will never fall out of love!!!!

Can't wait for the next installment!!!

Ann, Also want to thank you for the start of a great thread. AJ, AJ all I have been hearing is good things about AJ. Guess I am going to have to book with them in the fall.

Loved the pic of the sticker. Do you think any renter who reads English would not be able to understand it? Probably not, but I bet a few would gripe about crime on the island if they ignored its' warning.

Thanks again.

Nice start of your report, Ann, but I don't see any need for you to fret about being too concise. If the responses to your first installment make the thread too long, just start another thread.

Ann,
Great report, Looking forward to reading the rest of it!! I'll soon have my own to write, the 10th can't get here fast enough.

Scott

Ann,
So this was you first trip outside the continental U.S.?
I haven't been to Bonaire yet (got 6 months to go) but it sounds like you've just raised your personal vacation bar to an unreachable level. From what I've heard on this site, the rest of the world just can't compare to Bonaire. (Of course, I haven't been to Amsterdam yet, but you can't snorkel there.)
My wife and I like to go to WDW (Orlando) to be treated nicely for awhile every year. I think the Bonaire Experience is going to ruin that for us. Oh well, there's always the return visits to Bonaire...

Thanks for the report, look forward to more!

Well, Joe, there's nothing quite like Bonaire -- it's not a place for everyone, tho those that have fallen in love with it have fallen hard! lol It's not a resort - there are no beaches to speak of, it's not a tropical paradise with lush flowering bushes and groves of palms, the no-see-um's will keep you hoppin', and the coral sand may rough up your feet. Bonaire just offers peace & quiet, a chance to step out of the ordinary hectic pace and still keep a feeling of home-grown friendliness. You'll have to make your own evaluation -- hope you enjoy your visit!

eileen - love your personal picture! congrats!!

Ann,

You are SO right - I just returned from my first trip to Bonaire and I fell HARD! I can't imagine going anywhere else now. And I am counting the day (349 now) until I return to Bonaire.

Belinda

Guys,
We just came back from 8 days (7 days of diving) and although our accomodations basically sucked (Ocean Front Apts) we can't wait to go back, with a proper condo next time.
Happy Diving!!

Nice report, we can feel your love for the island. The people of Bonaire are very special. We have always said we have never met a person who we wouldn't want to go out to dinner with. Your experience of getting lost on your way to Sand Dollar shows how people just help each other on Bonaire. We love Sand Dollar too which is why we ended up buying there. Thanks for your report. We recently filed our trip report, check it out if you get a chance, Sand Dollar Feb14-21

Alan & Joan, I read your trip report - liked your pics! - yes, Bari is terrific and so convenient I snorkeled there every day. The variety of life had me mesmerized for hours.

I really liked the Sand Dollar - it's convenient to everything I wanted to do, and it's quiet! There's nothing about Bonaire I didn't like - and I think that's the first time I've said that about any vacation!!

So nice to hear your story, and that you still love it there. I think this is the happiest chatroom I've ever seen! We're all in love! lol