Hi,

In a few weeks I'll be visiting Bonaire for the first time...and I can't get it out of my head...! With every picture I see I get more excited...I just hope I won't be disappointed :-) I'm even thinking seriously about moving to Bonaire after I finish my education and getting a job there, for a while at least; would that be an option...? I don't know anything about employment on the island, so any info would be welcome. I will in any case be regularly checking this page, just to see what's going on...

Hallo Leo,

In welk hotel zit je??

Reading your post, I'm sure you'll be suffering major PBD after you'll get back to Holland!!

Working should be easier than before, because there is an agrement that dutch people don't have to get a working and staing permit (werk en verblijfsvergunning).

Enjoy your stay!!

Martin! I've just noticed your new profile pic.
I expect that you'll tell me you posted it as soon as I sent it to you in November last year? I should be more observant. Anyway...Nice one. It brings back happy memories.

Andy, 't's there for about 3 months now. It's a nice picture, it is hiding my face pretty well....

Everytime I look at the picture(s), I'll suffer from more and more PBD. I have to find a way to cover the costs for the one and only cure.....

.... moving to Bonaire....

Hey Martin,

I'll do this in English, so that other non-Dutch-speaking people can read this as well.
We're not staying at a hotel; my parents have rented this place on the Kaya Den Tera or Kaya Carlos AC Nicolaas. I don't know where that is, actually; I've been trying to find a map on the internet to show me, but so far I haven't been successful (unfortunately!). Where in Kralendijk is that? Is it even to be considered in Kralendijk? I'm very curious as to its location...

Thanx,

Leo

Leo, NP. Normaly I try to write english as well. I know it's Kralendijk, but donn't know the exact location. I wish it was me goining....

Leo,

We used to live in that area - it's also called Bonaire Exclusief (or locally, Macamba Pleintje).

That area is about a 10 minute walk from downtown Kralendijk. Very convenient location, but do lock your windows and doors at night if you don't want to share your beers with whomever may be passing by and looking for a free drink.

If you've been to Bonaire before, it's just off the road which goes between NAPA and Ennia.

Jake

Hi Jake,

No, I've never been to Bonaire before, so those last directions are lost on me...thanks though. At least it seems like a good spot (in the meantime I managed to find a map of the area), close to the sea/boulevard and the town centre...which isn't that big after all, is it? All of Kralendijk, I mean.
Just to be sure (I might have missed some irony, but hey, I'm not a native speaker of English :-)): do you advise to lock doors and windows because of crime/criminals or because of other (harmless) uninvited guests...? How is life there, anyway? I have this picture in my mind of people sitting on their porches all night, greeting the passers-by and drinking beer or wine or something...but that's probably a bit too romantic ;-)

Leo

You only have to worry about the uninivited guests when you are not around. Other times you are right, sitting out on the porch is a Bonaire thing to do.

The area there is just off the beaten path, and while sitting on ones patios drinking beer and wine is a very nice and common thing to do, the only people you'd be greeting would be fellow residents/visitors of the Macamba Plein (which is a nice thing to do - we had many nice evenings doing this there).

And yes, my language meant to imply that theft in that area - in particular - was not uncommon when we lived there several years ago (and still isn't according to friends who live there) - generally because visitors staying in the units were not warned about shutting their windows and doors when not there or not awake, and thereby leaving a wonderful opportunity for someone to "borrow" a few possessions. Interestingly enough, beer is one of those possessions most commonly "borrowed".

For some reason (I have some theories, but no proof), the Macamba Plein is deemed an easy target, and also conveniently located. The same issues don't appear in such fashion anywhere else on Bonaire, in my experience.

I should point out that I've never heard of anyone there having an encounter with thieves inside a house there (although we did once see one guy trying to break into the house we were living in - he was more than a little surprised to see us on the inside staring out through the glass door at him in disbelief - not sure why, all the house lights inside and out were on and it was still early evening, but he was likely not very intelligent). In any case, we never worried for our personal safety - just that of our possessions (which is why we always locked up the house when gone at and at night - much like anywhere else we have lived).

Jake

Jake,

Thanks for the info. That's good to know, even though I guess we would have locked up anyway; and if someone wants a beer that badly, they're welcome to it! ;-) Of course, there's this kind of crime all over the world; perhaps people just don't expect it when visiting an island like Bonaire (overwhelmed by the atmosphere as they are...). We will be extra careful, anyway.

Leo