Strange question, huh? My little girl wants to get her hair braided with the colorful beads when we get to Bonaire. Do they do such a thing in Bonaire?

Any advice is appreciated!

Haaaaaaaaaaaaa..good question..I have only seen that in the British West Indies. Some women braid their hair but there are no beach vendors (thankfully) in Bonaire. A windsurf Mom Moirayma does braiding for the windsurf guys. Her hubby is a chemist in Antriol at Botika..but I cannot recall where her shop is..anyone??

Here is her web page with the location:
http://www.infobonaire.com/nails/

Thanks for the information! I'll definitely call for an appointment!

If her hair is not super curly the braids will look very wispy after a day or two. You may want to get her a perm before you go to Bonaire, if her hair is straight.

My daughter had her hair braided in the beauty shop at the Divi when we were there in February. The bead colors were not real dramatic, you may want to have her bring some favorite colors along.

That is one thing I do admire about Bonaire is that " hawkers" arn't all over the waterfront trying to sell you trinkets and braid your hair or try to show you a condo...it's terribly invasive on other tourist islands and that is why I consider Bonaire to be different and very " civilized"..thank you Bonaire

I will echo Diver Debbi's comments. This is why my wife and I don't go anywhere is the Caribbean. I don't have to worry about be stopped everywhere I go and asked to purchase something nor feel that if I don't I wouldn't be treated like I am cheating someone out of their livelhood.

There is at least one place in the Caribbean you can visit without seeing even one vendor - Anguilla. Wonderful place to visit!

Belinda where did you stay in Anguilla? We looked at Cap Juluca.

We've been to Anguilla, and it is a charming place... very small island. It has many crescent beaches, actually completely ringed by beaches - almost no traffic on them. Most resorts hugely expensive, but there are a few small motel type places and a few B&Bs. Boats of day trippers come to one beach at the east end of the Island from Martinique, but it's still not a lot of people. Chuck (the king fu actor) Harris.. Farris.. ah, Norris has a place there, or did. You can spend a charming day at Sandy Island... ten palm trees and a couple of picnic tables. Walk around it in about 10 minutes. Stand on the sandy tip and look for Africa!

Kelly,

We stayed the first time at Ferryboat Inn in the 2-bedroom beach house and the second time we rented a private villa named 18 Degrees North. It is only a 1-bedroom but it is AWESOME!! If you are interested they have a web page http://www.18degreesnorth.com

Cap Juluca is WAY out of our league plus we are not "resort" people.

Cathy,

It must have been a while since you were there as all the palm trees on Sandy Island got wiped out in one of the hurricanes in the 90s (I don't remember which one). In fact, in one of the hurricanes the entire island disappeared and took several years for the sand to build back up.

The day trippers are mostly from St. Martin and they go mostly to either Prickly Pear Cay or Shoal Bay on Anguilla. We have visited several beaches in February (the "busy" season) and we were the only people in sight.

Word is Chuck Norris' ex-wife has the house on Anguilla.

If anyone is interested I have a trip report at http://anguilla_11_2003.tripod.com