Hello again! I thought of another question, hope it isn't too silly.

We're staying at Buddy's and have a small kitchen. Believe me when I say I do NOT plan on cooking at all--especially after reading about all the many fine restaurants! However, having a (picky and hungry)teenager means food must be available at all times, so I figured we should at least have a few basic items available.

Would it be okay to bring boxes of cereal, microwave popcorn, non-perishable items like that, into Bonaire? Or would that be too weird?

Second question, really obscure: Do they sell Propel Water on Bonaire? Gatorade?

Hi, Laura!
No problem bringing packaged food with you. You can buy boxes of cereal on Bonaire, but you can certainly bring things with you too.
Sorry that I don't know the answer to your second question, but somebody else will.

Hi, Laura! We bring precooked bacon, roastbeef(frozen), Popcorn, Snackbars, Peanutbutter and our favorite Jam with us. We stay for 2 weeks and make breakfast and lunch at home and dinner out everynight. Not only is it convenient but we save $500 and eat what we like when we want.

The markets do sell sport drinks but what ever is on the shelf is a guessing game. The tap water is the best water you can get. It is safe and tastes great! Have a good time on Dushi Bonaire.. Bon dia... Ron

The supermarkets in Bonaire will sometimes have everything you're looking for, and at other times may be out of everything you're looking for. If you're flexible, buying stuff on Bonaire in the supermarkets is cool. By the way, I usually bring powdered Gatorade -- pretty lightweight for packing, and like Ron says the tap water in Bonaire is desalinized sea water and is, indeed, plenty safe and plenty tasty.

I would agree with Scott's assessment on food availability & it can change day-to-day depending when the cargo ships unload.

I have never seen Propel and have never looked for Gatorade, but would imagine it would be pricey. We also brought powdered Gatorade one year. My kids were sick of the orange by the end of the week, so I would suggest you vary it. We now bring Crystal Lite & enjoy it.

My teenager loves Gatorade. We have found it in various flavors each of our four annual trips. We usually shop at several different stores...what we don't find in one, we usually find in another. We even found her favorite, Watermelon, one year at the Chinese restaurant across from Gibi's old restaurant. IF there is a price difference, it is only slightly higher than for us at home.

We have never taken food with us...but we do bring white chocolate and Dutch cookies home with us. My daughter loves to go grocery shopping with us in Bonaire....and NEVER at home!! And she's picky, too !

Linda, Megan loves the "cultural" experience of shopping on Bonaire...LOL!

LOL...That's exactly right. At first, she wasn't too game on trying new food items...still can't get her to try Goat or Iquana Stew....go figure! But we have to drive all over just to find her "special" Dutch cookies and White Chocolate!

Linda, I'm giggling..."teens"...

My daughter will be a teenager for our next visit to Bonaire. She is already counting the days to her birthday. I finally said to her "you won't be any different when you wake up that day". She already looks like she's 16 and has an attitude to match...

Sue, ohy vay...my sympathies...glad my stepdaughter is almost 19! When she was 12 1/2 I removed her bedroom door because of her "attitude"...it stayed off for 2 weeks until she got it back together...LOL...she still "fondly" remembers that...NOT!

yes I am laughing... my daughter will turn 18 on February 3rd... so everyone be READY because the world will apparently completely change on that very day. Or so I have been told repeatedly for the past month.

You youngsters wouldn't understand, but now I'm going through this sort of thing with my 19 year old grandson.

Kelly, sorry, I can just see Steph saying that "the world will completely change overnight"...Dylon is doing a LOT of talking about his next birthday...numero deiz y ocho (18 for you non Spanish speaking folks)...he will have almost a year of high school left at that point, so it is going to be TOUGH...can I have some of those pills NOW please? You know, the ones that make everything all rosy? LOL!

Tish, my condolences...

Kelly, I am laughing my butt off! Remember how much fun it was when Ethan (now 26) turned 18. WAIT, Ben and Katie are going to go through it too - WAAAAH!!!

Cynde, I need some of those pills too!

Tish, thank you for calling us youngsters:-{)}

someone once told me that God lets teenagers act the way that they do so that we will be happy when they get ready to leave the nest!! I thought that surely my beautiful daughter would never act this way- but MAN- when she turned 18!!! We ALL were happy when she left for college!! Now things are much better for us all- but there are still moments. Growing pains hurt!

Tom, you can complain to me when Katie and Ben are teens...Dylon and Sarah will be well on their way in their 20's...and hopefully...more rational...LOL!

Kelly, My Tiffany will turn 18 on February 3rd too! OMG!!! The world will never be the same!! LOL
Yes, college can't come soon enough here, then there are times when she can be sooo sweet and nice and you just think maybe you got through and then she opens her mouth and well, you know, she thinks when 18 hits, she will have no more rules either!

Bonaire has everything..almost: great jams and super peanut butter, meats, chicken and fish, veggies and pastas..the only thing I cannot get are the power bars I like and some select items like v8 low sodium. The only problem is there is no one stop shopping here.

Here is my shopping list:

More for Less for fruits, veggies and flowers from Quito

Cultimara for real milk

Warehouse for canned pet food, cheeses and bakery

Exito for breads

Progresso for beer when guests are in town

Tera Cora Fruiteria for all of the above and convenience

Island Supplier for huge bags of pet food and bulk items

Antillean Wine Company for wine and 1,00 Naf Guinness (now)

Tropical Flamingo for so much!! This is my fav.

One addition to Ann's terrific list:
Consalves (across the street from Warehouse) for more bulk items.

What Power Bars are they missing Ann? All of them, or only some flavors?

I cannot find any here. I eat Kashi Go Lean bars and no way can you get them but Tropical Flamingo has the Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal which is really high in protein and fiber.

Laura, there is Gatorade all over Bonaire. Leave the food at home and have a fun couple of hours shopping here..

In 4 years, our "food to bring" list has shrunk considerably to just Skippy Peanut Butter & Crystal Lite. (I do bring Diet Coke from the States, as I don't like what they sell on Bonaire, but I'm very particular & my husband does laugh at me).

I would add to Ann's list that Cultimara always has wonderful bread.


PS - I love the door off the room threat; I will add that to my list!

If you are looking for Gatorade ready made in plastic bottles it is here. The powder variety in lemon lime has about disappeared. Susan