We are taking a travel class at the local Community College, and last night we covered the ABC islands...I had to chuckle when the teacher got to Bonaire, she's never been there. She said that:

The slave huts are located in "Pleekometer" (sp) and that the "island drink" is some berry drink. I have it written down at work, i'll have to get the exact name. I was like WTH? She asked if I'd ever heard of "Pleekometer" I said no, they just call them the slave huts. I also had never heard of this berry drink.

For you locals, can you please shed some light? Thanks!

Hey Cynde I am just looking at my map of Bon.. and Pekemeer is down by Red Slave.. and there is a point of interest there named Oranje Pan {Peleke' with an umla over the last e}..

Nothing about a drink on the map..

It is the Pekelmeer.

Pekel is Dutch for very salt water (50 ppm)
Meer means lake.

The slave huts are near the pekelmeer; which makes sense because the slaves lived there during the week to harvest the salt.

Oranje pan comes from the color of the flags that were used to signal the ships where to get their cargo.
Oranje means orange.
The "pan" is is the shallow that contains the salt water.
The flags have been replaced by the obelisks in the same color. Representing the colors of our national flag (red , white and blue) and the orange from our royal family.

Thanks Bob. I'm printing this out and taking to the instructor for her information. I need to find the name of the berry drink she said was the drink of the islands...lol...

I was wondering about the orange thing. Is that maybe to mark the orange structure that looks like a triangle pointing to the sky down by the slave huts?

Here it is.


(Message edited by lovetodive on February 25, 2010)

Maybe the island drink is the one we often see here on BT in pictures with a slice of lime in the bottle. Just kidding

Hi
With regard to the obelisks; I remember reading someplace that a flag of the appropriate color would be flown on the windward coast to indicate to approaching which obelisk to anchor at to load the salt.
The drink thing doesn't ring any bells.
Mick

http://books.google.com/books?id=7bHneHT_9YkC&pg=PT17&lpg=PT17&dq=bonaire+fruit+drink&source=bl&ots=vQ463hBDH8&sig=iKkDHm3yyplE3uOj8WtX9-83KpY&hl=en&ei=S72GS_vWE4q1tgfXsPywDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CA0Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=bonaire%20fruit%20drink&f=false

I'm thinking either Passion Fruit or Pawpaw?

"Guava Berry Punch" - with rum!

(Message edited by lovetodive on February 25, 2010)

@ Tink
yes, the orange "thing" is an obelisk.
In the "old days" is was an orange flag.

Bob, how do you pronounce "obelisk?"

"O'blisk?"

ah-bil-isk ??

Main Entry: obe·lisk
Pronunciation: \ˈä-bə-ˌlisk also ˈō-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French obelisque, from Latin obeliscus, from Greek obeliskos, from diminutive of obelos
Date: 1569
1 : an upright 4-sided usually monolithic pillar that gradually tapers as it rises and terminates in a pyramid
2 a : obelus b : dagger 2b

Bob...... pekel = salty = pickle??? salt is used as a brine for pickling veggies, meat etc..

seems so...
Main Entry: 1pick·le
Pronunciation: \ˈpi-kəl\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English pykyl, pekill sauce, gravy, from or akin to Middle Dutch peeckel brine
Date: 15th century
1 : a solution or bath for preserving or cleaning: as a : a brine or vinegar solution in which foods are preserved b : any of various baths used in industrial cleaning or processing

Freddie that does not help, I don't know the Dutch alphabet...i was hoping someone could do it with English phonetics..maybe it's not possible.

MARTIN MARTIN MARTIN I need a sound bite please!!! lol!

here ya go Tink:

http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=obelisk&submit=Submit

Martin, you ROCK! Thanks!

Randy, yours sounds like Martin's...cool site!

i would venture that the island drink is the Curacao liqueur made from a small bitter orange found growing there.

Not that I've ever seen a local drink it (Curacao Liq)...I consider our local drink to be beer, specifically "Polar" beer (from Venezuela). And Amstel for Pietri.

http://www.cadushy.com/ I would think the cactus liquor shown in this link would best qualify as the Bonaire island drink. I have seen the bottles at Warehouse Bonaire but have not purchased any yet. However, I intend to try it soon. Since it is made from Cactus of some sort, I am thinking it may be like Tequila maybe?

I posted it earlier on this thread but got IGNORED...lol...teacher said it was "Guava Berry Punch" - with rum!

O doubted her...i've never heard of it...lol...

boss, i've been waiting for you to show up

tink ... i thought you were making a joke ...
in my close to 30 years here the only guava plant i ever saw was one i planted in my garden years and years ago. it did not survive the bonaire climate.....i am 100% in agreement with ruth .. bonairians love their beer .. Polar a front runner .. and altho i try to keep the gap closed .. Amstel a far second....

Tink....you sweet thang
You needed to take a "travel class"?

1. That is an airport....wait in line, be prepared to be searched and questioned.
2. That is a hotel.....you might get little soaps and shampoos.
3. Those people are "foreign". They may not speak your native language and absolutely should not be trusted (y'all know I always kidding)
4. This is a credit card...the lynchpin of any traveling.

OK Kids, now it's nap time and then we come back and look at that round globey thing and learn some country names. Remember, our nap pallets go head to foot to head to foot.


Geez Tinks...a travel class for you. That's bout like a drinking class for me

"Today's subject is rum drinks....there will be a test"

Just pickin on ya...have a grand weekend. I'm off to Washington DC to "splain thangs to the gubmint".


cheeze ciao

Pietre, nope, not joking. That's why I had to ask...she's never been to the ABC islands....I think she gets some of her info on the net...lol...

Joe, yea, I don't know how to travel very good so I figured I'd take a class and get learned or somethin'...lol!

Actually it's part of their 'travel and tourism' program. We thought it would just be a fun way to learn about the Northern Hemisphere and get out of the house one night a week. Oh, and we do like to have fun before class. A peep is taking the class with us.

OK, no one responded to my suggestion for Cadushy as the island drink. Now I am curious, has anyone tried it and is it worth the price (about $45.00)?

That is not the price..it sells for $30 a bottle...It is not the island drink per se. The island drink is Bonaire Punch (pure water) or Eskimo Punch! (Pure Water with Ice!)

Maybe your teacher means: Awa di sorsaka
(sorsaka = soursop, a fruit with a dark green skin and soft spines, white flesh with black seeds), ice cubes, sugar, milk and vanilla

Even if it's not 100% true, it sounds tropical :-)

Actually, there is a pretty specific recipe for "fruit punch" that I found Bonaireans were inordinately fond of, to the point that if you mixed different fruit juices together they might like it, but it just wasn't "fruit punch". From memory, the recipe was 1 part 7-Up, 2 parts orange juice, and 1 part grenadine.