Archiv
CW 50 2002
02.12. - 08.12.02
Monday morning - and time to say "adios" Venezuela. SILVER BLUE
was in these waters for almost 2 months, and despite those repetitive little
thefts it was a wonderful country with great people. Unfortunately Venezuela
is going towards an uncertain future; let's hope for the best!
At 8.30am SILVER BLUE has weighed anchor and is heading towards Bonaire. It's
44 nautical miles to Kralendijk, the capital of Bonaire. And that's where
the only mooring area is - anchoring anywhere else is strictly prohibited
in order to protect the reef surrounding the island.
| At 3.30pm I fasten the boat to a mooring (a rope anchored to the ground
with a concrete block weighing 6 tons) right in front of the village.
A friendly Canadian passes me the rope and since the winds are still blowing
with 5 Beaufort I have to be quick. The water is crystal clear and the
unspoilt coral reef with its countless fish starts right underneath my
boat. BON BINI BONAIRE - first thing on Tuesday morning is to take care of the formalities, but here they are rather uncomplicated and for free. After that I check out the town and its immediate surroundings. It's quite manageable; I can easily reach any place on foot. Everything is very clean (well, these are the Netherlander Antilles) and the locals are, without exception, friendly. |
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First I treat myself to a small lunch and then I check out the dive locations
around here. I meet Bob from Wanna Dive (www.wannadivebonaire.com)
by chance and he does have a diving buddy for me. On Bonaire one usually dives
individually. At the well-described diving spots you simply enter the water
from shore or take a dinghy to marvelous diving locations marked by buoys.
Bonaire also has the only underwater live camera, which you can see at www.BonaireWebCams.com.
There are other things, apart from scuba diving, to be seen on Bonaire. Another
industry is the salt industry.
| Therefore, no, this is not snow in the Caribbean, but a huge salt mountain. It is won, just as for centuries, by evaporation in a widespread lagoon in the South of the island. | Today it is harvested with machines, but in the olden days slaves who used to live in the tiny huts by the lagoon collected the salt blocks. | |
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| The only inhabitants of this salt lagoon are a unique kind of birds - flamingoes. Elegant birds, beautiful to look at, searching for small crabs here. | Apart from that the South of the island is rather barren, probably the reason why hundreds of wild donkeys live here. | |
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Also worth mentioning is the Lac Bay, a shallow water bay in the south east
of Bonaire, and totally in the hands of windsurfers. From December 11 - 16
the freestyle world championships will take place here; and maybe some impressions
from Bonaire will be on TV.
You can read here what the North of the island looks like and what else one
can do on Bonaire next week, if you like …
… until then, take care
TOM
