6 July 2018:

Bonaire, NWI

Today we visit Bonaire, my favorite of the ports that I have already visited.  Bonaire is the smallest (in size and in population) of the Netherlands West Indies.  Although you can easily find most any amenity that your vacation dreams desire, you will also find a more relaxed and friendly atmosphere.  The northern half of the island is mountainous, surrounded by beautiful blue-green seas.  The southern half is flatter and home to the amazing salt flats--today still producing salt for export.  Kralendijk, the small capital township, sits on the west coast, halfway been the northern and southern halves.

Our van tour will take us north from Kralendijk, where our ship is docked, around the coastline.  The road hugs the shoreline, and we are treated to many close-up views of the turquoise waters and bleached white sandy beaches.  There are many official dive sites along this road; many experts claim that Bonaire has the best diving sites in all of the Caribbean.

However, we don't advance very far beyond Kralendijk when our van has a flat tire and we have to wait for another van to be sent out to continue us on our tour.  The stop does give folks on the tour the opportunity to sit on the beach or walk a trail on the hillside of the road.  The new van reaches us pretty quickly and within 30 minutes from stopping we are on our way again, with a very apologetic driver and guide.  Fortunately the van is air-conditioned, so the wait is not much of an ordeal.

We continue on the north highway and turn the corner to the eastern segment when we reach the top of the island.  As we drive inland and cross the center of Bonaire, we reach a large brackish lake (a mix of salt and fresh water), populated by Bonaire's most spectacular denizens, the pink flamingos.

Only a few are in the water today, but their colors are brilliant.  Flamingos are born totally white; they become pink as they age and eat shrimp from water that contains bacteria that causes their color to change from white to pink, and even to dark red (I've seen this in Brazil).

Near the center of the island we make a short stop in Rincon, Bonaire's former capital and the center of its former slave trade.  Until emancipation in 1863, male slaves would spend the weekends with their families and on Monday make a long and grueling walk to the southern end of the island to work in the salt flats.  During the week, the men would sleep in tiny slave houses that could barely accommodate two men, until Friday, when they reversed the long walk back to Rincon for the weekend.

From Rincon we drive all the way south, passing through Kralendijk, to the three great salt-producing flats.  Salt is extracted from the deep-red pools of water in which they form into large crystals.  After all the water has evaporated the salt is formed into mountainous pyramids and then loaded on waiting ships for export around the world.  Although the process is now fully mechanized, it used to require very hard work.  It is amazing how a site of such torture and sadness can become so beautiful in preservation.