TRIP TO BONAIRE AND CURACAO—NOT A CRUISE: Guest Post by Sara Kras

Grote Knip Beach, Curacao

With many thanks to my friend and fellow children's book writer Sara Kras, who is one of the most adventurous intrepid tourists I know! She has been to a number of islands in the Caribbean--Barbados, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Bonaire and Curacao, but says "I still have a few more to check out." .Here is her report on her recent trip to the islands of Bonaire and Curacao.

Bonaire and Curacao are part of the Dutch Caribbean and are located about fifty miles from South America.  These islands are usually visited by cruise ships where thousands of cruisers disembark for the day to shop for cheap Chinese trinkets or go on crazy excursions promoted by the cruise ship, such as hiking through the desert terrain, or riding a Segway through the salt flats. 

            View of a cruise ship from one of the wild coast snorkeling sites on Bonaire

My opinion is that the only reason anyone would want to be on these islands would be to swim, snorkel, or dive in the warm, turquoise waters.  Anything else would be a complete waste of time.  And so that’s what I did, pretty much all day, every day.

The water in Bonaire and Curacao is the clearest water in the world because much of the sea floor is covered in coral.  For this reason, water shoes are needed to navigate entry into the gorgeous water. 

Renting a car or truck is a must.  Before arriving I arranged one for Bonaire with a highly rated but informal company.  It was so informal that returning the car was as easy as driving to the airport, parking in short term parking, putting the keys in the visor, and leaving it, no inspections or paperwork.

Our rental on Curacao was a bit more formal but not by much.  We were picked up by shuttle at the airport and taken to a large house where the minimal paperwork for the car rental took place.

Because snacks at the resorts could be pretty expensive, we shopped at a local Dutch grocery store found on both islands called Van Den Tweel.  It was fun to browse through the large selection of different types of cheeses and meats and to try unusual Dutch sweets and drinks.

Bonaire

Each island had different characteristics.  Bonaire’s population was much smaller--only 25,000 residents.  The island was unique in that you could drive the main road which circled the island and stop to snorkel at many different wild coastlines. 

 

Coin box at the Bonaire airport to help the Donkey Sanctuary

Donkey Mural at Bonaire Airport

Along the Bonaire main road, you might see wild donkeys.  Tourists know about them and bring food to feed them through their car windows.  To care for these wild donkeys, a donkey sanctuary has been established.  Tourists can visit the sanctuary and meet the donkeys. While in line at the airport, a box with a message in English and Dutch asks for coins to help the donkey sanctuary.

We also booked a snorkeling trip with a Dutch company called Seacow Bonaire.  They took us across the pass to Klein Bonaire also known as Little Bonaire.  The water off of this small uninhabited island was filled with healthy coral, large colorful fish, sea turtles, and barracuda. 

Slave huts on Bonaire

Near the salt pans of Bonaire are several small slave huts.  These were used to house slaves who worked on the salt pans during the mid-nineteenth century.

Bonaire is the more rustic of the two islands.  We stayed for three nights and then flew in a small prop plane with a local airline called Divi Divi to Curacao.  The flight took approximately twenty-five minutes.

Curacao

Because Curacao has a higher population (150,000), it was much more developed than Bonaire.  More resorts, more restaurants, better paved roads, and more beach facilities.  

 

Tugboat Beach viewed from our lounge chairs

The first thing I did once we got to our beach resort was to swim in the warm Caribbean Sea.  The next day, we meandered to a snorkeling and diving site called Tugboat Beach located on the southern tip.  It got its name because a tugboat had sunk many years ago close to the shore. 

The beach had lounge chairs under shaded netting.  There was even a place to rent an underwater propeller, which we did.  This device buzzed me around in the water without having to move my legs.  The water was crystal clear. Brightly colored fish were seen on the way to and at the Tugboat site.

At lunchtime, we headed over to Mambo Beach.  We ordered grouper and received a piece of fish each about one inch thick and six inches long.  It was amazing.

Grote Knip Beach, Curacao

The next morning, we drove to Grote Knip Beach located on the northern section of the island.  We were able to park right next to the entrance and walked down to the relatively uncrowded beautiful stretch of sand.  I swam out to the coral area where there were lots of fish.  After my swim, it began to rain heavily, so I got back in the water to wait out the storm.

 

Colorful Willemstad, a UNESCO Heritage Site

We left around lunchtime.  We were shocked to see that the parking lot had become a complete madhouse with buses and cars trying to find places to park. Happy to leave, we headed back to the middle of the island to Willemstad to see the colorful buildings and floating bridge which make up the UNESCO Heritage Site.

The cruise ships dock their boats close to this area of the island, so the shops are full of junkie items from China.  Even the old eighteenth century buildings have been invaded by these vendors. 

To connect the two land areas which make up Wilemstad, an amazing floating bridge was built in the nineteenth century across the water.  We walked across the bridge to eat on the historical side of town.  While near the water, we saw the floating bridge shut down by sounding an alarm bell and then it swung to one side of the waterway to allow huge tankers from Curacao’s deep water port to enter the open sea.

We have been to a few Caribbean Islands. Each has their own unique environment and culture.  Because of the clarity of the water and the historic areas, these two islands have become my favorites.