After a 6 a.m. start, we arrived in Bonaire at about 2:30 p.m. On our way we celebrated leaving Venezuelan waters and an unusual time zone, ½ hour off of Atlantic Standard time--a Chavez thing. 
Tom and Rose from Sojourn greeted us as we pulled up to the dreaded mooring buoy. It’s always a challenge to catch the loop on a mooring buoy with the boathook before the boat drifts over the buoy or away from it. But Tom and Rose held the loops (two in this case) for us making simple work of it! It’s nice to have friends!!
Though a tourist haven for scuba divers, Bonaire is a cute little Dutch island with the same crystal clear water we’ve been finding along the Venezuelan coast. Yes, this island is only 50 miles from the Venezuelan coast, but has ever so much more to offer. We are finding grocery stores that have the food we need. (In Venezuela, they were frequently out of cereal, coke, eggs, you name it!) Not so here. Because it’s small and touristy, prices are on the high side. So we will wait for Curacao, our next island, to do the badly needed stocking up.
We have enjoyed meeting our sailing buddies and, of course, snorkeling.
Friday, we rented a car and toured the island which is very arid and sprouts cactus everywhere. There is a donkey 
sanctuary where old, hurt or orphaned donkeys are cared for.
Donkeys were used greatly in the 1800s when workers carried loads of salt to and from the town. 
Bonaire produces great amounts
Tom and Rose from Sojourn greeted us as we pulled up to the dreaded mooring buoy. It’s always a challenge to catch the loop on a mooring buoy with the boathook before the boat drifts over the buoy or away from it. But Tom and Rose held the loops (two in this case) for us making simple work of it! It’s nice to have friends!!
Though a tourist haven for scuba divers, Bonaire is a cute little Dutch island with the same crystal clear water we’ve been finding along the Venezuelan coast. Yes, this island is only 50 miles from the Venezuelan coast, but has ever so much more to offer. We are finding grocery stores that have the food we need. (In Venezuela, they were frequently out of cereal, coke, eggs, you name it!) Not so here. Because it’s small and touristy, prices are on the high side. So we will wait for Curacao, our next island, to do the badly needed stocking up.
We have enjoyed meeting our sailing buddies and, of course, snorkeling.
Friday, we rented a car and toured the island which is very arid and sprouts cactus everywhere. There is a donkey 
sanctuary where old, hurt or orphaned donkeys are cared for.
Donkeys were used greatly in the 1800s when workers carried loads of salt to and from the town. 
Bonaire produces great amounts
of 
salt and great mounds of salt are seen as onedrives around the southern part of the island.
In the 1800s, slaves were brought over from Africa to work in the salt pans. They lived in the tiny huts pictured here and led a hard life until they were freed in 1863. (I am sitting in the tiny entryway of one of the huts that was often inhabited by 4 people!)
In the 1800s, slaves were brought over from Africa to work in the salt pans. They lived in the tiny huts pictured here and led a hard life until they were freed in 1863. (I am sitting in the tiny entryway of one of the huts that was often inhabited by 4 people!) There were also beautiful pink flamingoes grazing in the shallow waters. 
A highlight of our trip was a visit with s/v Pizazz, a couple from California, who, after sailing for 14 years, built their dream home in Bonaire. They had a lot of information to share on sailing to Colombia, our goal in January.
A highlight of our trip was a visit with s/v Pizazz, a couple from California, who, after sailing for 14 years, built their dream home in Bonaire. They had a lot of information to share on sailing to Colombia, our goal in January.
This process is repeated until the proper width is reached. With just six in our group, our canoe was capable of more speed and than some of the other groups’ and better able to “climb the rocks“, that is, cross the many rapids we encountered.
