Getting into Bonaire

The flight from Aruba is only half an hour, crossing Curaçao on the way. I'm touring the ABC Islands, but the ABCs are not arranged in alphabetical order, in the ocean. A late arrival in Bonaire, but a happy one. ‘Have a good stay,’ beams the efficient lady on immigration. The reception at my new hotel, a dive resort is less effusive. They’re making me pay to rent the safe in my room. I’ve never come across that one before, when the safe is already in the room. 'Otherwise we will lock it up…'

Watching Wildlife on Bonaire

I’ve been having a quiet day in the sun, while I suss out the locality. I’ve been to the local Chinese supermarket (expensive). Like Aruba, the island is flat and arid, but without the wide sand beaches. The area around my west coast hotel is hardly scenic. There is a water processing plant, cactus fencing and a view across to an even flatter, smaller island, Klein Bonaire, half a mile away. But, Bonaire has a reputation for the best diving in the Caribbean. It's known as 'Diver's Paradise',(or failing that 'The Velcro Island' and 'Dushi Bonaire'.

I’ve tested the snorkelling off the hotel jetty. There’s a drop off to a reef five metres out, but the wind and boats have kicked up sand and visibility isn’t great. There are pair of tarpons - enormous - under the pier though. They lurk around, as the hotel kitchen tips the scraps of fish into the sea for them.

I wind up the afternoon with a massage. In between, I’ve been watching the lizards and iguanas scurry round the pool and teeny humming birds sneaking nectar from scarlet tube-shaped blossoms. Those birds move fast. They might need to, as there’s also a black and ginger cat, who has taken possession of my patio.

Klein Bonaire

Snorkelling at Klein Bonaire. This, it seems, is an uninhabited nature reserve, with gorgeous powdered white sand beaches and an internationally protected, nesting ground for endangered green and hawksbill sea turtles. My very organised Dutch boat hosts say that Klein Bonaire used to be owned by Harry Belafonte. It’s where he wrote Island in the Sun.

It's also advertised as home to the best diving in the area. I spend an hour and a half happily drifting along drop-off. Like all coral in the Caribbean this is not particularly colourful, but at least it’s alive and there’s plenty of interesting animal life: eagle rays, angelfish, barracuda, turtles, eels, varieties of parrotfish and the usual assortment of striped bannerfish and shoals of minuscule blue flashes. The stoplight parrotfish is common. It’s one of those fish that changes sex, in this case from female to male. It must be an interesting life.

Round and About Bonaire

Shore Diving Capital of the World

It’s a truism that the most rewarding travel happens when you get a local to show you round. Today, Oyo (short for Gregorio) is taking me on a figure of eight tour round Bonaire, in his Kia. He is quietly knowledgeable and goes out of his way to stop for photos. It’s a surprisingly interesting and diverse place.

The island is almost entirely coral and limestone, so the reef runs right round it. The entire coastline of Bonaire was designated a marine sanctuary, in 1979, with over 350 species of fish and 60 species of coral. There are more than 400 caves hiding here too.

The drop-off is really close to the shore, all up the western coast, so divers can access over 50 of the hundred or so dive sites directly from the shore without needing a boat. Google has offered me yet another title for Bonaire - 'Shore Diving Capital of the World'.

All of the sites are marked with yellow stones. ‘Thousand Steps’ (there’re really only 67 Oyo says), though access looks rather too adventurous, across slippy rocks in some. There’s a stripe of turquoise sea, running along the coast, immediately turning cyan at the reef, so it’s very easy to see where it is.

Washington Slagbaai National Park

Washington Slagbaai National Park occupies the entire north-western fifth of the island. This pristine 13,800-acre reserve rises to 2000 metres in the north, where there are limestone hills, bumpy unpaved roads, hidden beaches, lakes and a few flamingos.

The hills and cliffs are entirely covered in huge finger cacti. It’s the only thing that grows (they make liqueur and slimy ‘healthy’ soup from them). All the food has to be imported. There are tall metal windmills running pumps (this is the Netherlands after all), numerous small ranches and some goats scattered across the countryside. Road signs also warn of wild donkeys and sure enough we encounter a small, shy group, grazing in the scrub.

Rincón

Rincón is the oldest continuous settlement on the island and indeed, in the entire Dutch Caribbean. It's also the only town outside the capital, Kralendijk. Established by the Spanish in 1527, it sits tucked away in a strategic northern inland valley intentionally shielded from pirates and the coast.

Rincón is widely considered the cultural heart of Bonaire, with centuries-old traditions, folklore, and architecture proudly preserved. You can buy cactus liqueur here. Rincón is famous for its annual festival, visited by the Dutch king and queen. The highlight is the cemetery, with its bright pastel coloured crypts and faux-floral wreaths, a characteristic tradition of Bonairean burial.

Kralendijk

Up Seru Largu Hill there's a striking ochre memorial and a great view across the capital, Kralendijk (Dutch for coral dyke) and Klein Bonaire. The town sits at the centre of our figure of eight, so is encountered twice. It’s unsurprisingly, a smaller version of Philipsburg, in Sint Maarten, with brightly painted shops, cafes and bars and Dutch gables, geared up to cater to the cruise ship market. There's a promenade to saunter on, a small fort (with cannons) and a range of dining: high-end French-Caribbean fusion to food trucks parked along the northern edge of town.

The Southern Salt Flats

There’s a different sight around every corner, in Bonaire. The south is dominated by blinding, 50-foot-tall white salt pyramids and striking pink-tinted evaporating salt pans. This region makes Bonaire's money. It's also one of the Caribbean's largest wild (very pink) flamingo sanctuaries.

Fittingly this part of Bonaire is shaped like a curving flamingo beak. The road runs right round it, the bottom section of our figure of eight. To the west of the beak, more dive sites, sea bird covered rocks, restored slave huts and a bay where the sky is dotted with the bright sails of kite surfers. At the very tip, the Willemstoren Lighthouse, one of five on the island. Built in 1837, this is Bonaire's oldest and most famous lighthouse, with a distinctive striped tower.

To the east, sea grass lagoons in a sheltered sandy bay, swarming with windsurfers. Colourful and fascinating. (Bonaire has produced several world champion wind surfers and kite surfers.) The traditional iron windmills here, known in Dutch as 'The Old Windmills' are part of the island's vast salt production infrastructure. They act as wind-driven water pumps to continuously draw seawater into the expansive salt pans (or ponds)

Rudi

This hotel is a little hit or miss. The staff are mostly very friendly and work hard, though not always very efficiently. However, one man who operates the late shift around the office has had a distinctly off tone of voice whenever I’ve dealt with him. When I inquire about my return transfer to the airport, which I’ve already booked by email, he reprimands me: ‘You’re supposed to give us the information’. So, I ask for his name, thinking I will mention it on Trip Advisor. ‘Rudi’ he replies. I can’t help smirking.

Canadian Club

I’ve been hanging out with two friendly Canadian couples, Dave and Barb and Bob and Sharon (sounds like a risqué film) at my hotel. I met them first on my trip to Klein Bonaire and all four, although now retired, are in education too, so we’ve plenty to talk about, as well as the usual topics, Trump and Brexit. They invite me snorkelling on the local reef this morning – we’re all leaving this afternoon. Dave is so keen not to be mistaken as American that he even wears a Canada T shirt while he’s in the water.

Leaving Bonaire

I sit with them again at the airport this afternoon, recovering from today’s disasters. I lost my passport and boarding pass after I checked in. It was eventually handed in to the airline. Heaven knows what happened. But in the kerfuffle of searching for the passport I then lost my Maui Jim sunglasses. They don’t turn up. It’s an expensive and stressful day, especially as Insel Air are back to normal. The illuminated sign at the gate says ‘On Time’, but my flight to Curaçao is really running an hour late.

(Read more about the ABC Islands here.)