Bonaire

 After staying in Curacao for a few days. I headed off to Bonaire on a small plane. It only took us a few minutes. Riding on the small plane you get a great view of the ocean and island, because the plane can fly in at a much lower altitude. Once we landed into the airport.

I realize that it is much smaller than the Aruba airport. Some of the rental car companies are located outside the airport. A taxi driver saw us and told us if we want to get a ride he can take us there for 10 dollars. My hubby, instead, left me there with the luggage and walked out to find the rental car. There was a plaza in front of the airport, but realized later that it is not there. Another man said that he works for the rental car and he was suppose to have the print out of our name. I was reluctant to believe him, because he looks like an ordinary cab driver. He later called the rental company for our name to confirm and asked me where is my husband. Finally, I saw a person that was helping some guests into the van and he was working for our rental car company. Both men spoke and they seem like they work together. So I was much assured and able to go with him. He was a big and friendly person. We drove a bit and found my hubby heading back to the airport. We picked him up and they took us to the the rental car place. The man said that here in Bonaire you are to be relaxed and take your time. We didn't have to pay a dime to get there.

My most concern part of traveling is being picked up by the wrong people. It is a foreign country and people are different. You just have to watch out for yourself and take things slowly, especially if you are on vacation. My hubby was a bit hasty, and took off without even calling the rental company to see where they are. I guess he didn't want to pay phone calls.

This island is known as the Diver's island. The island is small and encompasses rich resources like manufacturing salt at the southern tip of the island.

They are very big in conserving their environment. If you snorkel or dive you need to pay a permit. You are given  a plastic tag that can be placed onto your eye piece so rangers can see and doesn't have to check on you.

We stayed at a hotel that was rebuilding. So the room we stayed in wasn't as nice or comfortable as I thought. Most of the amenities for our room that they posted on their website was not even there. Yet, we tried to focus our attention outside more. There is a cute place called Lilly's nearby. They have gelato and coffee. You get to have free wireless. A lot of medical students hang out here, because their school is close by. They have a small town that have lots of restaurants and shops along the coastal edge where most of the dutch cruise ships docks. On cruise ship days, tons of people come out to sell goods and souvenirs.

Bonaire has a large park that takes up most of their island. Located above the small town Rincon. It is very beautiful inside the park. You get to see hidden beaches, light house, flamingos, iguanas, pigs, goats, crest bird, and other animals roaming freely in the park. They have a map for you to look at. The road is not paved, so its best if you have a jeep or truck.

We got a Kia, it is automatic and small. So it was pretty rough on the car. On the second day we stayed there. It was raining and thundering so we decided to stay in the car. Unfortunately, after a few minutes my husband decided to turn on the switch. It wouldn't turn on the car. We tried so many times that a couple nearby even tried to help us. We don't have jumper cables in our rental cars. We waited for almost 2 to 3 hours until the ranger does their rounds to escort people outside the park. They also don't have jumper cables. If we had a manual car we could jump start the car on its own.Finally they said that we would have to follow them until they complete their rounds of checking out visitors. After the rangers made a few calls. He found someone that has the jumper cables. We were so happy. The park terrains were very rugged so just imagine the ranger driving in full speed to get out and in again to jump start our car. He was really nice and friendly. Its so funny, because we got to see the park ranger's home and when they are not in their attire. They all smiled and said "Hi." We were so embarrassed that we had to bother them during their off work. If it wasn't for them we would have to leave our car there for the night since the park was closed and we would probably have a hard time getting it out the next day. Plus, our flight was tomorrow morning. So we were really lucky. We figured out that the car front lights was on during the time we were in the car listening to the radio station.

On the positive note, I had a wonderful time on the island.

The best snorkeling area in the park.

The most amazing thing about this place is that you feel you are in a Safari, where you can freely roam in your car to visit unique areas. You can also hike, swim, snorkel, dive, picnic, and also have a small restaurant located at the southern tip of the park. I saw beautiful fishes of different colors and sizes. The reefs were beautiful.The ranger will tell you where it is. They would tell you what time you should visit and leave by to get out of the park before it closes. After closing we saw some researchers coming in the gates. So it seems like there are others that are present in the park even after hours. The ranger told us that there are local people coming in to fish. Sometimes they fish until morning, "crazy" he said. When you hike you have to be really careful, many people get lost here. It is a big park with lots of trees and bushes. You won't see snakes or dangerous animals, but you can easily get hurt at night walking on tough terrains. Most of the platforms along the coast are formed by lava towards the eastern or northern part of the island. So if you wear slippers like I did, it hurts. Its like walking on glasses. On certain beaches you also get to see crumbled coral reefs. They look so intriguing with different shapes and sizes, plus lots of hermit crabs.