1) Kralendijk
(pronounced 'Crawl-en-dike')
This diminutive cluster of red tile
roofs hugging the island's western coast is Bonaire's lively capital. Its
Dutch colonial houses, the Museo Boneriano and Fort Oranje give a glimpse
into the island's past, while the town's oceanfront promenade offers stunning
sunset vistas and a fine prospect of Klein Bonaire. The
main street is a browser's collection of dive shops, boutiques, arts and
crafts galleries, restaurants and bars.
2)
Rincon
When the Spanish founded Bonaire's
oldest town around the turn of the fifteenth century, they laid their
foundations slightly inland to escape the roving eyes and ship-board
cannons of passing buccaneers. Slaves from Africa, brought by the Spanish,
were also housed here. Today the town is an entrancing collage of pastel
cottages. The Saint Peter's Day celebration is held here June 28.
3) Lac
Bay
Lac Bay is a windsurfer's paradise,
with steady winds and smooth, clear, and conveniently shallow waters.
Although Lac Bay is located on the windward side of Bonaire, its encircling
arms protect the waters within and create a range of conditions that
are as ideal for beginners as for intrepid windsurfing virtuosi. Check
out our windsurfing pages for more information.
4)
Onima
Five centuries ago the limestone
cave at Onima served as both shelter and artist's canvas for the island's
Caiquetio inhabitants. The red-stained petroglyphs that adorn its walls
remain undeciphered, offering visitors a glimpse of ancient Bonaire as
mysterious as it is beautiful.
5)
Goto Meer
Goto Meer is a favorite among Bonaire's
abundant (and skittish) flamingo population, which gathers on this salt
lake to consume the brine shrimp, brine fly and larvae which endow these
great birds with their rosy hue. Like Salina Slagbaai, another of the
salt ponds of Bonaire's Washington-Slagbaai National Park, Goto Meer
becomes a veritable sea of pink during the January-July breeding season.
6)
Nukove
Located on the sheltered leeward
coast of Washington-Slagbaai National Park, Nukove is one of the island's
most pleasant diving and snorkeling sites. Park visitors need only wade
offshore to encounter brilliant, swirling schools of reef fish, including
parrotfish and blue tangs . To relax, there is an intimate and inviting
little white sand beach.
7)
Cabaje
At Cabaje are found a number of
picturesque and grimly fascinating stone huts. Waist-high, with small
doors and no windows, these cramped quarters were built in the 18th century
as housing for the slaves who harvested salt in the nearby flats. Also
at Cabaje is a salt obelisk which was used as a marker for ships arriving
to load the island's precious commodity. |
8) Lac
Bay Kai
Every Sunday afternoon local
residents gather here for an informal social party-there's dancing,
live music, outdoor food stalls, and children playing everywhere
as their parents and grandparents chat and eat and dance. There
is no better place on the island to meet Bonaire's residents. As
the afternoon wanes, you may see a few families heading home with
captured iguanas, all set to prepare a Sunday night soup.
9)
Sorobon Beach
Bonaire's highly-regarded
naturalist (clothing optional) resort turns away sightseers,
but day trippers can get an all over tan for a U.S $15 day entry
fee. Sorobon Beach also has some of the best protected windsurfing
in the Caribbean.
10) Pekelmeer
The salt flats of Pekelmeer
spread out in front of a visitor in great squares of brilliant
color, ranging from the turquoise of newly-flooded areas and
the livid pink of pools filled with brine shrimp to the blinding
white of dried salt. Off to the side lie enormous mounds of dried
and drying salt, and in the distance stand great flocks of flamingoes,
happily supping on the shrimp. Pekelmeer's deserted vistas are
frequently more populated by birds --
including osprey, heron, frigate birds, cormorants, and other
marine birds -- than by humans, making it an excellent spot for
birdwatching.
11) Washington-Slagbaai
National Park
This 13,500 acre park occupies
a substantial portion of the island's northern tip and is filled
with the fascinating flora and fauna of semi-arid Bonaire. In
its own way Washington-Slagbaai is as much a gem as Bonaire's
more celebrated Marine Park, with more than a hundred species
of birds, a startling variety and diversity of terrain and wildlife.
12)
Bonaire Marine Park
A magnificent and pioneering
effort in the preservation of the Caribbean's invaluable underwater
ecology, Bonaire Marine Park today
ranks among the world's premier destinations for both divers
and snorkelers. We invite you to explore more of this magnificent
park in our dive pages.
13)
Klein Bonaire
Klein Bonaire lies just
off the western coast of the island, a smaller, pristine sister
to Bonaire. It is surrounded by a multitude of outstanding dive
sites and is a popular spot for picnicking and barbecues-in
part because it is completely undeveloped. Klein Bonaire can
be reached only by boat, and visitors should remember that they
must bring with them all they need.
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