Bonaire

Beautiful Bonaire

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make it much bigger!)

Another two minute vacation from these gray December days here in New England.

Impossibly blue water! But that's how it looked in February 2008 when we visited this lovely, scruffy island.

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

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This is Lac Bay on the island of Bonaire, neighbor to Aruba and Curacao. We were lucky enough to go there in February 2008 and I have just recently (finally) put together a book of that trip for my family for Christmas and came across this and other photos too delicious to keep to ourselves. See how impossibly blue that water is out in the distance? There are a dozen windsurfers out there. We tried to "walk-swim" way way out there where we were told there was a drop-off full of stingrays, but we pooped out. Off to the left of the picture is Bonaire's nudist resort. It was the only thing that kept my husband going, but even he had to give up eventually! We were the only people there the entire time we spent at Lac Bay, which I guess was about two hours. Everywhere we went on the island we basically had the place to ourselves, with the exception of a popular diving/snorkeling spot where, remarkably, we met people who lived twenty miles from us here in Massachusetts! Bonaire is a lovely, scruffy island, renown for its shore diving. If you are going for tropical flowers and lush landscape, don't. It's all about the water.

Photo: Travel, Salt Mountain, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

PHOTO: Travel, Bonaire

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That's NOT snow.  It's SALT.   I took this photo (as I have all photos here, unless otherwise noted) under crystal clear blue skies and a temperature about 90 degrees, a typical day on Bonaire.  The giant international conglomerate, Cargill, is a major employer on the island. That salt will literally end up on the roads here in New England and in water softeners worldwide. Interesting factoid: Throughout the centuries, salt has been an important trade commodity. In early Roman days, the soldiers were paid their wages in salt - salarium- hence the English word for pay became salary.

Photo: Travel, Bonaire, Insanely Blue Surf

PHOTO:  Travel, Bonaire

(Click the photo for a larger view.)

From the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire, neighbor to Aruba & Curacao.  These markers (In different colors- This was the only striped one I saw.) are all over the island, ostensibly to guide cargo ships, but have come to be used as markers for scuba divers and snorkelers.  The water there is such a vivid shade of blue, it's hard to believe it's real.  I removed the color from the beach (You're not missing much:  just the usual beige sand and green scrub) to accentuate the surf, and because I love playing with Photoshop!