Monday, October 9, 1995 - Bonaire

Tropical storm Pablo has broken up and is down to 30 knots, so it looks as if we might have a good chance of getting out of here tomorrow. The wind here will be northeast, 10 to 15 knots. Rode our bikes downtown to the post office. Mailed a letter and checked for mail, of which there was none. Left a forwarding address. Cleared out at Immigration and Customs. Now we're all set. We can leave whenever we want to. For our last day in Bonaire, we biked all around the southern end of the island. It's very flat and low. We went by the salt flats, where they let salt water in from the sea, evaporate it in the hot sun, and scoop up the remaining salt. They harvest the salt twice a year. There were huge piles of the stuff, looking like mountains of snow. A long conveyor belt carries it to waiting ships. During the 19th century, salt, aloe, and goat meat were the major exports of Bonaire. Now salt is still the major export, but it now plays a minor role in the island economy; tourism is the main source of income. There were three obelisks that had been used to guide the sailing ships to the salt dock. The first one was white, the next pink, and the third blue. (Actually, they were tan, red, and blue, but the guide books say white, pink, and blue, so who am I to argue?) We saw a number of slave huts that had been built in the 1850's. The slaves actually lived in Rincon, but that was too far for them to go home every night, so they slept in these tiny huts and just went home weekends. Each hut was large enough for about four people to sleep on the floor. The walls were thick, so they stayed comfortably cool. There was a window at one end of each hut, and a small door opposite it. The door was only about three feet high, so you had to crawl in and out. We reached the southernmost point of Bonaire and Willemstoren light. The lighthouse still functions, but is no longer manned. The door was hanging by one hinge. Roy had no trouble opening it. The ladders were in excellent condition. We climbed all the way to the top and enjoyed a terrific view. A few more miles, and we came to Lac Baai. It's on the windward side of the island, but is protected by a long reef, so there are no waves in the bay. It's an excellent place for windsurfing. We were both very thirsty, so we stopped at a windsurfing place that had a refreshment stand. Roy drank two Pepsis and two glasses of water. I drank a bottle of orange juice and some of Roy's water. When we got back to Kralendijk, we ate some delicious ice cream. Then Roy pedaled back to the boat to get his backpack. I checked some money out of an ATM and then bought a bunch of groceries. Roy met me at the supermarket and carried most of the stuff back in his backpack. Another boat had rafted to our port side. The people are very nice. Roy arranged with them to let us out of here early tomorrow.