Bonaire is an arid
island with desert vegetation. There is flat terrain in the south, and hills in the north.
It possesses an ironstone coastline with no runoff which results in it being surrounded by clear turquoise waters containing magnificent coral formations and a variety of marine life.
Bonaire is 'banana-shaped' - about 22 miles long and 3 to 5 miles wide, and is located about 75 miles north of Venezuela.To the west of Bonaire, and directly west of the main town/harbor of Kralendijk, is the small island of Klein Bonaire, a 1,500 acre circular island with a fringing reef. Klein Bonaire is uninhabited and has many beaches and several coves.
Both islands are scuba diving havens, but one could spend weeks diving just around just "Klein".
The first picture above is of Bachelor's Beach -- about 1 kilometer south of the airport runway. It is atypical of the beaches on Bonaire,
in that it has a wee bit of sand at the 'surf line' (not that there is any surf on Bonaire.)
To the right is a more typical Bonaire 'beach'. This is just south of Red Slave and the 'beach' is composed of coral cobbles -- from thumb-sized up to zucchini-sized.
It is because of this that the water just offshore from these sites is pristine. The clarity is such that, on many days, you can see further underwater
than you can above water.
The coastline is even more stark (and inhospitable) on the eastern and southern shores.
The eastern shore is exposed to prevailing on-shore winds and the open Atlantic. There are periods of 'not normal' weather - when the winds die down and/or shift from the West - that produce
conditions where diving becomes available on these shores. Even at that, access by boat is the only practical way.
It's probably not that easy to see in this picture, but the incessant
pounding of the ironstone coastline produces pick-like projections that become even more severe
as you get closer to the water's edge. You would not want to negotiate your way into the water while wearing scuba gear here! And, if you ever got banged against the shoreline by the waves -- whoa!!
This is a picture of our 'bungalow' at 
Here is a self-portrait of us enjoying our patio.
From the patio, we watch the clouds and a variety of birds. And, the donkeys usually visit for a handout.
This is a picture of Karel's Beach Bar taken from the Zeezicht Restaurant's front porch -- harbor-side in Kralendijk.
Here we have a couple of street scenes from Kralendijk.
