Bonaire Again

We have traveled to Bonaire twice in the last few years. I guess I never posted about the first trip in December 2018 because we were soothing our hearts over the recent loss of a close family member. But apparently we liked it enough to visit again.

Travelling internationally in the time of Covid-19 is not for the weary. If you find navigating TSA and Immigration/Customs a challenge normally, you don't want to do it with additional protocols for Covid.

Bonaire is still part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. Consequently the Dutch flock to Bonaire during the holidays jammed onto the daily 747 KLM flight. We also discovered that due to Covid, 'breakers' who are college grads right out of school, traditionally take a year off before joining the real world and places that were previously options for their sabbatical (Indonesia for example) are no longer available, so there are tons of them on Bonaire. This generally means lousy service in restaurants and lots of them don't speak fluent English or Spanish. 

But enough of that. 

1000 Steps

You go to Bonaire if you love the water, enjoy water sports or truly want a place to do almost nothing. It's a desert island and tourism is the #1 source of income, probably followed by the commercial salt business that has been going on there for centuries.

Salt Pier

Salt marker for ships

There's windsurfing, kitesurfing, snorkeling and scuba diving. We go for the latter two and a lot of the do almost nothing but relax. 

Divers down!

 

The first trip in 2018 we stayed at The Bellafonte which are condos that are run like a luxury hotel. Fabulous location on the sea, large sunny dock that stretches out over the Caribbean with easy access into the water. There is a small pool and at the time, the property hosted regular happy hours.  We stayed two weeks in a two bedroom/two bath unit on the second floor with a balcony where we spent a lot of our time. The property has a partnership with VIP Diving to supply dive tanks which are replenished daily, you make arrangements with the dive shop directly. 

Bellafonte-Bonaire

The second trip in December 2021 we rented a villa a little farther down EEG Blvd. It was a double villa and because we initially planned to have both sides filled (but Covid 😡) we rented the entire property named Salt & Pepper for 18 days. It was next to the Ocean Oasis Beach Club and Flamingo Dive shop which was perfect, in theory, for our group. The view and in particular the sunsets were spectacular!

Salt & Pepper

The View

AS for food, well the Dutch are not known for their cuisine but we highly recommend El Mundo in downtown Kralendijk. It has much more of an island vibe, the food is great as is the service. 

We also tried Sebastian's because we couldn't get a table when we visited in 2018 we reserved way in advance for 2022. It's a lot of hype IMO, food was ok, service was mediocre, but the sunset view is fabulous.  

View from Sebastian's

Another dinner spot we tried was Joe's Restaurant which was nice. All outdoor seating and it's a training restaurant, or so the signage indicated. The food was good, service was good too. We would probably go back to Joe's over Sebastian's.

Joe's Restaurant

Our go-to really became The Beach. We ate here on our first trip and back then it was half the size, mismatched tables and chairs and a limited menu. But it was good food. Today it's grown across two lots, added swanky club style chairs, walkways, tons more seating and a much bigger menu. 

The Beach

There are things to see and do on Bonaire such as...

Visit the Salt Worker Slave Huts

Watch Flamingos

Check out Ft Oranje

Gruta du Lourdes

Cruz Sera Largu

Bonaire Museum

Giant Windmills

Vacation Non-Vacation

 After a year of not traveling at all (unbelievable for our family) we needed a change in scenery. Desperately! We checked our options for some of our usual island destinations (Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, St Croix) but couldn't make any of them work so we opted for the next best islands: The Florida Keys.

A week after the dawn of 2021 we packed our stuff and flew south. It was great to get first class seats for what we would pay for cattle class on most domestic flights. We landed in Miami, met the other family for lunch in Key Largo and caravanned south to Chardonnay House in Key Colony Beach, a man made area of canals at the northern tip of Marathon. 

This house was a very welcomed respite from the past 24/7/365 of living in our house.  We had 4 bedrooms, lots of desk space and lots of outdoor living space to essentially quarantine somewhere else. We worked and went to school the first week, in between dives and trips to the grocery store.

There were lots of walkers and bikers in the neighborhood and people were genuinely friendly.  Must have had something to do with the warmer, sunny weather?! Sunset Beach Park was at the end of the street and had nice views of the ocean. 

And then there was the diving with Captain Hook. It was more than chilly for our crew that is used to diving in warm waters (like 80+ degrees) but a good time was had by all!

At the end of our two weeks of non-vacation we all flew home with tentative plans for when we can all travel again and Covid-19 is behind us!

SXM Still in Recovery

We just spent 2 weeks on St Martin and while a lovely island it still has a long way to go with recovery after Irma in 2017.

The Dutch side fared better than the French side or maybe because the airport and cruise ship port are both on that side of the island they got it together quicker? Either way there's still a lot of work to be done on both sides.

Marigot is a sad version of what it once was. Few shops are open, the market is a portion of it's previous size but there are restaurants open and you can climb up to Fort St Louis for a lovely view of the harbor and Anguilla just across the water.

We stayed on the French side at Nettle Bay Beach Club which is about 70% rebuilt/renovated. There are few units that are completely abandoned with little hint of anything further being done. Many are beautifully rehabbed.

The beach is lovely however you do need shoes to walk around as there is still glass and debris from the storm and renovations that are all over.

It must have been cheap dock your mega-yacht week around Christmas as we counted at least 7 in our small bay and dozens more in Simpson Lagoon near the airport.  Then there were the private jets. One after another they came in past Maho Bay Beach where you can watch all the tourons get blown off their feet and blasted by sand for fun. Clearly this island is for the wealthy.

On the plus side, the food is spectacular! We had wonderful meals out and were able to get anything we wanted to cook to eat in. The prices are not hideous as compared to many other islands and are no more expensive that Paris.

We dove with Ocean Explorers and had a great experience with them. Our divers did 2 shark dives and saw all kinds of sea life!

The French side is way more laid back from the Dutch side. It is quiet for the most part and it was easy to be relaxed.  The Dutch side has the casinos, bars and clubs as well as numerous hotels and resorts. It's clearly the party side of the island.

While we had a great trip and totally relaxed and St Martin/St Maarten checked all our boxes, it will be a while before we think about returning.

#DiveMom

I created a couple of monsters when I suggested that my husband inquire about taking a scuba diving lesson or two a bunch of years ago while 'wintering' on Curacao. The child was 5 and pissed that she wasn't old enough to start diving with him. But she did get her first real mask and snorkel so that had to hold her for another 5 years.

So fast forward one year, back in Curacao and now he's got his full open-water certification from GoWest (formerly Curacao West). Next we decide it's time to try out our annual winter holiday on another island.

Child is now 7 and still pissed she can't take lessons.

Off to Aruba! I scoured TripAdvisor for a good dive shop and came up with JADS, who I have to say, at first I thought, OMG but then we realized they were that good.
Now he's really into it and we buy his first wetsuit. In Aruba. Cha-ching!

Next I start buying gear. Lil at Joe Diver and I are on a first name basis now.

The next year we moved to St. Lucia. Not a known dive island and the shop there was so-so but its not an up and coming place to dive. There is GREAT snorkeling between the pitons where we say lobsters, tons of fish and plants that look like worms or maybe they were worms that looked like plants?

Next winter we jetted off to St. Croix and connect with Sweet Bottom Dive Center. They are fabulous! FINALLY the child is 10 and old enough to do a DSD (that's Discover Scuba Diving) course. She is in a class of 6 and whizzes through everything and is done before the rest of them have gotten through the first 2 things on the list.

Next, open water dive! Off she goes with Mel, her father not so closely following behind, terrified and proud all at the same time.

One dive and now she's hooked so another dive later we promise to come back in the summer so she can get her open water certification. Eight months later, back we go and she gets her first scuba cert but only after two failed dive attempts her mask is too small now. New mask and she gets it done.

Next stop: Turks & Caicos when she finishes up her Open Water Certification on her first dives! Yay! Now husband has a dive buddy. I can relax after years of entertaining said child while he went off diving for hours. Big win for everyone.

Now I have two dive monsters who are all about diving wherever we go. Including Iceland. #DiveMom

St Croix, Gem of an Island

St Croix is the largest of the US Virgin Islands and one of the least traveled. Every cruise ship in the Caribbean stops across the way at the over touristy St Thomas. So if you like shopping and crowds etc. then that's your place to go. But if you want a more island feel, try St Croix.

While technically you don't need a passport to get to/from the island it is certainly recommended in case of the errant thunderstorm forces you to land on another island. But don't think this is a US location, it's not. It is much more island than you might think.

Renaissance Carambola Resort

There are a number of hotel options but the Marriott Renaissance Carambola Resort is probably the best choice.

1) rooms all have at least a mini kitchen so you can prepare food and not spend $100+ for dinner every night.

Sleeping porch

2) rooms all have wonderful sleeping porches that come with cushions and are screened in. You can move a table out there(some units have round patio tables) and dine out there to the sound of waves.

3) it has an awesome dive shop on location - Sweet Bottom Dive Center.

4) all the other amenities you expect at a resort, pool, bar, gift shop with wine, beer and snacks, spa beautiful grounds and one of the nicest beaches available year round.
5) Friday night free entertainment with the Fire Gypsys and Moko Jumbies (who apparently make the rounds of the hotels on the island)

Ok since I mentioned the dive shop let's talk about that first. Sweet Bottom is the #1 ranked shop on the island. They have awesome instructors who work with the absolute novice and get them open water certified in a week. (Child got her scuba cert here) they can also run you through advanced specialties and take you on night dives. The reef is 100yards off shore, no boat, no long trip to get to a dive site, just gear up and go!

Child off to get her scuba cert!

It's a big island. It has a dry eastern side, a rainforest in the hills and spectacular views all over. You can drive around It in a day if you don't stop at every opportunity.  And if you're staying more than a few days I would totally recommend a car.

Old sugar mill

There are lots of old sugar mills you can stop and visit in fields >>
You can also visit Point Udall the eastern most point in the US. The views are spectacular! Buck Island Reef National Monument is also a fun half day visit by boat.

One of the absolute don't miss places is Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge. It is a 15-20 minute drive on a *small* sandy road, through mangroves and other fauna that scrapes the side of the car to get to the beach.   But once you get there it is stunning! If you've ever seen the Shawshank Redemption you will immediately recognize this as the beach scene at the end of the film. The water is clear, fish are visible and the beach is long, white and pristine.  The Refuge is only open limited months during the year due to turtle nesting, and only on weekends from 10-4. Be sure to take your own food/drinks and gear because there are no concessions and also very little shade.

Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge beach aka Zihuatanejo

St Croix also has two small cities Christiansted and Frederikstad that have historical forts that you can visit.  St Croix belonged to Denmark until the early 1900's - who knew? But it's passed through many countries ownership over time, including France, England, Spain eventually becoming a US territory.

Christiansted Fort

Frederikstad Fort

Just be warned, if you fly United and change planes in Puerto Rico, this is the ride to St Croix!
(You can also get there on JetBlue, American and Delta :)