This Dutch Antilles isn't the most beautiful island...no sandy beaches. Everything that is beautiful is underneath the island. So I had to do some snorkeling after my island tour. Kralendijk is the capital. Papiemento is the local language which is a mixture of Dutch, English, Spanish and whatever else they can think of. The only interesting thing about the island is their tiny little slave huts on their beach. They could be for hobbits but the views are wonderful. Not sure what the slaves thought about this. Right across from their huts was where they would have worked. The salt mines. Huge mountains of white salt surrounded by pink waters...peekelmeer. Salt is their biggest export. Then they have their beautiful pink flamingoes. They are here all year round and live in Goto Lake. The only wild animals on this island are wild donkeys and iguanas. In fact there are so many iguanas that they are now considered pests. The locals actually kill them and eat them. Iguana soup is very popular. Apparently it tastes like chicken. We headed inland to rincon Bonaire's second city. I say city, there are only 19000 people on the whole island. Across from Bonaire is Klein Bonaire. A smaller uninhabited island. Harry Belafonte bought it from the Dutch for 5 million dollars and tried to build a resort on it. He never got a permit so he sold it back to the Dutch for 2 million dollars a couple of years later. The Dutch then made it a national park. Much better than another bloody resort. Then I went snorkeling in their marine national park. Saw amazing fishes of all colours and sizes. Saw a giant mutant lobster and a shy turtle. On our way back we saw a school of dolphins and they swam along our boat. Perfect end to a great day in Bonaire.
