The B in the ABC's

Back in early fall, we began making plans for our December vacation.  We wanted to find a place with a little something for everyone... scuba diving and snorkeling, wildlife, plenty of time in the water and outdoors.  My mom suggested Bonaire, the least known of the ABC islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.  The more we looked into it, the better and better the idea seemed.  Netherlands Antilles, here we come.

Located in the southern caribbean about 50 miles off the northern coast of Venezuela, the island is relatively flat and dry.  All of the waters around Bonaire have been protected since 1979 and are calm and great for swimming and diving.  We stayed in  the capital of Kralendijk.  About 16,000 people live on the island, so you can imagine the capital doesn't have a big-city feel.  


The original inhabitants of the island were indigenous people called Caiquetio from Venezuela who went to the island about 1,000 years ago.  When the Spanish arrived in the 1500's, they called the island "las Islas de los Gigantes", or the Island of the Giants because of the Caiquetio were a very tall people. The Spanish didn't see any commercial or large-scale agricultural use for the island.  Instead, they enslaved the indigenous people and shipped them to the Island of Hispanolia (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) where they were used on large plantations.


In 1621, the Dutch established the Dutch West India Company.  The Dutch and Spanish fought over the island for nearly 80 years and in 1636, the Dutch conquered the island.  The British took over for 2 brief periods in the early 1800's.  During this time, the settlement of Playa was built, now known as Kralendijk.  This diverse history has led to diversity in language as well.  The official language of the island is Dutch.  However, the most commonly heard language is Papiamentu, a mix of creole, Spanish, Dutch and bits of English.

Kralendijk sits in the southern half of the island directly across from Klein Bonaire, an uninhabited island.  Washington Slagbaai National Park is to the north and world class wind surfing and kiteboarding on the eastern side, notably in Lac Bay.

Kralendijk