Okay, so now it is Monday. Went to the bank to open an account for the excess money from the closing to find - you need a reference letter from your bank in the USA. I waited for 1/2 hour to find this out - not a good start to the day, but I called my bank and requested the letter be sent. This did not go as planned.

Went to the closing, and in 5 minutes, it was over. What, a 5 1/2 hour plane ride for 5 minutes? The notaris and his lawyer were very nice, so I asked for a picture at least to capture the historic moment, as no local press showed up. :-) I visited the lot several times on this trip, listening to the wind, watching the sunset, closing my eyes and feeling the perfect temperatures, the breeze, hearing the trees rustle in the background. Patty said I was crazy.

Anyway, we snorkeled Monday afternoon at Belnam, which was more alive than I remember it - many more fish, the reef and coral seemed more vibrant and colorful. It is no wonder they say Bonaire has the healthiest reef and fish population in the Caribbean.

Tuesday we visited the Donkey Sanctuary (we did this the first year on a tour bus and it was very uncomfortable (the bus came back over an hour and a half later) but they are trying to buy about 15 hectares of land (no I don't know the conversion, sorry) to round up the remaining 220 wild donkeys on the island. On average, 1 is being killed per week in a car accident. In 2002 there were over 500 wild donkeys on the island, and now only 220. Very sad.

Tuesday night was the BT dinner at Gibi's. There were about 19 of us, we met Jake and Linda and their kids, Bart from Wannadive and had great food. I had the Dorado (fried) and he made a special vegetarian plate for Patty, she described as delicious.

Oh, we also visited the very nice Cinnamon Art Gallery and purchased a genuine piece of artwork from the highly talented Linda. Right off the main drag, stop in and say hi. They have strong air conditioning. :-)

Wednesday we went to Curacao on DNA (sorry DCA). Too many acronyms with the airlines - DCE, DCA, KLM. The flight on a DC-9 lasted - are you ready for this? - 10 minutes. It was hilarious, as the crew finished the flotation device demonstration, the captain announced 'Flight Crew prepare for landing'. Curacao was interesting, not quite our thing, but very crowded and busy, lots of commercialism everywhere. I'll stick with Bonaire. We visited the Seaquarium and the Animal Park (it's free but the animals are not well taken care of, which really annoyed Patty and myself). We came back at 7 pm, and the flight back took a lot longer - 12 minutes! We felt quite happy to be back on Bonaire.

On to Part 3

I'm shocked to read that so many donkies get killed. I never saw an accident. Anyone else did?



An other artist that would be nice to visit is Janice Huckaby (JanARt gallery). I bought a painting from her, representing a slave hut.
She also sells postcards from her paintings and reproductions (Kaya Gloria #7)

Bob, I love Janice Huckaby's work, too. It is all over our house along with Linda Richter's and Nena Sanchez from Curacao, I believe. Our own little piece of Bonaire here in New Jersey.

Your profile picture is wonderful! What an adorable young lady....your daughter?? It looks like the pic was taken in the Red Slave Huts, right? Must have been pretty hot inside there! Very nice picture. Ayo. Carole

PS We have never seen a car/donkey collision first-hand, thank goodness. I'm so glad Marina is rounding them up and saving their lives. cb

could you post a picture of lina's work?
I'm not familiar with it.

You're right. The picture was taken in the red slave hut and it is my daughter.
4 yr old and already snorkling!

Te awero.

see http://www.lindarichter.com/ for Linda's web site

Hi, Bob....we have some of her postcards (bought them at Michael Gaynor's Chat 'n Browse) hanging on the bathroom wall. I resized them for BT. Sorry they are not the greatest, but I did not want to use the flash in there...would've bounced all over the glass in the frames! Here are a few of her cards...I like her work, too. Ayo. Carole

Denise, thank you for the website. Very informative.
Carole, thank you for the pictures.

(Message edited by bpsmits on May 23, 2004)

Nena has a website, too, Bob...here is her link

http://pages.zdnet.com/marsaholding/artistnenasanchez/

http://pages.zdnet.com/marsaholding/artistnenasanchez/

She has lots of nice work...brilliant colors. Carole

Linda's work is "take your breath away" realistic....just so "real". Carole