Hi, folks! Well, we spend our first Christmas Holiday on Bonaire thanks to Delta's JFK inagural flight 12-20--8 with very, very low introductory airfare and thanks to a dear sweet friend who extended an invitation to us to spend the holidays with him in his home. It was just wonderful to be on Bonaire during such a special time. We were the luckiest two people on earth for that week being able to visit with dear friends and experience so many adventures and good times, as well. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Here are some pics of the trip during that week. We had never been on island during cruise ship season....what an experience that was. It was actually a "mixed" experience for me. It was exciting to see the large ships sail into port and to see what they go thru to tie down and to watch the reverse process when they leave. Many locals are directly involved with the ropes and the small pilot boat navigation, etc.

It was very impressive to see the removal of the ropes in complete syncrocy....sort of like watching a ballet unfold before my eyes.

On the other hand, it is very disturbing to see these huge ships come in two at a time (same time) and just overshadow the entire leeward side of the island. Pod peeps roaming aimlessly through downtown and even off by the airport in mid day in the heat. (An elderly couple must have been lost over that way and were seen walking back towards the port.)

The local vendors in Wilhamena Park were great and I did buy some glass works made by a nice young local woman by the name of Marjolein Verhoef. PIcked up some window pieces and some necklaces and beautifully designed dishes, etc. Just beautiful pieces or hand made artwork.

We ate some food we had never seen before and enjoyed it. Some sort of chicken dishes made by a woman from either South America or Central America, I think.

Marina was there with adorable pieces for sale from the Donkey Sanctuary/safari park. We picked up a blown up photo of two prichi birds eating a cactus pear on a cactus....printed on linen and huge. Now have it on the wall in the bedroom and it looks lovely.

So, we had a wonderful time that week. Too short but we are not complaining at all.

We found the water currents to be different from our trips we always take in May/June. Not certain if this is a direct result of Omar changing the layout of the shoreline (sand is gone) and the seabed (now deeper in some areas) or if the current comes the season change. The waters at the Divi are usually lake-like but we found them so strong it was very difficult to get in and out using the small ladder between the Flamingo Nest and the hotel rooms. Just very, very rough and waves actually crashing onto the ladder and the rocks along the Divi property.

I will post a lot of pics for you all to enjoy and you might be able to detect the difference in the shoreline(s), especially at the Divi.

I have also lined up many shots of the many different cruise liners that were in port that week. Way too many!! There was even one liner in port on Christmas Day (Ocean Village Two) which was not on the "official" list we all have access to.

We had a couple of fun snorkels up at Sunset Beach (new Divi property) and even saw a good sized octopus. Divi has not built anything beyond the cloth tarped timeshare "cave" hut. Nada.

Found the water current very strong one afternoon when we decided to swim out to the Samur to enjoy her carvings more close up...when we hit the northern side of her we found very strong currents there...had to power fin and swim to make any progress to get back to the point where we started out. It felt like a rip tide....we weren't certain what it was so we swam parallel to shore and kicked like crazy. Took a while to get to where we started but we made it.

Rather than ramble on here I will try to post some pics for you to see. Ayo. Carole

Well, I'm glad they all posted but they are not in the order I had expected! LOL. I hope you can still enjoy them and are able to figure out what's what. Sorry for the double Santa posting but he IS cute, isn't he?! LOL.

The man walking next to the Lincoln Continental is the new Governor of the island. He and his family came to Maiky Snack while Joe and I were enjoying our goat stew. I can't believe the Lincoln made it thru the mud and muck we had to traverse in our SUV to get to Maiky Snack! Quite surprised to see it arrive. Saw them over at Jibe City, as well, another day.

I will post a couple more shots that didn't get on the prior posting.

Wish I were still on island.....

We spent our last two nites on Bonaire at the Divi, as you can tell. Deluxe room, second floor. Just wonderful. Breakfast on the patio both mornings.

The surf was pounding sooooo loudly at nite outside the sliding doors. I loved every second of that sound but it "got to" Joe after a while. Once he was asleep I just listened and listened and listened. It was a rough surf with waves crashing onto the rocks under the hotel rooms.

Lots of rocks were exposed. Moved by Omar. Just so different now.

Mother Nature does everything for a reason. It will take time but she will bring it all back to us again some day. We will still go to Bonaire every chance we get, too...you betcha!! Carole

Thanks for posting & great photos Carole..
Real shame about Omar & the damage it caused but like Lenny I do agree that in time it will all come back.
But...those massive cruise ships are ugleeeeeee...

Thanks for the report. We were there once during cruise season and I agree, those monster ships dramatically overshadow the island. I loved your photos, as always. I hope to see you in May/June.

Great pictures Carole! Wow the cruise ships are large! We were never on island at that time either.
I didn't realize it was the first flight from JFK to Bonaire..how cool!
Funny looking at your posts over the pictures!
We have lots of picture's of the
Big tree at Divi...where was your tree picture taken?
Thanks for sharing!

Nice Job, thanks.

Nice pictures, thanks! I agree with everyone else - those ships really do overshadow the whole island

Carole, nice pics and report, thanks.

Thanks for posting report and pictures.

Thanks, folks. Glad you are enjoying the pics. ?Sorry about the "titles" being messed up, tho! LOL.

Meryl, the tree is at Maiky Snack out in the kunuku. I took a pic and then did a "mirror" image on the software to get this effect. I thought it was pretty neat.

I love that tree at the Divi, too! So neat and "red" (bark).

Vince, saw your place on line...gorgeous. We will "talk" another time, OK?

I'll resize some more shots tonite and post a few more if ya'll would like to see some more....cb

Carole, Carole, Carole - would we like to see some more - you silly, silly girl. OF COURSE! We ALWAYS want more shots of our beloved Bonaire. We were on Bonaire once when the QE2 came in - at least I think it was the QE2 or it was the Queen Mary - anywho - that sucker took up soooooooo much space. Some has a picture that they took from say the soccer stadium street shot - unbelievable. They are MASSIVE. Pete gets so irritated when he hears folks from his "home" country getting off the ship and sitting around City Cafe whining and moaning about stuff to do on Bonaire. One time I thought he was going to deck this guy. It did crack me up because there was an "us" he had never heard of bonaire and now it is as special to him as it is to all of us.

GREAT shots and super report. It's a very different time to be on the island...a very special time.

OK - so more please!

OK, you twisted my arm...here we go with a few more. I must confess, there are a couple of shots in here that are from our May/June 2008 trip to Bonaire but what the hey, right?

I am printing the one of the two cruise liners again so everyone is aware the one on the right side (the larger of the two) is the Queen Mary 2 and the one on her left is the Summit. That's a lot of passengers all in one shot let loose onto the shores of Bonaire, let me tell you.

There is a pic of Michael Gaynor in one of his favorite spots out in front of Chat n Browse. NOt a great pic of Michael but I know you all would like to see him, anyway. Such a sweetheart, he is.

There is a pic of Sean Paton on Sunday, 12-21-08 in the Mega FM studio doing his Forum Antilles show on air. Sean's heart is really there for Bonaire. He fights the fight to keep Bonaire pristine, healthy and balanced. Good soul.

Some flamingos down by the salt flats. Very pink again this trip. Just love to spot those "pinks" as we call them. Sort of like spotting a "pediddle" sp? in the States. (cars with one headlight out).

Charlie the Pelican is sitting on the rock at the Divi eyeing up the fishing conditions. He's very good at catching his chow.

Some shots up at the Malmok lighthouse (??).

Christmas dinner at Casablanca with my husband, Joe and Michael. Wonderful meal with great company. What a way to spend Christmas night.

So, that's it for now. Running out of time at the moment to keep resizing. Hope you enjoyed the little show. I know I enjoyed taking them and being there and had fun sharing them with all of my BT friends. Ayo. CArole

The ship leaving port at night was the Summit.

The pic with lots of different things in it is a pile of conch shells at Lac Bay. I noticed the piles "shrank" last June compared to prior trips.....where did they go?? Souveniers for cruise passengers, maybe? Hmmmm. No proof, but..

The Christmas elf was a dinner guest at a BBQ we shared with friends on our last nite on island. Thanks, guys...it was terrific!

You can see the battle scars on our AB rental...the mud from the roads into Maiky Snack. What fun that was. We'd rather drive in Bonaire mud than NJ snow and ice any day! LOL.

A shot of the fruit stand from our table at City Cafe. Stopped for a cool one before heading to Henk's art show. Ran into Larry & Janice at City Cafe, too. Nice folks. They were off on a road tour on their motorcycles and stopped to chill out a bit.

The shots downtown were taken on 12-21-08...a day there were no ships in port, as you can tell by how "quiet" and serene it is. Ahhhhh...just like the "old" Bonaire we all love and hope to experience again soon.

Hope you enjoyed the pics! CArole

Carole, what a wonderful trip/Christmas you had!! And to be w/ all of your great friends!!
Thanks so much for the report and the fantastic pics!!!
You're fantabulous

Thanks, PS. Glad you enjoyed them. cb

Thanks, Carole! I always look forward to your trip reports and pics, you did good!

Carole, I loved your report. Good work!! Great photos!!
You might have the record for donkey noses in the window... LOL!

In the future, Bob and I will stick to the non-cruise ship months...

Please don't tell me that the peak cruise ship season is February!

Hi, Jennifer,

Here is the latest schedule as far as I know.

Niki...we're with you! We would return again if we "had" to, if you know what I mean...nothing would keep us away from Bonaire if the perfect airfare and accommodation offers appeared again.

We plan on end of June/beginning of July...so far. Still checking on dates to firm it up.

There will be fewer ships/passengers coming to Bonaire next season. Some ships chose not to return to our dear island again. Maybe there is not enuff for their pod peeps to do on Bonaire...for whatever reason, this is good news in our minds. Something like 248,000 passengers to hit her shores this season. Way too many. Way, too many. cb

http://www.infobonaire.com/cruises.html

Woohoo! It looks like our first three week visit is this year....late June/July 2009. I got clearance at work and so did JOe....making the air arrangements now. Yippee!!! One of these days we won't have to return to NJ.....

ENVY

Hi Carole..love the pics. 3 weeks is a nice amount of time to spend on the island. We'll be down for 3 weeks in Feb & March & can't wait. Notwithstanding that we've been traveling to Bonaire for a long time, it's always a real pleasure to return. Something we always look forward to.