This year's (Moravian) Spring Break trip takes us to Bonaire, one of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao) and part of the Dutch Caribbean, just off the coast of Venezuela.
The day before we left, news outlets started reporting that the recent oil spill in Tobago has reached the shores of Bonaire, so we tried to figure out what effect, if any, this will have on our visit. So far, the only curveball seems to be that Lac Bay is closed, meaning we definitely can't go kayaking in the mangroves over on the east coast.
The fallout didn't seem to be alarming anyone here, so we did not change/cancel any plans.
We had a direct flight from Newark, departing at 8:45 AM this morning, so we left Bethlehem just after 4:30 AM. The plane (a 737) had maybe 50 people on it, so we had room to spread out; I moved to the back and had 5 rows to myself. The winds were favorable, if a bit rough in a few spots, so the flight took just over 4 hours once we were in the air. I glanced at the flight tracker periodically to monitor our progress, and it showed us going about 630 mph several times.
There was a random rain cell over the airport when we landed, which mercifully blotted out the sun while we walked halfway around the airport, outside. It was 2:15 PM local time (ahead 1 hour from home).
With so few people on the flight and no checked bags, we breezed through customs, picked up our rental truck (Toyota Hilux), and found our hotel/resort just down the road. It was under an hour from the time we stepped off the plane until we had poolside cocktails while waiting for the suite to be ready.
There was a group getting scuba lessons in the pool, which provided some entertainment while we relaxed. I believe it reaffirmed several people's commitment to not try scuba.
What do you get when you combine a 4 AM start, sudden exposure to warm weather, a comfortable chair, and an adult beverage? A nap, of course.
Our suite is on the top (third) floor, just across the street from the beach bar. The view is nice, but it involves a lot of stairs. The clouds were clearing out as we unpacked and debated plans for the evening.
Having sat out in the heat for about an hour, we decided to head over to the ocean and take a quick dip to cool off. The beach bar has stairs that lead directly into the water, so we didn't have to go far.
The water is probably the clearest ocean I've ever seen; I can't wait to get a mask on and take a look around. It somehow felt cool and refreshing, despite being about 80F.
After our quick dip, we dried off, loaded into the Hilux, and found our way to a grocery store (Van Den Tweel) on the other side of the airport, sort of towards "downtown". There seem to be about 8 or 10 of them clustered together on the same road.
Having secured essential supplies for the next few days at least, we returned to the suite, enjoyed the sunset from the balcony, and then made plans for dinner.
Earlier research had suggested there were plenty of restaurants downtown, along the waterfront by the cruise dock, so we drove over there and took a stroll around. After considering half a dozen options or so, we ended up at what appears to be the only tapas restaurant on the island. It was just what we needed to end a long day of travel, and was quite good.
Tomorrow, we're allegedly sleeping in. After that, there are several options. We may have to plan our activities around the potential threat of a spot of rain, the cruise terminal schedule that shows two ships in port on Friday, and any news we can find about the oil spill.
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