Day 08 11/28/21 - Bonaire

One of the three reasons we booked this cruise was that one of the ports of call would be Bonaire which is the last of the three ABC islands for us to visit.  And now that we have visited it, we are glad to have visited it.  It's quaint and the waters are so clear.  But I am getting ahead of myself.

 

While the ship arrived at 7am, we never felt it.  After our customary breakfast with nice views of the harbor area, we left the ship and had a mandatory check by the local authorities of our vaccinations card.  This was the first one the entire cruise.  We found our local guide that I had booked through Viator.  The tour I booked was a "South Island Tour and Snorkel".  We were the only two people with Brenda our guide.  She's Canadian who splits her year between Bonaire and Newfoundland.  She has a crew cab pickup or for larger groups a bus and will only take groups where all the participants know each other.

 

We drove south along the coast and past the international airport and soon reached the area  where salt is produced by CARGILL Corporation and there are historical  remains of slave dwellings of salt workers which were used in the late 1800's.  There are large salt ponds with three distinct colors depending upon the stage of production they were in.  There were also some small piles of salt.  Brenda indicated that a large shipment left yesterday.  

 

At the lighthouse we turned around and headed back north. There was a large Windstar cruise sailing ship with sails unfurled that was quite majestic.  We stopped several times to photograph pink flamingoes which frequent the shallow salt ponds.  In the far distance we could see the pink of the main collection of them.  That area is off limits so one can't get close.

 

We found a beach and changed into our snorkeling gear.  Entry into the water was a bit tricky due to wave action and a ledge.  But once we were in the water, the water was extremely clear with lots a coral and fish varieties.  We were in the water about an hour and enjoyed it immensely.

 

Brenda drove us back to the port where we re-boarded the ship, and I took a shower and changed clothes and we ate a little lunch before heading off to walk the small downtown area.  Not much was open as it was a Sunday, but we found a few small things to purchase.  We also observed the Windstar ship dock and noted a number of free snorkeling areas in the port area.  My only concern with those areas would be for security of personal possessions while snorkeling.

 

We returned to the ship around 2pm with an on board time of 3:30pm.  I positioned myself on deck 3 above the gangway and watched passengers return to the ship.  3:30pm came and there was a PA announcement "would Mr & Mrs John Isabella in stateroom 7156 please contact the front office by dialing 90 on any telephone". After many years of cruising I recognize that as the missing guest call.  The ship's horn blew three long blasts indicating a departure was near.  I then observed a HAL representative hand two passports to a fellow I assume to be the port representative.  Another long ship's horn blasted the quiet air.  The ship's lines were released and a final page was made & the gangway was stowed.  At around 3:50pm we drifted slowly away from dock, more power was added to the azipods and thrusters.  We pivoted clockwise and made our way out to the open sea past the little Bonaire island.

 

We had a 5 pm reservation in the Pinnacle Grill and were seated at a nice window seat with a stunning view of sunset and Curaçao in the distance.  Our dinner was wonderful with great service and delectable food and beverages.  It wasn't crowded at all.  

 

The Main Stage presentation was "Musicology" by Step One Dance Company which we saw previously on the Nieuw Amsterdam a month ago.  Afterwards we went to the Game Show night where my wife participated and won some items from EFFY, one of the onboard shops.  This was followed by two comedians, Cathy Ladman and Flip Schultz.  Both were very funny and relatively clean.  And so ended a nice stop on Bonaire.  We'd certainly return and likely book a snorkeling trip out to the small island.

 

We now have two sea days ahead of us with required cruising speeds of over 20 knots required to reach the pilot station by Wednesday morning at 5:45am.  I should note that we are now receiving frequent admonitions to mask up when not eating or drinking.