Bonaire

September - October 2022
The B in ABC islands Read more
  • 6footprints
  • 1countries
  • 8days
  • 54photos
  • 5videos
  • 28miles
  • Day 1

    First day

    September 26, 2022 in Bonaire ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    Landed in Bonaire today after a great weekend in Vegas! My airbnb is really nice, well equipped, quiet, and it has an amazing rooftop patio! Went to the grocery store and they actually had good prices the same or cheaper than the US, so that's a change for once. Barbados, Aruba, etc were so expensive and didn't have as many good products as they do here, so I'm really liking the grocery store situation so far haha. After that, went for a swim on the rooftop and it is so pretty up there with a beautiful sunset, I felt like I was on an actual vacation (despite being behind on work hahaha). I had a moment where I was like, I am really living the life 🙏 time to make daily sunset dinner a thing 🌅Read more

  • Day 2

    Flamingos and Donkeys and Goats, oh my!

    September 27, 2022 in Bonaire ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    Got my rental car today and began driving around the south, stopping every few minutes when there was a nice viewpoint or something interesting to see. The coast along the east has such beautiful beaches and there are so few people that you can stop anywhere and pretty much have the whole place to yourself. If you do see people, they are mainly divers. I passed by the salt flats which were actually pink!! It would be cool to do a photoshoot there. There were also slave huts (left there as a reminder of their history), lots of wetlands/ marshes in the interior, beautiful calm water along the coast, and then I came across wild FLAMINGOS. So pretty. 🦩And afterwards, I even found a herd of wild DONKEYS. I befriended them by feeding them apples haha. Also saw goats but didn't stop in time. Need to find some more. Made my way around the entire south, then went back to the west for a swim before heading home and enjoying another sunset dinner. A nice start to my exploring!Read more

  • Day 3

    Not everything goes as planned

    September 28, 2022 in Bonaire ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    It was very rainy which delayed my start, but I decided to venture out regardless, starting with a viewpoint that overlooks the entire Bonaire. It was a bit scary driving on unknown roads flooded with rain, but it turned out okay and it was a very nice view with an interesting monument. After that, I decided to go ahead and see if I could get into the national park. The island is very green currently due to all the rain, so you'll see lots of plants mixed in with the typical cacti which makes it very beautiful. Unfortunately, the park was closed due to weather, so I tried to go to the bird sanctuary instead. Turns out that was also closed, so I drove along this narrow road that loops past a lake where I found more flamingos. Driving around in Bonaire feels like a safari adventure haha. It was nice driving along this lake and seeing the landscape, I like how a lot of Bonaire is untouched. After that, I wanted to try going to a beach I had saved, but the road was one way and it was too long to go all the way around, so another plan failed. But it was okay because the drive along the coast was gorgeous, then I looped back inside and headed in the capital of Kralendijk. I walked around there, looked at some clothes and other shops, got a feel for the area that has lots of restaurants and historical sites. Got a juice and then headed to the beach for a quick sunset swim before going home. Oh yeah, and I saw more goats!Read more

  • Day 4

    DONKEYS

    September 29, 2022 in Bonaire ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

    Today was so much fun! First I went into town to buy that shirt I wanted hahaha (I'll attach a photo), then I went to...THE DONKEY SANCTUARY! And let me tell you, it was so much better than I expected. So it's this giant piece of land where they rescue donkeys (I think there are over 700 of them!) and they have special areas for baby ones, special needs ones, and the elderly ones. The rest are free to roam around freely. First you go into the paddock to talk to a volunteer and see the baby donkeys and pet some donkeys if you like. Then you take your car and drive slowly through the vast land where donkeys come up to the car constantly and greet you and stick their heads in the windows which is hilarious and adorable. Every few feet you drive, a new group of donkeys comes over to meet you and see if you have food and feel the AC haha. I have so many photos and videos, I sadly can't post them all! (Will hopefully make a youtube video about it in the future though). They were so curious and friendly, it was funny how they just kept coming up to the car and insisting on sticking their heads in and getting in the way. It's really nicely done how they have the whole place set up. Then I finished off the day with a swim at gorgeous Te Amo Beach. I love it. Now time to finish this end of the month work!Read more

  • Day 5

    Mangrove Kayaking

    September 30, 2022 in Bonaire ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Went kayaking today through the mangroves! Met some other nice Americans and had a great guide who explained the mangroves to us and their importance, and then we even went snorkeling through the mangroves and saw cool fish! There were flamingos too and other birds. It was very beautiful.Read more

  • Day 6

    Bye bye, BunBun

    October 1, 2022 in Bonaire ⋅ 🌙 82 °F

    Today BunBun (also known as Totoro) passed away. As I don't have insta or anything where I can write a little memorial message for her, this shall have to suffice. We don't know how old she was, I'm not even sure the year we got her, but I think we got her in 2015 and she may have been 2 or 3 years old. So my guess is that she is 9 or 10 years old. Hard to know, unfortunately she couldn't talk and tell us about her life before we adopted her, but even without talking, I feel like she understood what I was saying. And chose to ignore what I was saying many times too haha. She was quite funny actually. They may not make noise or have expressions, but rabbits still have individual personalities and I feel like the faces she made and the way she acted was hilarious at times. Maybe I imagined it, but to me, she was quite expressive. She was very nice too. Despite whatever she suffered with her previous owners, she would never bite us. She was quite scared, hence why we could never carry her, but she got comfortable with us over time and loved to be pet, hugged, kissed - as long as you didn't pick her up haha. She also loved going outside, so I'm glad she had a place to roam around for the last years of her life, and upgraded to a large yard with grass this past year. She was so soft, especially her ears and her head, and the rest of her body was so fluffy. I could've exploded from how cute she was each time I saw her. Everyone knows what a big BunBun fan I was, I think everyone I met while traveling knows about her and she was well loved. So in a way, she continues to live on around the world. She was mainly known for how enormous she was and how much she liked to eat. She was a big food enthusiastic, perhaps too much so. People also really loved the color of her fur. She provided company for my dad when he was alone in the house, and she would guard me when I was home alone (well sort of haha). It was nice seeing her everyday when I woke up and talking to her and visiting her throughout the day. We traveled with her numerous times during roadtrips, so she has seen the inside of many Motel 6s, what a lucky bunny! She's also moved a few times, but she has been there through it all. I really only started to get closer to her in 2020 during pandemic when I lived with my dad, and from then forth, I became obsessed with my BunBun. I would tell everyone about her, and I would be so excited to see her - I would tell people that she is the main reason for me coming back to California each time. The house won't feel the same without her, and it'll be sad not having someone to pet and hug and entertain us with her silliness and overwhelm us with her cuteness. I'll miss seeing her happily run around the yard - or more like, lounge under the bushes or bathe in the sun. I wish pets could stay with us longer, they are like living teddy bears and they deserve the best. I hope she was happy with us, but now she'll be back with Oreo. I love you, BunBun, I'll miss you, my bunny. ♥️Read more