Oh how we love this island. The people are friendly, welcoming and warm, greeting you with a smile that you’ll never forget. Nature is amazing, diverse and is home to many special animals like flamingos. Bonaire is idyllic but raw, so big but small, and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea but desert-like. What a special island! Of course, as a Bonaire lover, you already know all of this. However, Bonaire can still surprise you, because did you know that we share the road with animals? Do you want to know more? Read about Bonaire’s fun facts in this blog!
Traffic is hilarious
“I’ll just take the bus to Playa, see you there!” WRONG! Good luck with finding a bus stop. You need either your own transportation or a good friend that lets you borrow his… Scooters are very common on the island and there are many places where you can easily rent a scooter. However, you will probably blend in more with a pickup, also available all over the island.
Once you’ve found a proper way to move yourself over the island, watch out for iguanas with a boss-attitude gracelessly trying to cross the road, braying donkeys trying to get (your?) attention and then unexpectedly decide to go find that attention on the other side of the road, goats taking their families all over the island, or just a pig taking a round around the block.
Keeping in mind all the animals that are happy to use our traffic as well, you should also watch out for people stopping in the middle of the road to catch up with a friend walking on the sidewalk. Loud screaming and laughing is involved, and people are not in a hurry to get out of the way. You can feel Bonairean culture on the streets! What can I say? Gotta love the Island life…
A hidden village
Arriving on the island, you will only see Kralendijk at first. Even when discovering the rest of Bonaire, this village cannot be seen from the coast or the inlands. Until you conquer the mountains of Bonaire *sarcasm* and all of a sudden, you will see this:
Rincon is situated in an inland valley, unable to spot from outside the valley. It is the oldest village on Bonaire, and even the oldest in continual existence within the Netherlands Antilles. Originally constructed by the Spanish in the early 1500’s, they really gave its strategic location a thought. The hidden village was smartly positioned in the valley so that it has always been preserved from pirate spoliation and other threats. Smart move!!
Tropical safari
Did you know Bonaire is perfect for a safari? Beautiful lakes and stunning nature reserves, amazing views and colorful birds; let’s go on a tropical safari! Spoiler alert: no hippos, elephants or zebras involved. This is not your regular safari. What you will see is maybe even more special! Natural pink graceful flamingos in groups, searching for food by stirring mud in Bonaire’s shallow salt water will make your jaw drop when they start flying. (Side note: how cool that the airport is named and colored after this pink flying bird.) Or incredibly cute baby donkeys playing around in a desert-like scenery. Or birds making the most amazing sounds and surprise you with their colors when dancing in the sky. Such a varied island vacation!
A song about Bonaire
We are not the only ones that adore Bonaire, because someone discovered its beauty in 1957 already. Madly in love, he wrote a song about it: Island In The Sun! Harry Belafonte, who doesn’t know him, from The Banana Boat Song. Click the image to listen to this interesting song.
White sand?
You may have heard this before, but the beautiful soft sand beaches we have on Bonaire are actually formed by the, eh, droppings of parrot fish. And if you’re diving, you can even follow the process of creating our incredible beaches.. Just look for a big parrot fish that is snapping on rocks, come closer (not too close), and listen to the funny sound of them chewing on rocks. If you’re patient, you will see the parrot fish later dump crushed rocks (read: extremely soft sand) and swim away. He just let go of the sand you’re enjoying a cocktail on; cheers to that!
If you happen to know more fun facts about Bonaire, don’t hesitate communicating them to us! Send your fun fact to marketing@bonhata.org and part 2 of Fun Facts About Bonaire is a… fact!