Sailing Away - 6

sunrise

Thursday, February 21st we arrived at Kralendijk, Bonaire at 12:00 p.m. As usual, Jim and I were awake early and were able to take in the sun rising over the horizon. The "B" of the ABC islands, Bonaire is a Dutch island that is 24 miles long and 9 miles wide, with a population of 19,400.

Kralendijk, Bonaire

The first thing we noticed was how flat the island was compared to the other ones we had visited so far. The second thing was how pretty the water in the harbor looked. The colorful tents along the walkway added to the festiveness of our arrival.

Bonaire is an island that prides itself on nature preservation, and has been active in preserving its reefs. They don't want to sacrifice their environment for the sake of tourism, which is commendable. About 60% of the island is a national park or protected area. For that, and other reasons, Jim and I decided to do the Mangrove Eco-Cruise by kayak.

Because our excursion did not begin until the afternoon, we had time for a leisurely lunch before making our way to the dock where our group was meeting. We boarded a van for a 20 minute drive to the eco-center, pausing to admire a cactus fence as well as a group of flamingos, which is called a "pat".

flamingos on Bonaire

They gave a short presentation about the mangroves before we headed out to our two-person kayaks. Mangroves are trees or shrubs that grow in coastal intertidal zones. They have tangled roots above ground and form dense thickets. Lac Bay Mangrove forest is about 850 years old and is one of the best preserved groupings of mangroves in the Caribbean. Three different species of mangroves exist here - red mangrove, black mangrove, and white mangrove.

Jim and I have always been in single kayaks in the past, but this was great as I could feel free to snap away with my waterproof camera.We paddled narrow channels through the trees as well as open water. It was a beautiful experience, and our guide was excellent.

mangrove kayak tour

We had time to catch a quick beer at a bar that offered free Wifi before we needed to walk back to the ship. We got a kick out of the flamingo made of recycled items pulled from the ocean.

Bonaire 

Our ship sailed off into the sunset at 6:30 p.m.

sunset