Bonaire

Arrived Kralendijk the capital of Bonaire around 6:30am. This is a “Special Municipality” of the Netherlands and part of the Leeward Islands, about 50 miles off the coast of Venezuela. Population of about 26,500. A relatively flat island with brush and low trees. The island is fringed with coral reefs which make it a popular snorkeling and diving destination. Salt production is a big industry. Another mostly sunny day with temperatures around 31C. On tour today with 45 others at 9:30am for snorkeling. Boarded our boat on the dockside. The Samsur is a 56ft Siamese junk built in Bangkok and still in good condition. Our Captain was Roderick aided by 4 crew members. Headed out to the island of Klein Bonaire about 1 mile away off the west coast and the sail was raised for the crossing. Arriving off the island we anchored close to the sandy beach in clear blue water. From here the majority of us were ferried ashore by zodiac to a landing area on the beach. The remainder were taken down to deeper water and drift snorkeled over the coral reef for about 25 minutes. Those of us ashore were then able to snorkel from the beach in shallow water just on the edge of a deep drop off. Watched a variety of different sized brightly coloured fish swimming amongst the coral and sand. An hour after arrival we were ferried back out to the Samsur for the return trip to the dockside by 12:45pm. In the afternoon walked around the Kralendijk for a while.