Unlike Sint Maarten in the western Leeward Islands, the three southern Leeward Antilles do not share with France. The island are collectively know as the ABCs as they are Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
We’re visiting all three, and todays, Bonaire, is the only one still controlled by the Netherlands as it is perceived to be a province of the motherland. The other two have autonomy, although retaining many ties, including belonging to the Kingdom of Netherlands. It’s about as complex as explaining to a foreigner why England isn’t the same as Britain, and indeed why the British Isles is different again, let alone the United Kingdom.
All that aside, Bonaire may well be the cutest of the ABCs, with pristine waters bristling with corals and fish. And cacti, donkeys, flamingoes, cacti, lizards and horses, oh and cacti. OK so the horses are on the ranch we’ve arrived at, Horse Riding Bonaire. Hubby gets Hero and I get Liberty, Libby now we’re friends.
We see a goat pen, with tin houses for them, and one goat is on the roof - our guide explains that this particular goat has worked out how to push the goat-house against the fence, from which she can then get up and escape from time to time!
We take about an hour to ride to Lac Caí Beach, about five or so miles, looking at various things as we go. The bay also contains the famous Sorobon beach, but it’s much further round, and anyway we need a secluded part, not a tourist attraction.
Disrobing, both us and Libby, we just jump into the water, Libby even more excited than we are, she’s kicking and splashing like a water-baby. Our guide shows us how to swim out with the rope carefully positioned, explaining that Libby is a fast swimmer so before a minute she’ll be alongside and then we grab her mane and allow her to drag us surfing through the water, and then as she turns to the shallow, to mount her as we lose buoyancy.
First time wasn’t the most successful but we soon get the rhythm, taking it turns about to enjoy this incredible experience. Libby is equally excited, loving the whole thing, and wanting more.
After a while we must dry and Libby needs re-tacking before we can return to land-mode, so we wander down to the old harbour, resplendent with old conch shells from before the collection of which was forbidden. Talking of modes, these Paso Fino horses have an extra gear (gait) or arguably an alternative, which is not found in most breeds. The traditional trot is replaced with a smoother version, although Libby could do both so I still had to rise to the trot at slower trots, but a soon as she picked up it was not necessary to rise, quite an unusual experience. In Iceland, where they also have these, they play this game with holding a pint of beer, but sadly I was unable to try that!
We return to the stables and say goodbye to Hero and Libby and our guide, and the set off walking back to town, stopping off for an unexpectedly strong beer en route! It’s not the most exciting town, but it is neat and tidy. The best feature is the promenade where we’re moored, right in the channel between the island and it’s smaller namesake Klein Bonaire. Here the waters are so incredibly clear we see much fish-life right at the edge.
Having had quite a tiring day we hit the pool and jacuzzi a little earlier, and I have lots to talk about with our new chronies, both the ones from Toronto and those from Manchester. The Toronto couple are going house-hunting in Curaçao tomorrow - now there’s a thought!!
No theatre tonight as they are playing No Time To Die, so we have leisurely canapé and champagne time on our balcony, watching Bonaire life directly below, before showering and dressing for dinner.
Chef Felix has created a new variation on Steak Diane he want us to try, a different cut of fillet and his sauce is rather more piquant than last time, which is fine for us. It’s an excellent dinner as usual!
We finish of on our veranda again, watching the endless cruise of locals driving round and round the town, showing off, revving up and then some high-performance bikes are making unnecessary noise, but for us it’s just amusing watching the performance from above.
Comments
Post a Comment