Carnival Sunshine Review, Part 7: Bonairefeatured

A-B+C.

Of the three countries that make up the ABC Islands in the Dutch Caribbean, we’d managed to visit Aruba and Curacao, but never had the opportunity to dock at Bonaire. I don’t know why Bonaire is often the odd man out on Southern Caribbean cruise routes – most itineraries that feature Aruba also feature Curacao or less often Bonaire, but rarely both. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to cross a new island off the list of Caribbean islands we’ve visited (19 down, 12 to go!).

We were already docked in Bonaire when I woke up and, to be honest, it was nice waking up, getting ready and grabbing breakfast without getting tossed around the hallways.

Our plan was to debark after we had breakfast, so we grabbed our bags and cameras and headed up to Lido, where we were promptly greeted by a downpour of decently torrential rain. Only in the Caribbean can you go from bright sun streaming into your cabin window to a total downpour by the time you get upstairs for breakfast.

I stuck to my usual of arepas and salsa while Stephanie discovered a new offering: made to order breakfast pizza. By the time we sat down with our food, the sun was shining again. By the time we finished eating, it was raining again. I swear, the weather Gods were just having fun messing with me at this point!

Thankfully, that was the last rainfall of the day and from the time we went up to Deck 10 to check out the views to the time we headed out into Bonaire, it was nothing but sun.

I wasn’t sure what Bonaire would be like. Would it be vast and colorful, like Curacao? Would it be busy like Aruba? From our birds eye view up on Deck 10, it seemed to be the best of both worlds. And the water was a new shade of blue, one we hadn’t seen before, but one I wanted to splash across every wall in my apartment to remind me of the peaceful beauty of this island.

We intentionally made no plans for Bonaire. While we usually like to do a highlights type tour on our first visit to a new port, we weren’t really feeling the early wake-ups associated with shore excursions on this trip, and walking around and winging it felt like a far more appealing option (especially in hindsight, knowing we probably would have gone with a catamaran tour, and with these wind gusts, that probably wouldn’t have gone over well). We could have booked a tour to the salt flats or to see the flamingos, but walking around, picking up the vibe of the island and taking some pictures felt like a solid choice to me.

Bonaire is a small island just outside of the Lesser Antilles, laying about 50 miles north of Venezuela. Along with Aruba and Curacao, it forms a chain commonly referred to as the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao…get it?). Bonaire is a Dutch island, but their native language is Papiamento and their official currency is the US Dollar. Needless to say, we weren’t entirely sure what we were in for here. We knew that the island was known for its natural beauty and amazing snorkeling, and that we needed to pick up some sea salt while we were shopping, but other than that, we didn’t really know what we were in for.

So we disembarked in Kralendijk, the capital of Bonaire. There is a small shopping area at the port with a couple of shops and a café, but the bulk of the shopping is down the street. It’s not nearly as populated or busy as Aruba or Curacao, but it definitely shows some of their influence. Brightly colored buildings dot the landscape as far as the eye can see, and much like its A and C siblings, you won’t find many taxi drivers or hair braiders at the pier hounding you for your patronage – it’s very much live and let live here. There are a couple of tents set up with tour operators for those who want to book a local experience, but if you don’t approach them, they won’t hound you.

We walked along the marina towards the craft market, a large square of tents selling everything from handmade jewelry and home accents to locally produced liquor, bath salts and international cuisine. Stephanie stopped to buy some bracelets and then we continued on towards the main shopping area. We popped into a few stores, but the shopping isn’t as good here as it was in Aruba so we didn’t purchase much – some salt, some coasters, a magnet…basics.

As we were walking around, it was interesting to get a feel for the culture of the island. It’s very laid back and quiet, which allows the beauty of the island to really shine.

We found a bar, Karel’s, towards the end of the marina and stopped in for a bottle of prosecco ($20) and a cheese plate ($10). The service wasn’t great, but the scenery was top notch.

After our snack, we split up heading back to the ship. Stephanie was burning, so she went straight ahead. Mom and I followed slightly behind, and we separated when I went to do some last minute shopping and picture snapping. When you’re this deep in the Caribbean, so close to South America and the Equator, even high levels of SPF won’t stop your skin from reddening up. Frequent applications are key. And needless to say, we were pretty glad we stocked up on that aloe in Aruba.

We all met up back on the ship and had a leisurely afternoon relaxing, grabbing lunch on Lido and looking out at the colorful buildings in front of us.

Mom and Stephanie took naps after lunch, and I headed up to Serenity to lay out for a little while before it was time to get ready for dinner. With most of my fellow cruisers out exploring the island, I even scored one of those comfy, padded loungers!

I dozed for awhile. Listened to some music. Enjoyed the warmth of the sun and looked out onto the island in front of me. Moments like these are some of my favorites. Unremarkable, maybe, but quiet and peaceful.

The Sunshine set sail for Grand Turk as we were getting ready for dinner and it wasn’t until mid-way through our meal that the ship really started rocking again. But not even the motion of the ocean could ruin this dinner – it was Bitter and Blanc night! The motion was jarring enough to put some blur in my pictures, but not enough to ruin a good meal capped off by the best dessert served on the seas.

Chilled Peach Cream Soup

Fried Shrimp

Wilted Spinach and Portobello Mushrooms with Fresh Bacon Bits

Flat Iron Steak

Black Bean Enchiladas

Bitter and Blanc (insert sound clip of angels singing here)

After dinner, we headed back to the room to plot out our night, but even walking back to the room proved to be difficult – we literally had to hold the rails in the hallway. And as I sat in my bed, next to the window, writing in my journal, I watched the waves splash our window on deck 2. There was no getting used to this.

We ended up out on Ocean Plaza for a bit, taking in a performance by the Playlist Productions cast and having a couple of drinks. The cast put on a cabaret featuring their personal favorite songs and it was really a fun, intimate performance.

The sea air was getting to me more than the motion was, and my throat was a little buggy and dry, so we cut out of the performance a little early to head upstairs to the Lido deck for a round of hot tea.

When we ended up back in our cabin, we fully intended to head back out, but that Carnival bedding is just so comfortable and I was tired of fighting the sleep the motion was causing. And with Christmas Eve upon us, we had a full day of activities ahead.