Bon Bini Bonaire
"Welcome to Bonaire" is the inviting slogan at the small airport and that means: show your ED card (digital entry form) and a valid PCR test, then you can enter the easternmost of the three lettered islands without further ado. Deceleration with undisturbed relaxation is guaranteed here, except during the Christmas holidays. There is plenty of shooting and the sky is full of artificial stars. Especially good to see if you live in the middle of the colorful Caribbean capital of Kralendijk. For example, in the newly opened "Senses" boutique hotel right on the beach promenade with the great fish restaurant "It Rains Fishes" right next door. The Habour Village with its own marina, beach club and private beach right by the sea is quieter and a little more luxurious. Inside, you can imagine yourself in sunshine-yellow houses, surrounded by flowering plants and palm trees like in the Garden of Eden. The restaurant in authentic ship design offers Creole delicacies, the open bar its own creations and "Oscar's" an opulent breakfast. The majority of the vacation guests are of course Dutch, who live in their apartments and houses and mingle with the locals as a matter of course. That's why the official language is Dutch and you can also make yourself understood in German, especially in the restaurants. And that's a good thing, because the cuisine here covers all the bases - from Creole curry and delicious fresh fish to the Michelin-starred cuisine of Dutch chef Jonny Boer, who runs the restaurant "de Librije" in his home town of Zwolle and has been awarded two Michelin stars for his work. There's no doubt about it, the 6-course dinner at sunset right by the sea is delicious and the setting is simply fantastic. In addition to all the diving and surfing on offer, we were of course interested in the "Piedra So" golf course. The only one on the island is located just outside "in the middle of nowhere" and the adventure actually begins on the drive there, where a sandy desert awaits us. Here, Dutch pro Florus Josten is in charge of the driving range, two containers with equipment and a bar as well as 18 holes that run through the sand between bushes and cacti. Players tee off with rubber tees, tee off on green mats and putt on square greens that can - well - just about be called greens. Nevertheless, the links does have its pitfalls: the constant breeze from the sea, unmissable fairways with doglegs, and sometimes narrow approaches with insurmountable bushes as surrounds. In other words, you don't even need to look for lost balls. Instead, a few wild donkeys appear from time to time as spectators, who obviously feel at home in this sandy desert. The prices here are the same: 25 dollars is the cost of a day's green fee with trolley and also for the practice lesson, which is also available in German. It is only a stone's throw from this stony sandy desert to the green north. The drive through the Washington National Park with the 240-metre-high Subi Brandaris mountain, a nature reserve full of rare bird and cactus species, ends for us at the Gotomeer salt lakes with the flamingos that gave the island its nickname "Flamingo Island". The most beautiful diving spots are in the west with the offshore coral reefs and the constant trade winds for sailors and surfers on Sorobon Beach. Before you settle down to relax there, however, you should try "The spirit of Bonaire" in Rincon. You can find out that this is Rincon rum at the Cadushy Distillery owned by Dutchman Eric Gietman. In addition to rum, whisky and vodka, he also offers gin made from 13 botanical herbs and, last but not least, the famous "Cadushy of Bonaire Liqueur" made from cacti in six flavors - the best souvenir to take home.
Further information:
www.tourismbonaire.com/bonaire-useful-facts www.tourismbonaire.com
SENSES Boutique Hotel & Apartments, www.cometoyoursensesbonaire.com
Habour Village Bonaire, www.harbourvillage.com
Golf course : Piedra So, www.piedraso.com
Our tip : Eric Gietman's Cadushy distillery with tastings of cactus liqueur, whisky, gin and the fabulous rum. Eric speaks good German and also ships his goods to Europe.https://romrincon.com/
