To The Loyal Readers of TownBroadcast:

What a remarkable bird is the pelican,

Its beak can hold more than its belly can,

It can eat for a week,

From the food it its beak,

But I just don’t know how the hell it can.

—  Edward Lear

This is the time of year that my wife and I tend to drift south. She likes to get out of the snow, and I like to snorkel. This year we’ll be going to Bonaire.

Bonaire was a Dutch colony way back, and then was part of the Netherlands Antilles. It’s one of the ABC Islands: Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Bonaire just recently has re-aligned itself more directly with The Netherlands. The standard currency in use is the U.S. dollar.

Bonaire is an island about 60 miles off the coast of Venezuela. It is approximately 27 miles long, and 8 miles across in the middle. The climate is dry, perhaps akin to chaparral. Cactus thrives on Bonaire. There are large populations of feral pigs, donkeys and burros, left over from the 16th century Spanish.

It’s unusual to see a hog, for they’re shy, but there are burros and goats wandering around everywhere. Bird life is very abundant, with flamingos, small parrots, gulls, pelicans, splendid frigates, and bananaquits. Iguanas, large and small, are greatly in evidence enjoying the sun, and sometimes on the menu for those interested in tasting something not often eaten in Michigan. Goat is also a frequent menu item. And fish, of course.

Fish and other marine life, is what draw snorkelers and divers to Bonaire. They say that Aruba has great beaches. That Curacao is known for fine dining and shopping. And Bonaire for the snorkeling and diving.

Where we’ll stay I could throw a Frisbee from my balcony into the water of my favorite reef. I’ve seen blue chromis, brown chromis, palometas, spotted drum, parrot fish, red lipped blennies, barracuda, lobster, squid, octopus, several types of eels, bonefish, and tarpon, green/hawksbill/loggerhead turtles to name but a few. I have an underwater light so as to be able to go after dark and see what the night shift if up to.

About 500 yards from Bonaire is Klein Bonaire (klein – little in Dutch). This small island is completely unimproved. For a fee of about $17, the water taxi will take you to a beach on Klein, where one can drop off some dry gear, get back on the boat, and be dropped off in deep water at the other end of the island, so as to snorkel with the current to get back to where the gear was dropped and wait for the return ride. The water taxis make the route every two hours or so, but the swim, in a casual pace, takes about an hour and a half. Your gear bag, assuming you were thinking ahead, had your glasses/sunglasses, a bottle of water, a towel, a clean tee shirt, and a ball cap.

Other folks elect to just stay at the beach where the drop off and return is. I once saw a couple that stayed at the beach. I observed them when I got back from my snorkel. They went out together in chest deep water with one diving mask and one lit cigarette. One would put on the mask, dip his or her face into the water, and then pop up to say, “I saw a fish right over there!” The mask would be passed, and the cigarette, too, and so they would continue for a while. I’m guessing they got tee shirts that said, “I DOVE BONAIRE.” I chuckled to myself, but, I must say, they were having fun.

I anticipate being somewhat or significantly incommunicado for the next few weeks. I hope to read TownBroadcast from time to time, but doubt if I’ll be tapping out too many words. Maybe, with good fortune, I’ll have some adventures befitting an elder statesman, which I can recount up my return in early March.