Caribbean Note #36

Hi Everybody,

Wow!  Can’t believe it’s already November!  We’ve been here two months and it seems like two weeks.  Soon it will be December and while we’re looking forward to seeing you all we will miss the sun and clear blue water here in Bonaire.

It’s cruise ship season once again and the Pod People are running around everywhere.  We really hope our island doesn’t become a huge destination island like our neighbors Aruba and Curacao.

Along with October comes the start of the rainy season and our first tropical storm created enough surge to wipe out the more vulnerable west coast docks and the surge caused the sailboat Utopia to break free of its mooring and she was destroyed on the reef.  Note to Matt:  When your sailboat is moored here in the harbor, make sure to use anchor chain instead of nylon line!!

Berit and I have been doing a regular 20 mile bike ride along the coast road and after the last set of thorns were removed from my (new) tires I had my first flat.  So, I took my tires to the bike shop to have Kevlar liners installed in the tires and made friends with the owner, Frank.  It turns out Frank was sponsoring the Bonaire mountain bike race, Duo Xtreme Bonaire (79K) the following weekend.  Racers come from all over the world to compete for cash and medals, and I volunteered Berit and myself to help.  It was pretty amazing.

We had two jobs at directing the race.  First, we stood in an intersection in town and stopped traffic while the 150+/- riders raced through, then we hiked out into the middle of the thorny countryside and waited in the hot sun while the racers wound their way through the rocky trails.  Our job was to direct them onto the right trail where there were intersections.

Needless to say, the conditions were very harsh and the racers had special tires and bikes to handle the terrain.  I don’t think our bikes would take it even if we were in good enough shape to ride the trails, let alone race on the trails.  In the end there were plenty of cuts and bruises and the leaders were hours ahead of the pack.

I managed to get my share of cuts and bruises too.  I climbed up onto a cactus covered outcrop of rock in order to see the racers coming and while I was on tip toe, the rocks gave way and I tumbled down the pile through the vicious spines.  As a 60 year old man I find I don’t roll down rock piles as well as I once did; still sore, but no lasting damage.

We spent last week diving and hiking with our house guests, Tim and Kat, and broke 300 in the Lionfish wars.  Berit and Kat spent an enjoyable day birding with our friend and resident island naturalist, Jerry Ligon.  It’s fun to experience all Bonaire has to offer and show people around the island; we’re becoming quite the tour guides.

No news yet on progress with our application for island residency.  Thanks Geoff, for helping us acquire all the documentation we need to jump through all the crazy hoops the Dutch require.  We hope none of you ever have to know the definition of the word “apostille”.

When we start to get a hankering for dinner at the Verbort Sausage Festival, we know it’s time for Matt’s birthday, so “Happy Birthday” to Mr. Matt!!  We’ll have a Matt and Garrett birthday celebration when we come home!  (No wonder the old man can’t take a tumble like he used to, he’s got a grandson getting ready to go to college!!)

For those who have visited, you’ll be pleased to know we’ve repaired all the window slides and as of now, they no longer need to be held up by sticks.  The story of how difficult it has been to accomplish a simple task like this would double the length of this post.  And, I can’t overstate how pleased Berit is about this repair!!  (No more falling windows and crushed fingers!)

Hope all is well and you’re following your dreams.

See you soon,

Dad and Mom

PS  We're considering training Rexx as a lionfish hunter.  We're still working with his gear configuration.  (Thanks Tina and Bonnie for the pic.)