2024.01 Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Grand Cayman (Part 8)

2024.01 Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Grand Cayman (Part 8)

Our final port of call was Kralendijk, Bonaire, to complete our tour of the ABCs.  I think this itinerary saved the best for last.

island tour

The excursion we selected was a short tour of the southern portion of the island.  The downside of the tour was that the driver who was scheduled wasn’t available, and we had to wait for the tour company to get another driver.  With a late start we had a compressed amount of time for our tour.  Once the bus did arrive our first stop was the salt plains.

One thing we found out is that this portion of the island is entirely made of coral.

After the stop we past a few windmills, and stopped at Sorobon beach.  Unfortunately the late start prevented us from getting into the water.  Supposedly this area is a very popular windsurfing location.  It wasn’t hard to tell based on the quantity of windsurfers in the water.

After the quick stop we then returned downtown and the tour concluded.  We had plenty of time remaining so we did what we like to do — go to a grocery store!  There was one large store on the island and it felt like we were instantly transported to an Albert Hejin!

The grocery store was not far from the port and downtown.  Once the taxi dropped us off downtown, we needed to decide on our lunch location. 

The upside of the delayed tour, and the grocery store shop resulted in us arriving near the end of the lunch rush.  Our ship wasn’t the only one in port.  We chatted with the folks beside our table and found out that their Royal Caribbean ship sailed out of Miami and they added their ship was filled with large groups, as in multi-generational families where 10 was considered a small group!  We had lunch near the port and were entertained by the local wildlife around our table.

After a bit more window shopping we returned to the ship.  Again, being much closer to the equator, and another tropical day of clear sun — we needed a bit of shade and air conditioning!

ABCs

After visiting these three Caribbean Dutch islands, each were different and unique.  I found Aruba to be the most developed and geared towards tourists.  It had plenty of hotels, casinos, Western food options.  The island would be a breeze to stay at a hotel, or find an apartment to rent.  There were plenty of beaches to pass the time.

Curacao, gave me the most authentic vibe, complete with former industrial lands.  During the taxi ride to the distillery, life isn’t all sunshine, as I noticed a mattress under the bridge complete with at least one person hanging out on it.  From the friends who spent a week on the island, they confirmed that the island was filled with many excellent beaches, and as a group of four women, they always felt safe during their visit.

Finally, Bonaire.  I don’t have a scuba certification, and we didn’t snorkel.  This island is filled with many places to try either.  Most places are merely marked with a few parking spots where one can stop and just hop into the ocean.  As well, being the smallest island made me think it was the most laid back vibe.  A part of that might be that one can rent golf carts to tour around the island.  Of the three islands, Bonaire feels like the best island to disconnect and relax.

Explore other parts of this trip:

Part 1 – Air Canada Flight Toronto to Fort Lauderdale 

Part 2 – Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port & Convention Center

Part 3 – Celebrity Equinox

Part 4 – Food onboard Celebrity Equinox

Part 5 – Port, George Town, Grand Cayman

Part 6 – Port, Oranjestad, Aruba

Part 7 – Port, Willemstad, Curacao

Part 8 – Kralendijk, Bonaire (this post!)

Part 9 – Air Canada flight Fort Lauderdale to Toronto