We pulled into Bonaire Sunday night grabbed a mooring and then kicked back. I had a pretty bad cold that had been making its rounds beginning with Roberto and infiltrating the family. A nasty cold that just wipes you out.
Anyway, Monday morning I beat feet trying to get the lay of the land in an effort to find a place for Ben's birthday party. My cold showed no signs of abating so I had to take matters into my own hands and clear the cold out in my own way...Margarita style! Monday night Rennie and I went to the local for margaritas which was fun. "Margaritas'..... Drano for the body", I declared and I must say it actually worked.
The next day bright and early I again set out in search of a birthday spot. I had several different options but none seemed to pan out. The possibilities included: a bowling alley in town but it didn't open until 7:00pm and looked a bit tired, a horse stable but they only had four horses and were booked anyway, a beach for a treasure hunt but the beach had no shade. I was feeling a little anxious and was about to settle on this tired looking restaurant with an equally tired looking pool when I started calling resorts in the area. Because Bonaire is a major diving spot very few hotels have pools and many do not allow kids! However, I found one resort that seemed to have it all. O, Ben, Sam, Ethan and I piled into the dinghy to check it out. The hotel's dock had been destroyed by tropical storm Omar but O was able to sneak us in there quickly to unload, but, we did not have time to grab our shoes and Ethan didn't have a chance to get off before O had to take the dinghy back out because the swell was threatening to crash us into the dilapidated wharf.
O could not find a place to dock the dinghy. The boys and I watched in horror as he and poor Ethan were shouted at for bringing the dinghy too close to the resorts snorkeling zone. O told them that he doubted they owned the ocean and they shouted that they would be happy to call the police and allow them to explain. So, on that note O went back to the boat and left us there during the mid day heat two miles from the boat with no shoes!!! Plus we were not really endearing ourselves to the resort staff !
The restaurant was next to the two large pools and seemed delighted to host Ben's party with eight kids and ten adults the following day AND we they had no problem allowing us to use of the resort facilities after the lunch. What a relief.
O kept saying "we are not in NY so you needed to chill about his party" but I wanted it to be nice for Ben. Last year we were in Marsh Harbor and totally alone. We did the best we could, but as far as birthdays go it was pretty depressing so I wanted this to be special.
After checking everything out and making arrangements we began the long trek home in the hot sun. Sam refused to walk and was having a serious meltdown. Ben kept complaining about the heat and yelling at Sam to 'can it'. I had Sam on my shoulders while my feet fried on the pavement. Thirty minutes and two huge burn blisters on the feet later we arrived at the dock where O was waiting. Once we got back to the boat we wasted no time jumping in the water and then fell into bed for a nap. I slept soundly knowing that we finally had a nice birthday place. That night I took an aerobic dance class taught at the gym by our friend Therese on Colquiet, who we met in Grand Roque.
Ben's birthday started VERY EARLY(5:45am) because Ben was so excited. All the kids met at the resort at 1:30, had a nice kid lunch, opened presents, then hit the pool and swam for the next four hours. The resort also boasted top notch snorkeling(without dinghy distraction), beach volleyball and a million other things but the kids, being boat kids, and always on the beach were in heaven at the pool. The adults were happy because there was a nice little beach bar right there that sold ICE COLD Amstel Bright beers. It really was a very nice day. Guilt averted....next stop Christmas!
Sam fell asleep in the dinghy on the way home and Ben stayed up playing his new DS game. Thank you to Uliad, Salt and Light, Alegria and Coquelico for making to such a great day!!!!!
We kicked around Bonaire for a few days not doing much of anything really. Bonaire is cute but a little conservative and void of personality for me. They have all the bells and whistles of a tourist town but give me out of the way places and a little grit any day. I did enjoy the grocery store because it was mostly Dutch products and I always like looking at food from other cultures.
Saturday with a full boat we left Bonaire for Curacao. Ethan and Michaela joined us on the five hour trip. It was refreshing having company. Ben, Ethan and Sam played non stop the entire time. It is amazing how well they all get along. Ethan is incredibly kind and patient with Sam and Sam JUST ADORES Ethan. Sam will often wrap his arms around Ethan and give him a big hug and kiss. I could not have asked for a better relationship between the three boys.
Curacao is the New Jersey of the area. It is known for it's oil refineries that are all over the area. Even with the refineries the fuel here is still expensive.
The anchorage here is protected but overcrowded and there is nothing close by to do. All the shops are about five miles from us. Steve and Kathleen have a car because Steve's dad is visiting so they have been really nice about giving us rides but it is still very difficult doing anything.
Again, while the waterfront wants to look like a little Amsterdam(minus the liberal coffeehouses), it really seems to have been designed like that for the cruiseships.
We did manage to accidentally fall upon the movie theater on our way to the bus station. We went to the movies for the first time since we started the trip in April07! Madagascar II which was a hit. At one point I looked over at Otis and thought who would have thought sixteen years ago that we would be sitting in a movie theater watching a kids movie with OUR two kids between us having a blast!
Life is good.