Bonaire is one of the six islands that are still part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In the north east of the Caribbean Sea we have St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba and in the South West we have Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. The latter three are normally called the ABC islands. They are the remnants from the empire days when Dutch Merchants fleets controlled the world and had trading posts in Nieuw Amsterdam (New York), Kaapstad (Cape Town), Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), Suriname (Surinam) and a host of other places. When the empire started to dissolve after the Second World War, these islands opted to remain part of the Dutch Kingdom in one form or the other. Therefore it is always nice to come to Bonaire as it is Caribbean with a Dutch touch.
Kralendijk is a name derived from Koralendijk, or Coral—–dyk. It used to be the main trading post for the island and as Bonaire is nothing but an elevated coral reef, the name makes sense. Water is very deep here; about 200 feet from the dock it still goes four hundred feet down and then suddenly rises to very shallow. When approaching the dock it almost looks like, for an outsider, as if I am steering the ship onto the beach and only at the last minute bring the bow over and line up against the dock. Due to this deep water just of the land, they could never built docks here that extended further out to open waters. Had the shallow area more wider then they could have built a dock in the direction of the wind. Because it is the wind what is causing problems for the ships to dock here.
The dock, being in line with the shore, is built perpendicular on the prevalent wind direction of North East to East. The Tradewinds blow with average velocity of 15 to 20 knots and that is close to thruster capacity to counteract. When coming alongside the wind comes full on the beam and then you ahve to hold the ship in position while the (very long) mooring lines are being paid out. Best thing is to do is to arrive before sunrise when the winds are not so strong yet, as they tend to pick up a bit more after sunrise. On this cruise that did not work as our official arrival time was 9 am., due to the distance we had to cover from Isla de Margarita.
On arrival however, the winds were reasonable and that saved me a few grey hairs. There are tugboats available if needed but they have a long call out time and waiting for them will delay arrival. The dock is fairly small and the ship sticks out at both sides of the dock. Thus we have to run very long lines to the shore side. Lines that are mainly there to keep the ship from drifting away from the pier because of the Tradewinds. There are two of these small docks but we were the only cruise ship in port today.
The Dutch officers tend to use this port to go shopping. The local supermarket has a lot of Dutch goodies for sale and normally an extensive contribution to the local economy is made. As I have a half Dutch, Half British officer complement on the bridge and in the engine room, there is a sort of indoctrination program going with both sides trying to exhort the greatness of certain national treats. The Dutch, including me, are trying very hard to get the British hooked on Dutch salt Licorice (zoute drop) and near Christmas time on spiced nuts (pepernoten) but thus far the only thing that has been found acceptable is Syrup or Caramel wafers (stroop wafels). The British on their side are having a hard time in convincing the Dutch that Bangers and Mash and Bubble and Squeak are real and edible dishes and that warm beer is really drinkable. I have been converted to warm beer, Ale, in the mean time but the British National dishes are still a challenge for me. So I eat “zoute drop” and leave the Bangers and Mash to the British.
Bonaire is not too touristy as a matter of fact they try very hard to keep their own identity, having seen what happened to Aruba and Curacao. They regulate the tourist industry and try to prevent unbridled expansion of shopping arcades. Therefore the guests, maybe apart from the shop-a-holics, really like the place.
Due to the ever blowing wind, departure was easy, let go the lines and by the time the long lines have been brought in, the ship is 500 feet from the dock and we can just swing around and set sail for Aruba.
Now that is a Shop-a-holic paradise,
November 14, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Very interesting, as always.
I really to like stroop wafels. Ine Van Dam, from Amsterdam, introduced me to them when we were first there a few years ago. Now I’ll have to try zoute drop.
(I’m not fond of bangers and mash, either!)
November 14, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Captain Albert, reading this blog over the past few months and particularly this past week and a half has been such a joy as we approach boarding the Veendam for our own 14 day cruise with you soon.
I love reading the itinerary from your point of view and it will add tremendously to our experience as we follow the same route with you. I want to thank you so much for taking the time to include us in your experiences.
But I do love Bangers and Mash!!!!! Yummy! (But then I’m Scottish and English so that might explain it)!!
November 14, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Can’t beat stroopwafels, huh Jim 😉 Great story as usual, Captain! Maybe the Brits like poffertjes, muisjes and hagelslag or oliebollen en appelflappen on New Year’s Eve better? 😉 Is there a name for the small lines with tennis balls that are attached to the heavy main lines that your deck dept guys throw to the longshore guys/dockworkers?