Bonaire has a different definition of “beach” than most other islands. Nearly the entire coast of this island is covered with piles of broken coral, with hardly any stretches of sand. We learned this the hard way, when at the end of an island tour we asked our taxi driver to drop us off at a beach where we could do some snorkeling.
Our cab driver left us at “1000 Steps”, a fairly desolate location on a high cliff on the northwest side of the island. Not yet knowing any better, we said OK and asked him to come back for us later that afternoon.
Fortunately, there are only 67 steps down to the “beach”, with nice views from both the top and bottom.
Unfortunately, the water was too rough for snorkeling (we tried), and the shore was too rocky for sitting. Oh, and there’s also no shade whatsoever.
We tried to make the best of our time here. After giving up on snorkeling, the girls found dozens of tiny hermit crabs crawling among the rocks, and I took some cool pictures and video. It was very scenic.
After that, we headed back up the steps to seek some shade at a nearby bus stop and wait for our taxi driver to return. Looks fun, doesn’t it?
I’m sure the taxi driver will be back soon…
I wonder if we can get water out of this cactus?
Of course, the taxi driver did return, bringing us safely back to the ship. Needless to say this was not the most fun beach stop. I think next time we’ll just take a snorkeling tour. Maybe something on a boat…
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Thanks for the heads up on this beach. I think I will take a pass on that one , the next time I’m down that way. However it did have a rugged beauty about. I still wish I were there anyway.
wanna trade????
Dad said it all.
Of the 2 months, 13 days you’ve been gone, was this the worst?
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