The little-known part of the Netherlands that’s 8000 km from Europe
“Don’t worry, I got my driver’s licence in Amsterdam,” says Astrid, as we round the corner and narrowly miss a grey donkey ambling across the road.
The tall, tanned Dutchwoman is behind the wheel of an eight-seater EV golf cart, proudly showing us around her island home. We’re in Kralendijk, the capital of Bonaire, the most laidback and least-developed of the ABC Dutch Caribbean islands.
Colour in Kralendijk, the cruise port and capital city of Bonaire.Credit: iStock
I’m a world traveller who has explored seven continents, but I’d never heard of Bonaire until I made a port stop there during Norwegian Cruise Line’s Caribbean, Costa Rica and Panama Canal cruise. Located just 80 kilometres north of Venezuela, it’s a tiny speck of a largely untamed island, home to 22,500 permanent residents and an estimated 10,000 pink flamingoes.
While neighbouring Aruba and CuraCao (the A and C of ABC) are autonomous, constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Bonaire’s residents voted in 2010 to become a special municipality of the Netherlands. All citizens of the ABCs are Dutch nationals.
Astrid says it means a closer relationship with the mother country, almost 8000 kilometres away in Europe. Economic, historic and sentimental bonds are strong: Dutch is an official language of the islands, as is the local creole dialect, Papiamento. The names of the colourful capital cities - Oranjestad, Kralendijk, Willemstad – are as Dutch as Gouda cheese.
On the day I visit Bonaire, the town’s bars are filled with soccer-mad fans in orange shirts, drinking Amstel beer and cheering for the Netherlands to advance in the World Cup. We wave as we pass by in the golf cart, Astrid calling out a cheerful “Hallo!” whenever she spots someone she knows, which is often.
Her running tour commentary is as amusing as it is random (“Oh look, that’s where the priest hangs his underpants to dry”), a patchwork quilt of vivid stories that ranges from local legend Captain Don, a one-legged womaniser, to Carnivale celebrations and island politics.
There’s history all around – as we drive slowly past a bright yellow house on the waterfront, I notice a plaque above the door denoting the year it was built: 1878. Four original Dutch Delft Blue tiles are embedded in the exterior wall.
Kaya Grandi – the main street of Kralendijk.Credit: iStock
On the way back to the ship, we pass by an outdoor pop-up market in the park, a good place to pick up Bonaire’s prized table salt, shell jewellery and rum cake. The mouthwatering aroma of chicken satay skewers cooking over hot coals at an Indonesian food stall wafts our way.
At the cruise port, local tour operators spruik shared rides to the best swimming and snorkelling beaches. It’s 30 degrees in the shade and there are still a few hours before we ship out, so I heed the refreshing siren call of the sea.
For $US5 ($7.50), I join six others in a minivan ride to Sebastian’s Beach Club at Sorobon Beach. On the 15-minute journey through the arid heart of the island, the driver points out property fences made of cactus trees as tall as a grown man, their spiky crowns sporting red Santa hats.
Scuba divers and windsurfers rave about Bonaire, its crystal-clear water, favourable weather conditions and easy access to fringing reefs. From the comfort of a deck chair at Sebastian’s, I count at least 20 people windsurfing and dozens more snorkels poking out of the spectacular turquoise-hued lagoon. The water feels as good as it looks, a soothing respite from the heat of the midday sun.
Young Dutch waiters, dressed in all-white gear, cheerfully approach with offers of cold beer, hot pizza and $10 sunlounger rentals. A DJ is artfully mixing Cafe Del Mar chill-out tunes with Dua Lipa dance beats. It’s easy to see why visitors fall for Bonaire’s many charms.
The Norwegian Jewel at sea.
A 14-day Panama Canal, Costa Rica and Caribbean cruise departing Tampa in January 2025 aboard Norwegian Jewel costs from$3585 a person.
Kristie Kellahan travelled as a guest of NCL
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