We took off from the Virgin Islands and were on our way to Bonaire.

It was great the first night. The next day mom and I felt fine at first, but later on we both started to feel seasick. We think we might have overdosed on Bonine trying to make sure we did not get seasick. The next day we took less Bonine and felt better. We arrived in Bonaire when I woke up the third morning. It was an easy passage overall no big waves or rain. I mostly sleep, listen to music and watch downloaded stuff on my IPad during the passage. I sleep outside by the dining table and Mom and Dad took turns sleeping on the bench seat across from me. We zip all the enclosures up at night, so the dogs can not sneak out and so we do not get wet if it rains. We had a full moon all three nights which was cool because we never had a full moon on any of our passages before. We also saw lots of flying fish, but luckily none landed on the boat.

We made it to Bonaire. We explored the island by car. We went to the flamingo sanctuary and saw pink flamingos.

We also went to the distillery called Cadushy Distillery. They make their drinks out of cactus that they find on the Island. We had gelato three times the first week. I also met up with some friends of mine from Grenada,and some new friends as well. Tanner on the catamaran, Dorothy Rose, Celeste and her sister Eden on the mono-hull, Bliss and Liam, Grace and Aiden on the mono-hull, Matriarch.  I had them over a couple times on the boat. We played games and watched movies. It’s nice to see old friends and make some new friends. Hopefully, I can continue to make some other new friends as well.

We also went snorkeling/diving at night to see Ostracods. They are like underwater fireflies. Technically they are Bio-luminescence. They glow underwater when you make a movement. They move as well. The male ostracods light up to attract a lady ostracod.

We also saw slave huts and slave camps from when the slaves were here on the island, working to collect salt. It was fun being able to explore a new country that’s an island. Somethings surprised me about Bonaire when I got here. I thought they would use Eastern Caribbean money like they did in Grenada.  It turns out they use American money. It also turns out that they primarily speak English not Dutch. But they do have a local language they speak to each other, Papiamento. It was really fun to hangout with friends. Hopefully, I can continue to explore the Island and hangout with old friends and new ones.

 Homemade blueberry soda from Sugar Thief Brewery. My friend Brendan would have loved it!!

Marshmallow Crepe! Yummy!

One afternoon we hung out with Darlyn, Celeste and Eden (Bliss) while Dad, Harry (Bliss) John (Gypsy Blue) and Kent went diving with Martijn (new friend we met who lives in Bonaire) to complete their nitrox certification.  Dad forgot his mask which is funny because he is usually so organized. Everyone of the guys gave him a hard time about it. Us girls drove a truck around the island to see things. We went to the Donkey Sanctuary to feed donkeys. There are 750 donkeys at the sanctuary.

There are park rangers who rescue and take care of the donkeys. It was neat for a while, but then it got annoying and startling when the donkeys kept surrounding us. When we wouldn’t feed them, they got pushy. We only had so much food and we wanted to feed as many as we could.  It was kinda funny when a donkey came in and all of a sudden grabbed my shirt. It was captivating feeding the donkeys. We couldn’t exactly sit down because the donkeys were so close to the truck and tried to get their heads in. They kept us on our toes. We also got to see pregnant donkeys and baby donkeys. In addition, we saw flamingos and turtles. The donkeys were pretty, friendly, so it was actually really enjoyable over all.

Next we went to Sorobon Beach. We were gonna swim, then it turned out we couldn’t really swim because it was more of a wind surfing beach. It was still cool to look around. We checked out Jibe City Beach Bar which was a nice place. We smelled the food that the chefs were cooking and realized we were starving so we headed to Foodies to eat. It was “Phenomenal”(as Mom would say).  Bonaire makes salt from the sea. We got to see the salt fields and how they get the salt on to the ships to send it other places. We also saw the slave huts which are where the people who worked in the salt fields would stay. I don’t know how I would feel working as a slave and having to live in a slave hut; luckily I don’t have to see what that’s like. I feel pretty lucky about that.

We saw the lighthouse, which is what the ships used to guide them home, and hopefully keep them from bumping into land. We ended the day with a sunset dinner at Ocean Oasis. It was a Fantastic day. I hope we get to do it again.

Mom, Kathy and I were sitting at a gelato shop called Gio’s. We were having gelato and looking for our friends that we were gonna hangout with…

All of a sudden Mom gets a call from Darlyn (Bliss). I get excited at first because I thought we were going over to meet them. It turns out it was about my dad. Kent, Harry(Bliss), Martijn and Dad were driving ATVs around the islands. Dad and Harry were riding together. Dad was driving the ATV because they just switched drivers and then they got a flat tire. The ATV rolled! Harry was ok. Dad on the other hand, wasn’t. He wrecked his wrist and had to be taken to the hospital. When Mom, Kathy and I arrived at the the hospital, Mom was the only one allowed to see him. We then got a ride back to the boat from our friend Cat. I stayed on the boat with Kathy and the dogs. Dad and Mom had to fly to Aruba for surgery. I spent the night on Kent and Kathy’s boat, while Martijn and Cat watched the dogs at their house. Kent, Kathy and I went over to swim and walk the dogs.

I also hung out with my friends while Mom and Dad were in Aruba. We had a karaoke night and we went to Eden Beach for some pool time. When everything first happened I was confused and not sure what was going on. Everything was moving at such a fast pace. But it ended up ok because I was well taken care of by Kent and Kathy and had a good time spending time with them on their boat. I did not have a lot of time to think about what had happened because I was very busy seeing the dogs and hanging out with my friends.