Kralendijk

    

The Amstel-Margharita-Sundowner and.... ...the Double-Margharita-Sunset. Surprisingly they didn't know Caipirinha!

 

O.k. let's get a bit more serious! Kralendijk is the capital of the island and because of its harbour became the main business center with shops, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, storage facilities and a beautiful pier to enjoy caribbean sunsets. Even in high season it was never crowded during our stay and shortly after sunset the pier always became empty. (is it because Happy Hour ends at 7 pm or the that average age of the Bonaire-tourist is bit higher or just caribbean relaxation? We don't know!) Only on weekends it gets busy when all the young people from the island go out to enjoy themselves.

  

 

 

Twice a week cruise ships visit the island and "flood" it with tourists. Its easy to tell if there's a cruise ship in port because its by far the highest point in the surrounding.

 

 

Fort Oranje, a nineteenth-century fort (now serving as the Harbor Office) featuring an adjacent stone lighthouse. Since Curacao was the main island of Dutch interests, Aruba and Bonaire had to serve as some kind of buffer against the Spanish.

 

 

Almost 400 years of Dutch influence marked Kralendijks appearance. Looks a bit weird to see gables like that in a tropical-caribbean surrounding.

....but the Caribbean colours never vanished!!