Jan - Jun 2009

The first half of 2009 has been about visitors. Find paradise, and you’ll find a lot of old friends (and new ones) that will find you.

First, we met some kite bitches in North Carolina last year, Elaine and Kathi. They’re Canuks, and love escaping to warmer, windier climates. We had only met these two for about 20 minutes in Cape Hatteras, but exchanged numbers. We told them we lived in Bonaire and they were welcome to come visit. (Who knew they would actually come, lol?)

They were terrific house guests and kite partners and we really enjoyed their visit. We only wish they could’ve stayed longer. But we really don’t understand why they had to steal one of our kiteboards. Oh sure, they had a lame excuse like; “We only got two hours of sleep the last night because you and Petra kept giving us Cosmopolitans; and we have the exact same board, and we were seeing double when we packed.” And we find it highly suspicious that they want to come for another week so that we can exchange the boards back.

Kathi and Elaine were lucky enough to visit us during Carnival. Once a year our tiny island of 15,000 people comes alive in color as office workers, moms, kids and dive instructors are transformed into butterflies and other wonderful creatures.

To see more pictures of Kathi & Elaine's visit click here.

You may have gathered that we don’t have a lot to do buy looking at our pictures of us meeting people at the airport. We got a few more strange looks than usual when we met Joe, who came to visit on his annual pilgrimage. He spent so much time at the nude beach, Sorobon, that he has is own, reserved, beach-lounge chair. We celebrated our birthdays (one day apart) and had a great time, as usual.

To see more pictures of Joe's visit click here.

Next to find their way south was my mother and step-father Bob. These two are the most remarkable world travelers on the planet. He’s 80 and she’s 76 and they just got back from India, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. They have traveled to over 75 countries together in the last 25 years. A lot of the time they travel as part of an Elder Hospice Program, which allows seniors inexpensive lodging in different countries in exchange for work. They have built schools in rural Nicaragua, dug toilets in remote villages and helped install water systems. Guess I got the travel bug from my mother. They really loved the warm waters here and snorkeling with all the different fish. They sat out under a shade umbrella all day and read, in between their watery excursions. We timed their visit so the last few days could be spent with Petra’s family, which was coming for two weeks, from Prague. But because of airlines rescheduling, they were only able to spend one day together. Our families had so much in common, even though they didn’t speak the same language. They are all very real people, grounded and happy. So, for one day, we had eight house guests.

To see more pictures of Mom & Bob's visit click here.

Petra’s family consisted of her mother and father, sister and brother-in-law, and their two children. We had an amazing two weeks together.

They scuba dived without licenses.

They snorkeled.

They kayaked.

They tubed.

They wake boarded.

They swam.

They exercised without a gym.

They opened coconuts after climbing the trees to get them.

They flew kites.

You’ll see we met them at the airport with a sign that welcomed the Homolkovic’s. This was a Czech movie series about a hilarious family that bumbled around on travel adventures. (A little like if Gilligan’s Island was about a family.) For example, you can see our Homolkovic's at the movies (in front of Petra’s computer).

To see more pictures of Petra's family visiting click here.

We are very fortunate that our little island has direct flights to the U.S. and Amsterdam in Europe. We are away from it all, but people can get here fairly easily.

We had a few other guests visit as well, so, it has been the season of visitors for us.

Nancy Kevin & Sue Charlotte & Gill

We are thrilled that a “real” gym has opened on the island two weeks ago. I told Petra we should open one, but somebody beat us to it. (Saved us a lot of work.) But its great to be working out again after being on the boat for a year, and on the island without a gym for a year. Along with kiting, swimming, and eating well we are getting in excellent shape.
Petra has turned our back yard into a wildlife preserve. She started feeding a few lizards, and now has a huge collection of lizards, iguanas and birds.

special species - Flying lizard

To see more pictures of Bonaire wildlife click here.

We planned to travel to Hatteras again for two weeks in August, but had a call from a friend with a lot better adventure. Tell you all about it next time, but here is a little peek click here.

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