Kralendijk, Bonaire
On our deck in Bonaire, we exited our vast cruise ship for a new experience: a glass bottom boat. Our captain, Kim, met us at the dock and took us to the coral reef. Kim was originally from the Netherlands, and she spent time telling us about her life-changing vacation to Bonaire about ten years prior that eventually led her to permanently move to Bonaire from Europe to pursue a new career as a scuba instructor and eventually glass bottom boat captain. Kim came to Bonaire with few possessions and a dream to make this place her new home. Kim relayed how expensive and inconvenient it was to acquire some items; for example, items we could get in the United States in a couple of days through Amazon might take several weeks or months to reach Bonaire. With the costs and extra jobs, she still believed it was all worth living on an island paradise in a land of endless summer.
Because of the boat, we could look 25-30 feet into the sea at the reef. The beauty of the reef was mesmerizing and well-preserved. I’ve never been a fan of snorkeling just because of my easy-to-burn complexion. The shaded glass bottom boat allowed me to appreciate the native fish of the Caribbean without worrying about peeling many days after the adventure.
After our short trip on the glass-bottom boat, I gained a greater appreciation for what the island had to offer and why the residents of the Dutch Caribbean feel like they live in paradise on Earth.
