The dry easterly winds bring mm of annual rainfall, mostly between October and January. Kralendijk serves as an important commercial and cultural hub for the island. Bonaire also includes the small uninhabited islet of Klein Bonaire, which is situated about m to the west of Bonaire and occupies a land area of only 6 km 2. Bonaire is surrounded by coral reefs that host more than 60 soft and stony coral species and species of fish.
The most common coral that is found here is the Boulder Star Coral. In , the highly venomous Bonaire banded box jellyfish was discovered on the island by marine biologists. The wetlands and lagoons of the island serve as critical habitats for a large number of shorebirds.
Our little island is square miles, with a width that ranges from 3 to 7 miles and a length of roughly 24 miles, together with Klein Bonaire as an additional 2. The population of Bonaire is of approximately The island of Bonaire has 2 main towns, Kralendijk, the capital, and Rincon. Kralendijk has many neighbourhoods, and spreads wide on the island mostly towards the south, and Rincon, in the north is a beautiful little town, and oldest in continual existence of the former Netherlands Antilles.
Bonaire is a polyglot society, most of the people here can have a conversation in at least 2 languages, and kids come out of school speaking 4 fluently. As Bonaire is part of the Netherlands the Dutch is the official language and the only one used for any administration and legal matters. But the local language, also recognized by the government and spoken mainly amongst the inhabitants of Bonaire, is the Papiamento. Papiamento is the language used in public primary school and it is a Portuguese-based creole language with a lot of influence from Dutch and Spanish, and some Afrikaans and English.
English is also one of the primary languages in Bonaire. As tourism is the main economic activity in the island and most of the tourists come from the US, this language is widely spoken. You can even find publications, newspapers and online news in english. Bonaire has adopted the Dutch educational system, being the only difference that in public primary schools the language used is Papiamento.
Dutch is being introduced as the grade level progresses and the secondary school is taught entirely in Dutch. Once the secondary school finishes kids must go out of Bonaire to continue their studies. Most of them go to The Netherlands, but there are also kids who go to the United States or other countries to attend university. The island of Bonaire is known for being a fearless defender of ecology, some of the projects carried by our island have been pioneering.
The Junior Rangers learn about our planet earth. In the hope to inspire other teenagers, to be a role model with a focus to protect our home; their future. That's also the place to be for foodies. Seafood is the star on Bonaire. In addition to the catch of the day, be sure to try guiambo okra and seafood soup , kabritu stoba goat stew and fried plantains.
Wash it all down with a cold Venezuelan beer. When cruise ships are docked, Kralendijk gets busy, so anyone who's averse to crowds may want to steer clear. On the other hand, vendors set up a market on those days with island-made products. Head to Wilhelmina Square , near the Kralendijk stadium, to check it out. One of Bonaire's primary selling points is the weather. It promises the same sunny warmth that other Caribbean islands do, but because of its southern location, Bonaire is outside of the hurricane belt.
Although visitors don't have to time their trips to avoid hurricanes, the island still gets hammered by storms occasionally. October, November and December are the wettest months on Bonaire. Average temperatures are in the mids year-round. As is typical of Caribbean locales, Bonaire can be quite humid and windy. Although Bonaire is tiny and not extremely developed, getting there is pretty easy.
The island is served by the Bonaire International Airport , also known as the Flamingo International Airport, which is located at the southern border of Kralendijk.
Regional airlines also operate flights between Bonaire and other Caribbean islands. Kralendijk is also a popular port city for Caribbean cruises. The British also had brief control over the island and it is they who established the capital Kralendijk.
Slavery was abolished in This facility was later converted to an hotel! Since , Bonaire became a special municipality of the Netherlands although not part of the European Union but the results of a referendum scheduled for 18 December might very well bring change.
Bonaire is a leader in the Caribbean in ecological responsibility and there are many initiatives to preserve the fragile balance between human occupation and protecting nature. Bon Bini na Boneiru — Welcome to Bonaire!
0コメント