Best of Mike #28

All of Bonaire is a Marine Park and has been for a very long time, with conservation efforts starting there in the 60s.

The Marine Park completely encircles the island. From the high water mark to a depth of 200ft. I am sure that I read or heard somewhere that it was the second marine park ever created, in the world.

In addition, the land on the northwest side the island, close to a 1/4 of the land mass, has been given over to Washington Slagbaai National Park

At one time in history, there were three Aloe Plantations on this part of the island. But the final owners of each sold their land back to the government of The Netherlands, with the idea that it would be allowed to revert back to it's natural state ..... and it has.

This is the hilly part of the island and while there are roads, they are virtually all unpaved and always make for a truly "bone jarring, tank bouncing ride". Even at speeds as slow as 10-15mph. Travelling to and from the Slagbaai is usually an all day affair, even in these modern times.

There are a number of places to stop and spend time. Some offering open vistas and others secluded coves.

My favorite is Boca Slagabaai. Back in the day this was the shipping port for the plantations. They exported donkeys, goats, sheep, aloe, divi-divi pods and charcoal.

Boca Slagbaai actually means Slaughter Bay, as sometimes the livestock was slaughtered there prior to export and then shipped as commodities like dried/salted meat or hides.

The buildings you see in this pixture date to 1870 and have, over the years, been residences, warehouses and customs offices. Over the time that we have been visiting Bonaire they have been largely unused.

Bonaire lies below the hurricane belt so is not actually visited by those storms. But it is common for storm surge that from hurricanes passing farther north to hit the island.

Such was the case in during either 2001 or 2002 hurricane season. The wave hit particularly hard along the entire north side of the island and did a lot of damage to these buildings.

I am shocked to realize that we have not been back to Boca Slagbaai since that dive in September of 2002. So, I don't know if the buildings have been repaired. But I do know that finding out will be a "must do" on our next trip to Bonaire.