I don’t know why but I didn’t sleep well last night and the only thing that I can think of that attributed to that is the fact that my nap yesterday turned into sleep instead which threw me off my normal sleep time. I finally got up around 10am because I wanted to head out and get gas up the street before going down to the cruise terminal to the market. I put on my bathing suit under my clothes and headed out.

     I got gas and headed into town. On the way I passed the area in which I saw people landsailing. I was wondering how it worked and it seems as though there’s a track in which they’re on and it’s basically a go-kart with a wind sail. Heading into the town of Kralendijk near the cruise ship entrance was a breeze so I just found parking on a nearby street. I didn’t readily see the market so I asked around and was directed where to go. Once I found it I ended up taking a look at every vendors stand there (I didn’t get anything from everyone but I bought something from probably about 75% of them). It’s a good thing I’m not checking a bag because I definitely would’ve bought more. 

     I came across so many unique things from handpainted postcards, to yarn and nut made keychains, bath salts, magnets, seasonings, bookmarks, hand painted mugs and shot glasses and cactus flavored tequila from Bonaire (OMG I tried 2 of 3 flavors and you can drink it straight it is so good). I lost track of how much money I spent as my bags began to get full and more bags were then added to that. At one point I had to stop myself and once I wrote out everything that I got and who they were for I felt as though I was at a good stopping point. I figured I’d get some souvenirs out of the way today but I’m done (unless I realized I missed someone or someone reaches out for me to get something specific). 

     After shopping I figured I still had time to grab something to eat nearby so I stopped at this cuban restaurant that I passed by earlier. I ended up ordering a Cuban Chicken Club but ended up packing it to go (the flies would not let me eat and it was getting close in time for me to head to my 2pm scuba diving class). The waitress I met named Tee we seemed to click and guess what…she’s from DC. This is my second day here and I have met 2 people from DC and 3 from the DMV area (what are the odds of that). Tee has been in Bonaire for 3 years and she said she grew up in the Carolina’s where her grandmother told her some years ago to make sure she goes to Bonaire by a certain date. Tee said Bonaire is known as “the 6” so I had to ask what she meant by that and she said it has a spiritual meaning. She speaks Hebrew and English and also has family in Jamaica. She asked if DC still bumps go go music and how I felt about everything going on right now.

     I chatted with her for awhile and she also got a to-go box for me. Before I left I told her I had to get a photo with her since she’s from the hometown, DC. I walked back to the car and headed for the Sand Dollar Bonaire location. Well here’s where things went left, I arrived at the Sand Dollar Resort and asked them where my class was taking place and they said I was in the wrong location and that I would have to go right before the roundabout and make a right and go all the way back. I did that and ran into a different dive shop called Scuba Do and the lady said I could come back if I didn’t find it (I had already prepaid so I needed to find it). I called them and they tried to direct me so since I passed a Bonaire Dive Shop store on the way to the Sand Dollar Resort I just went there to get everything straightened out (of course by now I was late).

     I get there and they tell me I’m still in the wrong location and someone pulled up map with a photo of exactly where it was; it was near the Sand Dollar Resort. By now I’m frustrated so I go back to where I initally went just over to the left a little bit and I walk back and see it. It was basically situated inbetween the Sand Dollar Resort and the Scuba Do dive shop that I was at earlier (right inbetween both of them, smh). I get there and apologize for being late as I explained what happened. The woman behind the counter verified my medical form and showed me where the group was outside. As I sat down at the table with 3 other people I asked if they’ve gone over a lot so far and was told, “Yes.” The vibe and energy of this group seemed off and especially with the instructor. He left and came back a few moments later and told me to check with the people inside about my medical form. 

     Well, I go inside and show them I emailed the form on January 16th but she proceeds to tell me the instructor didn’t want to have me in the class because it was too late and asked if I could do another day. She apologized and said she didn’t understand why because he had just started and I assured her it was ok. I told her I could either do Thursday afternoon or Saturday morning and I was able to get Saturday morning but at a different location. I mapped out that location and told her I was going to head over there now that way I would know where to go on Saturday. While there I figured since I wasn’t going to end up diving today I might be able to do my landsailing activity. I messaged them and asked if they could squeeze me in today and they said, “Sure, we’ll see you at 4pm.” I mapped that out to go to after my diving location for Saturday and headed to the other diving site.

     I found the other diving site with no problems and can even park close by on Saturday morning. I went inside to get confirmation for Saturday and they said everything looked good. They had me go ahead and fill out a form and said they’d see me Saturday. I took some photos and even though I wasn’t mad at the tardiness of the situation (because it wasn’t my fault) everything happens for a reason, I believe that. Looking now at where I’ll be Saturday looks like a much more fun dive site as it looks as though we’ll learn in the actual beach water versus a pool at Sand Dollar, so if you asked me it worked out. 

     I headed to the Landsailing site and somehow passed it (I was flying in that little car so I can see how I missed it). I circled back around and passed quite a couple of goats and donkeys but since there were cars around I couldn’t stop and get a picture. I arrived at Landsailing with 25 minutes to spare so I finally ate half of my lunch sandwich and drank some water. I met up with the instructors and the rest of the group for the 4pm session. It looked as though we had a nice size group and I could tell the larger group within our group was from the country or south because of the accent. I heard a gentleman tell the instructor, “You all need to bring this to Greensboro”…what are the chances? I have family in Greensboro and went to school there, what is someone from Greensboro doing here (lol). I think some of them were from Greensboro, NC and some from Eden, NC. I met a couple who were from NY who were nice.

     We were given the instructions and had to sign a waiver. Once complete we were given helmets, gloves and optional shades. My main goal on the course was to not tip over (and I didn’t-only one lady did). Once inside the kart they pushed us out one by one and once you’re on the course there is no way to stop, you either slow down or speed up. It’s not bumper karts so they told us to avoid running into each other. I enjoyed it and it took a good 3 laps around before I fully got the hang of it. Around one corner you have to go really fast or you won’t fully make it around and at the opposite corner you have to go slower because if you go too fast you might tip over. We had a good 45 minutes to do as many laps as we wanted. Once done we drove the karts back to the area in which we got them facing the wind so that it could stop. We took a group photo and gave feedback from our experience.

     We got a free water bottle with a branded sleeve on it and a QR code that leads to their website where we can find our photos from the activity. I chatted with the couple from NY a little bit and the woman told me she’ll likely see me on Friday when I go Windsailing because she has done it just about everyday because she enjoys it. As I headed back to my Airbnb I knew I needed to stop at the store up the street again and did. By now I knew how to get back as you basically just take the main road all the way down. After the store I headed back to my Airbnb for the evening. I had such an action packed day today and was ready to hop in the shower. My Airbnb host ended up stopping by because the TV stopped working but it was as simple as changing the plug to a different wall outlet. I’ll have the other half of my sandwhich and some chips for dinner and get today’s write-up in order. As of now (saying that since I’ve had to pivot in scheduling some activities so far) I am scheduled to do a Combii Tour which is a tour of the North and South side of the island tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing parts that have yet to be seen. I have to say though, I had a great 2nd day here.