A Jeanne in the Kitchen

This is a bonus post. I hear it is international dolphin day. We did NOT see any dolphins in Bonaire, but we did see some in Portugal, in the Algarve, when we visited in March. I have ALWAYS had a special place in my heart for dolphins, and I think I am actually 1/2 dolphin. They are one of my spirit animals. I have a few. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest and enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

Bonaire is a small island, with only about 26,000 full time residents, and there are roughly 75 different populations represented in Bonaire’s small and diverse culture. This means that you can find just about any type of food you are looking for. But because the island is small, and has a small population, there are also only so many restaurants available, and most of those are located in Kralendyke, the capital and the largest urban area of the island. We have been to Bonaire 4 times now, and we have been to a lot of the same restaurants over the years. El Mundo is one we have enjoyed a few times while visiting the island. Their food is very good.

This time at El Mundo, we enjoyed some tuna ceviche and catch of the day fajitas. Both were delicious. We eat fresh seafood and ceviche everywhere we go that is by the water. We have eaten many different types of ceviche too, but I don’t recall ever having potatoes served with ceviche. But all these different twists and added surprises makes things interesting and exciting. Bring the creativity on!

It’s always fun trying new things and getting new ideas on old favorites. It makes life deliciously exciting. 🙂

Life is short. Make the most out of everyday, try new things and new adventures. Live life to the fullest and have a great day. ‘Til next time.

The main purpose of going to Bonaire was to DIVE! And that we did. We did a lot of diving too. We have broken so many underwater cameras that we no longer own one, so we didn’t take any pictures underwater. And we were underwater for most of the trip. We only had one non-dive day, at the end of our trip, since we cannot dive for a recommended 24 hours before flying. On our last day of the trip, we drove all around the island, like we usually do while there, and that was our day for pictures.

Bonaire is of course famous for its spectacular diving, but it is known for its donkeys too. There are over 1000 wild donkeys roaming freely all over the island, and there is also the Donkey Sanctuary that rescues as many donkeys as they can. Currently, the Donkey Sanctuary takes care of about 800 donkeys. The donkeys were brought over by the Spanish explorers over 400-500 years ago, and were left there to fend for themselves. Today, the donkey population has exploded. The donkeys are part of Bonaire’s history and are protected by Bonairian law.

I love seeing all the donkeys every time we go to Bonaire. This time was no different. 🙂 The donkeys are very used to people and come right up to the car begging for food, and a little scratch or two behind the ears, at every opportunity they get.

We had some almonds we shared with some of the donkeys. The big grey donkey was greedy and kept pushing the baby out of the way. I guess he liked the almonds. We did eventually get to give some to the baby too though. It just took a little while.

Life is short and full of surprises. Take them all in and make the most out of everyday. Live life to the fullest and enjoy the ride. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

Our first real day in Bonaire was a busy day. No matter how experienced you are as a diver, from a newbie to a very seasoned pro, everyone has to attend an orientation meeting and a do checkout dive before they will let you rent any tanks or equipment. So we went to our meeting and had our checkout dive, which was our first dive for the trip.

After our first dive, we changed and went to see the festivities for Bonaire Flag Day or Dia di Boneiru. Dia di Boneiru Bonaire Flag Day, is a national public holiday celebrated every year on September 6th. The date marks the traditional arrival of European explorers Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci in 1499, when they first reached the island.  It serves as a celebration of Bonaire’s heritage, unity, and community pride, rather than just the adoption date of its flag (which was officially raised on December 11, 1981).

Everyone in Bonaire was celebrating Dia di Boneiru. There were speeches, music, dancing in the streets, food vendors and local artists. Everyone showed up to celebrate the day.

Everyone, young and old, was dancing in the streets. Bonairian flags were waving proudly. These ladies were having a blast and had some good moves too.

These two were having a lot of fun as well.

There was a lot of music of all kinds, from steel drums and singing kids to a full blown concert later in the evening. There was something for everyone.

Most things are closed on Sundays anyway, but this day, everything, or at least everything downtown, was closed since everyone was celebrating the day. A lot of the restaurants had their food booths there too. When in Rome, or in this case, Bonaire, do what the locals do. For lunch we ate the local cuisine that was showcased at the festivities. We sampled different things. Larry went for the ribs, and I chose chicken satay that was coming fresh off the grill. Because we had a fridge, microwave and a cooktop in our room, we brought some back for us to enjoy for another meal later too. It was lunch this day and dinner another day.

The festivities were taking place in the capital of Kralendyke, not far from us. We actually went in between a few dives, since the first time we went, they were still setting things up. We found out it really gets hoppin’ after dark.

Between diving and celebrating Bonaire day, more diving, more celebrating, and diving again followed by another round of celebrations, it was yet another very full, but fun, day.

Life is short. make the most out of everyday and live life to the fullest. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

Our first meal for this trip to Bonaire was at Mezze, a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern restaurant, just a short walk away from where we were staying, at the DIVI.

When we visit areas known for fresh seafood, we always eat as much fresh seafood as we can, since fresh seafood isn’t a thing here in mountainous, land-locked Colorado. We ordered Pasta del Mari to share as our main entree, with a Middle Eastern sausage as a starter. We split everything, and everything was very good. I really loved the sausage.

Not only did we enjoy a delicious meal, but we had a gorgeous view as well. We we seated right across from the dock, where we could enjoy the beautifully painted sky dancing over the calm waters.

It was a great ending to a very long day. Stay tuned. I have lots more to share. this is just the beginning. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest and enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

Bonaire is one of the Dutch ABC islands in the Caribbean. There are six main Dutch islands in the Caribbean – Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao (the ABC Islands), Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten. We’ve been to all of them, multiple times, except St. Eustatius, and Saba, we have only seen from underwater. Dutch is the official language of all of these islands, but they all speak English, Spanish and their own local language of Papiamento too. Bon Bini means welcome in Papiamento.

Because we were underwater for a good portion of our trip, I don’t have nearly as many pictures from our trip as usual. We were there to DIVE, DIVE, DIVE, and that we did! That means, I have already edited all my pictures and they are now ready to share. This was also our 4th time visiting the island, and I already have lots of pictures from previous trips too.

I had a goal in mind when embarking on this trip. I wanted to make my 450th dive, and that I did and then some. My current dive total now stands at 457, and I am definitely still counting. My next goal is now 500. I am only 43 dives away from that goal. I will achieve that one soon. 🙂

When we visit Bonaire, we always stay at the Divi Flamingo Resort. One of the many reasons we stay there is because it is geared specifically for divers and they have a great dock and reef just steps away from the rooms. We can dive off the house dock ANYTIME we want, as often as we want. We also get the unlimited tank option that allows us to just grab tanks and go, anytime, anywhere, as often as we like. We rent a truck and pack it full of tanks and off we go. The whole island is one big dive site.

Our mini apartment was behind these signs, at the far right right, just behind of the pool

This is the dock, just a hop, skip and a jump, and literally a big giant stride, away from our room. Over the years, we have dived MANY, MANY dives from this dock, including this trip. All of our island night dives were dived here (yes, it is dived, not dove).

After a VERY long travel day, we arrived at the DIVI just in time to view a gorgeous sunset. It was definitely a very warm welcome.

We dropped off our bags then headed out to go get some dinner. We didn’t have our truck yet, so we had to go somewhere within walking distance. After a delicious dinner, we called it a day and turned in for the night. After all, we had to muster up our energy to let the diving adventures begin.

This is just day one of our trip. Sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the adventures.

Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and do the things you love to do. Live life to the fullest and enjoy the ride. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

Hello Everyone. We’re back. We got back last night. We had a great trip, with lots of diving. But as usual when we come home from a trip, there is always so much that needs to be done to get back into the swing of things. But soon, you will hear about all our recent adventures. 🙂

I have been busy in the “silver mines ” lately. Even more so than usual. I have been working on a whole bunch of gifts for all my September birthdays. I have completed 4 out of 5 and started the 5th gift today. I made a lot of progress on it too. That one won’t get finished until I return home though.

Here is the last set I completed. I just finished it today. As usual, it was full of trials and tribulations, and a lot of blood, sweat and tears too. But it is now done, and even if I do say so myself, I think it came out very nice. 🙂 The stones are Snowflake Obsidian. (I have NO idea why the photo kept flipping on me, but with as many troubles that I had with this set, I am NOT surprised). I already had the small stones for the earrings, and Bruce and Julia gave me the larger stone, with a bunch of other beautiful stones, when they came out to visit. It was a good match to complete the set. 🙂

OK. I’m off now. I’ll be back before you know it. I’ll miss you. Talk to you soon. 🙂

Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and live life to the fullest. Have a great day and make everyday great. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

We are busy getting last minute things taken care of before we leave tomorrow. Our flight to Bonaire leaves early, early in the morning. I think our flight leaves at 5:00 AM, meaning we have to be at the airport no later than 3:00 AM. UUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!!

I will be off the grid until we return home. I will be underwater, diving, diving, and diving. Try not to miss me too much. I’ll be home again before you know it. 🙂

These pictures are from our last trip to Bonaire, a few years ago.

I’ll see you soon. Live life to the fullest. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

I always love recreating from my leftovers, but we really make a point of making sure we use up everything in our fridge right before we leave for a trip. This time, I re-Thai=ed.

When I made my Thai Swai Thai Swai, I had enough sauce leftover for something else. I re-Thai-ed it, and used chicken instead of fish and added some more vegetables. I served it over pasta instead of rice and once again, made it into something completely different. The “Queen” would be so proud. 🙂

I used both my remaining Thai sauce and the rest of my coconut milk, then added some more green beans, that I par-boiled first, some mushrooms a yellow heirloom tomato and chopped cilantro.

I cooked the seasoned chicken first, then removed it and sauteed the mushrooms. Next came the sauce and coconut milk, then I re-added the chicken and green beans.

When plating it up, it was cooked pasta, a little sauce, the sliced chicken, more sauce and vegetables, finished with the diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro. It was just as good the second time around as it was the first. 🙂

Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and live life to the fullest. Have a great day and make everyday great. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.