People

News about People on, from, and going to Bonaire

Friday, February 15, 2008

Next CIEE Lecture Series Features Bonaire’s Own Captain Don

Over the past several months, CIEE (The Council on International Educational Exchange) has been offering several free, public lectures on various nature and environmental issues.  The series will continue this Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 7:30 PM, featuring a Bonaire legend, Captain Don Stewart.

Don’s lecture is entitled, “The Rings to a Shangri-La”, and he promises that not only will environmental issues be covered, but it will be entertaining, too.  The presentation will meander through a medley of forty exciting vignettes and is illustrated with over 110 period photographs.  And in Don’s infamous words, “It’s guaranteed to be 85% true.”

CIEE Research Station Bonaire is located on Kaya Gobernador Debrot 21, on the main road between Kralendijk and Harbour Village Resort, next to the Seaside Apartments.  The lecture is open to the public and admission is free.  (Source:  CIEE Bonaire)

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Shooting Great Images of Bonaire’s Flora and Fauna, Bonaire Photographers Share Their Tips

Many visitors to Bonaire always wish they could take home the perfect postcard image of their vacation on Bonaire.  So, here at the Bonaire Insider, we’ve asked some of Bonaire’s resident photographers to showcase their work and share their tips for taking great Bonaire images.  Today in the Bonaire Insider Photo Gallery we’re highlighting Marlies Seelos and her recent iguana images.

Marlies has captured each of these iguana images in her garden.  She tells us that the large one lives under her roof with his growing family.  Because the iguanas see her each day, they have lost their fear of her, and she can easily stand on a ladder to shoot when they are on sunning themselves on a roof.  In fact, the “big daddy” of them all is quite famous, as the tour buses stop on their northern route to point him out from the main street.

So, letting your subject get accustomed to you and know you don’t mean harm is the best way of getting close to your subject.  Also, try to shoot with an upward angle, with a nice clear background (such as sky) behind the iguana.  This upward angle not only will emphasize the iguana, but separate him from an otherwise “busy” background.  Be sure the eye is sharp, even if other areas of his body are in softer focus.  And last, stay with your subject awhile, it’s usually the last image which is “the keeper!” (Source:  Bonaire Insider reporter; images by Marlies Seelos, Marlies Sail & Canvas)

Monday, November 19, 2007

Jeopardy’s Alex Trebek to be on Bonaire in January

From January 20, 2008 through February 1, 2008, Jeopardy’s charismatic Alex Trebek will be on board the Sea Cloud II, along with two other special guests, for an unusual and new cruise itinerary with a special emphasis on exploring Bonaire, Curacao, Grenada, and two nature reserves in Trinidad.

Alex Trebek has challenged and entertained millions of viewers worldwide since Jeopardy!’s debut in 1984. Trebek now leads the blockbuster series into its 24th season—firmly establishing Jeopardy! as America’s Favorite Quiz Show®. As a result of his work on Jeopardy! and the series’ great success, Trebek has been honored with four Daytime Emmy Awards for “Outstanding Game Show Host.” Trebek has appeared in more than 70 movies and television shows, most often appearing as himself, and he has been honored with a coveted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Additionally, he has been inducted into the California Broadcasting Association’s Hall of Fame and the prestigious Canadian Walk of Fame making him one of only a handful of people honored by both the U.S. and Canada. 

He’ll be joined by journalist Kenneth Avery Ringle and marine artist Geoffrey William Hunt, as well.  Limited to only 86 guests, the spacious and elegant Sea Cloud II is, arguably, one of the most magnificent sailing vessels in the world. A three-masted barque, she is 384 feet long with over 29,000 square feet of sails all set by hand.

Many feel that this is just the type of cruise ship Bonaire should court, as many times cruise visitors on smaller ships have a better understanding of Bonaire’s fragile ecosystems and they tend to be more interested in nature and conservation.

The cruise is sponsored by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.  For additional information, click here. (Source: Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic Web Site)

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Bonaire Recognizes Industry Partners with Golden Flamingo Awards

Honoring select industry partners that have contributed positively to Bonaire, the island recently presented its Second Annual Golden Flamingo Awards on November 1st, 2007 at the DEMA trade show in Orlando, Florida, USA. 

The recipients of the Golden Flamingo Awards 2007 were:

Airline of the Year:  American Eagle

Media Partner of the Year:  DiveNewswire

Tour Operator of the Year:  PADI Travel Network

Person of the Year:  Timothy Webb

Evette Negron and Tracey Hoo from American Eagle, Christine Grange from PADI Travel Network, and Scott Jones from DiveNewswire, as well as “Person of the Year” Tim Webb were on hand to personally receive the Awards.  The 2007 recipients were determined by a vote of the public and private sector tourism stakeholders.  (Source:  TCB-North America)

Friday, November 02, 2007

Bonaire’s own Linda Ridley Is Inducted into Golden Hamlet Club

The Golden Hamlet Club is a select group of REEF (Reef Environmental Education Foundation) survey takers, who have conducted 1000 or more in-water surveys.  Bonaire’s Linda Ridley now becomes the 6th official entrant to be inducted into the club.

Linda joins Lad Akins, Linda Baker (also of Bonaire), Judie Clee, Peter Leahy, and Linda Schillinger. For those of you who have conducted surveys regularly on behalf of REEF, it’s a milestone to reach 100 surveys, much less 1000.

Beyond surveying, Linda Ridley does a lot of outreach for REEF at the Dive Friends Bonaire REEF Field Station on Bonaire. Linda’s in- and out-of-the-water instruction and mentoring in conducting REEF surveys represents a plateau for REEF members to strive towards achieving. When the Golden Hamlet members are in the water assessing fish populations, REEF gives them the same status as their staff when surveying. In fact, the current GHC members represent over 7 percent of surveys in the REEF database. Surveying at this level is certainly a laudatory achievement and requires a unique diving and surveying acumen.

If you wish to schedule time with Linda on your next Bonaire dive trip to learn how to survey, email Dive Friends Bonaire by clicking here.  (Source:  REEF Web Site)

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Bonaire’s Alan Zale Provides Images to the New York Times

Over this past weekend, the New York Times ran an article in their regular travel section called “Why We Travel.” Bonaire’s own Alan Zale provided the most recent image, and he has provided an image for a past article, too.

The articles have been re-formated for the Web as a slide show, and can be viewed by clicking here.  Alan’s image from Bonaire is the first image you’ll see, since it is the most recent listing, and he also provided the eighth image from Hawaii.  A reference to the image and article was printed on the front page of the travel section. (Source:  New York Times Web Site)

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Sarah Biggerstaff of TCB-NY Tours Area Around Lac Bay

Sarah Biggerstaff is the newly appointed Bonaire Account Executive at Adams Unlimited, Bonaire’s North American Tourism Office.  Although on past trips Sarah learned about much of the island, while she was on-island recently for TCB meetings, she decided to spend an additional day before returning to the States to familiarize herself with some of Bonaire’s lesser known areas in the south and to visit new activities.

Sarah’s tour started on Saturday morning with Rolando Marin as her guide.  Rolando has been with the Bonaire office of the Tourism Corporation for fifteen years and was born and raised on Bonaire.  In fact, his father was the well known divemaster, Bas, who initiated many of Bonaire’s travelers in the ‘80s and ‘90s to the island’s undersea life.

Heading out to Lac Cai, Rolando paused to show Sarah many of the natural watering holes which the area’s fauna use on a daily basis.  He explained that the holes on one side of the road were fresh, while those on the other side were briny with salt.  Arriving at Lac Cai, Rolando explained how the conch was of historical significance to the local peoples in times past--not only did they use the meat for sustenance (conch on Bonaire are now protected), but the shells themselves were used as a means of communication between villages.  Blowing different sound patterns on the conch could mean anything from, “it’s time to party”, to information regarding a community member’s death.

When preparing to depart Cai for the next stop, Sarah and Rolando were surprised with the arrival of several tourists (Charlie and his friends) and their guide on horseback from the Riding Academy Club, who planned a swimming session with the horses at Lac.  Deciding to stay awhile, they watched as the horses and their riders had a great time cooling off in Lac’s calm waters with a bareback ride once saddles were removed.

Once it was time for the riders to continue on, so did Sarah and Rolando, this time to visit the newly opened Butterfly Farm, owned and managed by husband/wife team Jan-Dianna Knaken and Laura Jaap.  The farm, only opened a few months, is a quiet oasis in Bonaire’s desert habitat.  Once inside the exhibit, Sarah and Rolando were entranced with the multi-hued butterflies which were flying around, or alighting on nearby plants.  The exhibit also includes a pond with Japanese koi.  The hatching area was opened by Laura, and newly hatched butterflies immediately took flight into the exhibit, while others, also newly hatched, waited a few more moments to dry their wings.  Laura explained that new species are constantly added; they are shipped in the pupae (chrysalis) stage, and then hatch after arrival on Bonaire.  Laura and her husband, Jan, further explained they are now creating a new visitors center, and hope to begin a small-animal zoo in the not-too-distant future.

Sarah’s final stop was to check out the new WebCams that were recently upgraded at Eden Beach Resort.  She had a fun-filled and information-packed morning and closed out her tour with the hope that, on her next visit to Bonaire, she can learn more about the hidden wonders on the northern side of the island.

Images of her morning’s tour can be seen on the Bonaire Insider Photo Gallery by clicking here. (Source:  Bonaire Insider Reporter)

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Film of Bonaire In The 1950s

Sometime in the early 1950s, Polygoon-Profilti, a Dutch production company, produced a short documentary about Bonaire, entitled “Eiland van rust” (Island of Rest). The film shows fascinating scenes from life on Bonaire over half a century again, documenting salt harvesting, charcoal creation, aloe farming, and fishing off fishing sail boats. Late last year that film was released on-line. And thanks to a BonaireTalk participant, we now have a link to that film to share with our readers.

The film can be found here. Once you pull up the page at that link, click on the link in the left column which says “BONAIRE: Eiland van rust”, and a window will pop up. The first time you pull up the video page, you will be asked (in Dutch) to select whether you want to view the streaming video in Windows Media or Real format (Windows Media is probably better for Windows users). A second set of options allow you to choose your Internet connection speed. “Langzaam” means slow (dial-up, for example), while “Snel” means fast (broadband). Once you have set the proper settings for your computer and connection, click on the button that says “opslaan” to start streaming the video.

It’s an amazing look at a Bonaire we no longer see. The same page, incidentally, has links to videos from Aruba and Curacao too. (Source: Post by Iris van den Berg on BonaireTalk)

Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance Welcomes Special Guests

The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA), an Bonaire-based organization created in 2003 to protect the natural environment and to promote sustainable management of natural resources on the six Dutch Caribbean islands, will soon welcome a number of special guests, including a representative of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

In an unprecedented move, in December 2006, after a visit to Bonaire, the Dutch reigning monarch, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, took the decision to become a patron of DCNA, and she reaffirmed her patronage in writing earlier this month.

The visit of DCNA’s special guest is due to the upcoming DCNA board meeting taking place at Captain Don’s Habitat from May 22nd to the 24th.

In addition to the Queen’s representative, attendees will include representatives of Conservation International, De Landschappen, IUCN NL, Samerwerkingsverband Nationale Parken, BirdLife International, and delegates from all the Dutch Caribbean islands. (Source: DCNA Press Release and Images)

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

International Accolade Foundation Recognizes Bonaire’s Imre Esser for His Work With STCB

On April 7th, over 40 people gathered at Gielmon “Funchi” Egbrechts’ kunuku near Washikemba to honor Imre Esser, former president of Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire (STCB) and to say goodbye to him and his family, as they will be leaving Bonaire to return to the Netherlands later this month.

The highlight of the evening was the awarding of the Accolade Award to Imre for his work with STCB.  Among its many goals, the Accolade Foundation strives to encourage marine conservation by recognizing individuals who have made significant contributions to protecting the oceans.  Imre served as President of STCB for 10-years, and under his leadership, STCB became a model for sea turtle conservation throughout the Caribbean growing from a modest field project to a multi-faceted organization, skilled at high-tech research applications, fund-raising, and addressing complex sustainable development issues. 

Image Caption:  From left to right, Janet Thibault and Captain Don Stewart (Accolade Foundation), Imre Esser, Caren Eckrich (Accolade Foundation), and Jan Kloos and Andy Uhr (STCB).  (Source:  STCB)