Page 20 - PGA Community News - September '20

Page 20, PGA C.A.N.! September 2020 September 2020

Bonaire: The “B” In The ABC Islands

By Don Kiselewski, MCC, the north, to the large solar
D.S., Palm Beach Gardens salt works on the south end,
Travel Leaders which, by necessity, are at
For anyone confused by sea level.
this article’s title, allow me Geologically speaking,
to explain. Three islands just Bonaire is ideally suited for
off the short of Venezuela scuba diving and snorkeling,
became known as the “ABC because just a few yards
Islands” because of their offshore the ocean drops to
names: Aruba, Bonaire depths suitable for heavy
and Curaçao. However, shipping. All of the dive sites
when they were named, no are located on the western and
attention was paid to the alphabet, and in fact they are southern part of the island,
positioned ACB from west to east. and around Klein Bonaire
Bonaire is located some 50 miles off the northern (Dutch for “Little Bonaire”),
coast of the mainland of Venezuela in South America, a small uninhabited island
and 20 miles east of Curaçao. The 111-square mile island just offshore from Bonaire’s
resembles the shape of a boot, with the top at the northwest capital city of Kralendijk.
end and toe in the southeast. The island’s elevation The strong prevailing
drops from its high point, Brandaris Hill, at 784 feet on breezes are from the east; A local Caribbean fishing boat sits in the clear blue water surrounding Bonaire.
consequently, there are just
a few dive sites on these sides of the island.
Island temperature varies little from the average,
a pleasant 82 degrees Fahrenheit. There is a constant
pleasant breeze; unfortunately, these easterly trade winds
bring less than 20 inches of rain a year.
Consequently, the island is arid and island farming
barely provides food for local consumption. A
desalinization plant operated by the government provides
drinking water. The only export crop is aloe, which grows
wild on the island and doesn’t require irrigation. Giving
up all of that water does have some benefits – Bonaire is
outside of the hurricane zone.
Bonaire’s deep water just offshore has provided the
island with a role as a storage depot for oil, shipped in
from Venezuela. Because of the minimal water depth
off the mainland of South America, only shallow-draft Pink flamingos are a protected species and the pride
vessels are used to pick up oil, and then it is transported of Bonaire. Most can be found around the picturesque
to the depot on Bonaire. Huge deep hulled tankers are Goto Lake.
This aerial view of the islands of Bonaire and Klein Bonaire then loaded from Bonaire’s depot to transport the crude
shows that the island is shaped very much like a boot. oil to refineries throughout the world. Bonaire on page 21

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