For the past four years as Director of The Tourism Corporation Bonaire, I have come under lots of scrutiny.  I have had the occasion to receive accolades as well criticism.  It did not take me long to realize that the job of running a tourism office was tedious, demanding and it could be quite rewarding or not.  One of the plusses of having been director of TCB is that I have met so many people from both the private and public sectors locally and internationally.

It is now time for me to bid my farewells to the Tourism sector and put on my new cap as the Director of STINAPA Bonaire, the NGO that manages the National Park system for the island.  For those who have known me and have worked  with me on various projects, know it is a position for which I have a passion and  something that will be a challenge which I am well prepared to meet.

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In its continuous effort to give the public a better service, DEZA is also working on the production of flyers covering the following topics: How to establish a business on Bonaire, Tax Holiday, Rent Tribunal, Index Prices, Labour Affairs, Liquor-Hotel & Catering License and General Information for potential investors. These flyers will be available at DEZA.

The distribution of the newsletter is done via e-mail and through a few distribution points on the island. If you wish to subscribe to the newsletter please send an e-mail to dolleman.deza@bonairelive.com

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TCB and Flamingo International Airport today announced the first phase of the Luggage cart program has been completed.  The first 60 carts are in place and are being used to make it easier for visitors to arrive on Bonaire.  The program is an initiative of TCB, Flamingo International Airport and Consultants.com in cooperation with the private sector. It was entirely funded by placing advertising on each cart.

Among the advertisers are RBTT Bank, Island Rentals, General Cleaning Services, Garage Marren, Jibe City, Special Security Services, Global Paint, Obersi Electronics and Laur’an Toys. 

On November 14th, 2002 the Tourism Corporation Bonaire honored the following Bonaire Ambassador with their respective medals: GOLD Medals (21 years) for Bill & Joy Robbins from Maryland, USA. BRONZE Medal for John Barnes (10 years) from New York, USA. BRONZE Medal for Gary Knisely (13 years) from Virginia, USA. BRONZE Medal for Joe Wargo (13 years) from Virginia, USA. BRONZE Medal for Mike Miller (13 years ) from Virginia, USA

Front row from left to right:

Bill & Joy Robbins, Elsmarie Beukenboom (TCB) and Delno Tromp (TCB)

Back Row from left to right:   

Mike Miller, Gary Kniseley, Joe Wargo, John Barnes

The awards ceremony took place at the Carib Inn.  TCB congratulates all of our ambassadors!

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All preparations for the 2^nd annual Bonaire Eco Swim are being finalized and we are looking forward to a very exciting happening.  Three open water-swimming races will be held on Saturday, December 7^th 2002.  This 2nd annual open swim will include a long distance 5K Race, a 1,500-meter “Metric Mile” Race and a 200-meter “Kids Fun” Race.  The races are open to men and women of all ages and abilities.  Masks and snorkels can be used without penalty and fins can also be used, but then you will be placed in a different prize category.

Whilst there will be “elite” swimmers competing at top speeds, the race is really for FUN and designed for all who wish to swim at their own pace, simply for the joy of swimming in the pristine waters of Bonaire.

The racecourse will include the waters between Bonaire and Klein Bonaire.  The starting event will be the Metric Mile beginning at Ebo’s Beach on Klein Bonaire and ending at Captain Don’s Habitat.  Next will be the 200-meter Kids Fun Race, again starting at Habitat and following the coast.  Finally, the 5K Swim will start at Habitat to the Eden Beach area, then across to Ebo’s at Klein and on up towards No Name Beach, turn around and then follow the course in reverse back to Habitat.

The registration fee for on island residents is Naf.50,00.  This includes the registration fee, a pasta dinner, T-shirt, swim cap, and other goodies that you will find in a goody bag. Last date for registration for on island visitors is on November 29. For entry forms, drop by the BONHATA office next to the lighthouse at the Harbour Village Marina and talk to Diana Sint. Jago or call her for more information at 717-5134 or visit the following websites at either www.RandyNutt.com or www.bonhata.org and click on the ‘Events’ link.  Remember – this need not be a competition!  Come join us and have some fun in the second annual Bonaire Eco Swim!

The program for the event is as follows:

Friday December 6 2002:

3-5pm official registration at the Capt. Don’s Habitat meeting room

5-6pm Pre meeting where the rules and regulations will be explained at Capt. Don’s meeting room

6:30-7:30pm Pasta Dinner at Den Laman Restaurant.

Saturday December 7 2002:

7-7:30am check in for the metric mile event and numbering of the participants.

7:30 am Departure on boat to Ebo’s reef at Klein.

8:00 am Start metric mile race.

8-8:30am check in for the 5K and numbering of the participants.

9 am Check in Kids funs race.

9:30am Start of the 5K from the habitat pier.

We would like to bring to the attention of the pleasure boats, dive boats, fishing boats and others, that the dive sites in that area will be closed from 7 am to 1 pm on this date. If you are in the area anyway, please take extreme care as their will are swimmers in the water between the hours mentioned above.

This event is sponsored by Capt. Don’s Habitat, Sand Dollar Condominium Resort, Divi Flamingo Beach Resort, Kontiki Beach resort, The Victor & Aquamoon Adventures, Air Jamaica, Budget Rent a Car Bonaire N.V., Bonaire Marine Park, Caribbean Parasail & watersports, Bonaire Tours & Vacations, Selibon N.V., Rode Kruis, Bonaire Sailing Foundation, and of course Bonaire Hotel & Tourism Association (BONHATA)

For more information please call Diana at BONHATA 717-5134.

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Recently, the department of Environmental Affairs of the Netherlands Antilles and of Bonaire held a 'Flamingo Workshop.

The participants came from different parts of the world where flamingoes live.

I was invited as a speaker on the topic; 'Flamingo, the signature bird of Bonaire'.

The presentations of the other speakers were so interesting and informative. I am totally thrilled with the information received that I want to share it with you. This may be information that some of you already know, and was meant for the less informed such as myself. First of all what surprised me was that flamingoes can be found in so many different places of the world; in Africa, Spain, Portugal, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Paraguay, Bahamas, Cuba, Yucatan, and of course, Bonaire. I do not want to get into the scientific name of the bird since that is not my expertise. I did understand that there are four sub species of which the Bonairean flamingo is called Phoenicopterus Rubber Rubber.

Other information that I learned is that the flamingo can fly for thousands of kilometers which was proven by attaching a radar tracking device to the bird. Since the flamingo can fly such long distance it is very likely that the flamingo that today in Bonaire can be found tomorrow in Yucatan. Imparting all this information was one of the objectives of the meeting and to establish some factual information.   Of all the places that flamingoes can be found most of them are feeding grounds. There are few places left in the world where they nest, Bonaire is one of them.

The other purpose of the meeting was to come to consensus on standardization. Standardize the counting of the flamingoes and also on tagging.  To know the migratory paths of the flamingoes from one place to the other it is recommended to start marking the birds with colored tags with each part of the world having its own color.  It was agreed that Bonaire rightfully deserves the title as the Flamingo Island!

C. Elsmarie Beukenboom

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Portraits of Bonaire is a bilingual book (English/  Dutch) with 16 painted and written portraits of remarkable men and special women of Bonaire. They all lived a long time on the island and don’t intend to leave their beloved island. The collection of the portraits forms a bouquet of the rich culture and beautiful nature of the island.

There is a preface written by one of the former governors of the island, Raymundo Saleh and a forword by Jan Beutener, a well-known painter from Amsterdam.

Hard cover with linen, 28x28cm, 108 pages. Published by Snoeck, Ducaju & Zoon in Gent, Belgium. ISBN 90-5349-4146. Price: $30 in Bonaire.

 Henk Roozendaal (the Netherlands, 1947) settled in Bonaire with wife Herma and son Boy in 1999, after a career in advertising. Here, he took up his old beloved hobby: drawing and painting. In a short time, he developed a style of his own as a painter of murals.

The next step became painting portraits with acrylic on large wooden panels.

In 2002, together with author Guus Gerritsen, he produced the book Portraits of Bonaire.

Guus Gerritsen (the Netherlands, 1938), has been living in Bonaire with his wife Nita since 1998. They settled on the island after a couple of visits and an ocean crossing on their sailing yacht Aeolus.

In Bonaire, Guus is a well-known jazz saxophonist, and he is co-founder of the Jazz Club Bonaire.

Before settling in Bonaire, Guus finished a career as management consultant. During this period, he wrote various publications. The written portraits in book Portraits of Bonaire are based on interviews with the persons concerned and on the personal experience of the author.

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