DoggieLogue 2/20/09----Thom and Jolanda

Our newest apartment neighbors are Thom and Jolanda from the Netherlands. They are frequent visitors to Bonaire and are here for 6 weeks to finish plans on the apartment complex they will be building in Kralendijk.

Friday the 20th we headed back up to Playa Frans, the former fishing village that is home to Richard and Pam (former Minnesotans) and a few other hardy souls.

Jolanda and I dove the reef while Thom, Carolyn, and Max visited with Richard and Pam and enjoyed the wonderful view....Dan

DoggieLogue---Max meets "The dudes"

On the way back to the apartment one afternoon last week Max spotted 3 boys thumbing a ride near the airport. You don't see this often in the US anymore, so Max has us stop and check things out. Turns out the boys were trying to make their way to Jibe City, the ultimate "windsurfer dude" hangout. It is also one of Max's favorite spots.

We gave them a ride across the island where Max insisted on a photo with his new friends. From left: Youp, 14, Max, Rover, 9, and Ezri, 15.

Later, dudes...Dan

Bikini girls---Oma Nina brings fashion

Last week Julia'a mother Bettina (known as Oma Nina) arrived to help with the baby and around the house. Naturally, she brought gifts, as any good grandparent would.

It's already quite clear that Jasmine and Julianna need no help being noticed. The "beautiful" gene has shown brightly on them. Nontheless, Oma brought new bikini swimsuits for the two--which they showed off promptly....Dan

Birthday Cake for Julianna---Sunday Feb 22

Sunday Feb 22 was little Julianna's 4th birthday. Her mother Julia, Julia's grandmother (Oma Nina), baby Tristan, the girls, and us all joined for birthday cake. Chocolate of course. We happened to have a few presents for Julianna, compliments of our friends in the states who kept buying gifts for the children and sending them down with those visiting us.

Julianna loves jewelry and Winnie the Pooh. Pooh stickers covered her dress. The cake was fabulous, as usual. No Kinderbier at this party. But no tea either.

Getting birthday candles to stay lit long enough to blow them out is a trick on this island. We didn't even get to start the song before they were out......Dan

DoggieLogue---Divi-divi tree

The wind is always blowing on Bonaire. You can see its effects espcially when you look at the Divi-divi tree, a shrub-like tree that is slow-growing and native to this part of the world. The wind sculpts the trees canopy to look like windblown hair. The roots are mostly exposed and gnarly. Max gives you some perspective of the size of some of hte roots....Dan

DoggieLogue---Sorobon sunrise

Sorobon Beach on Lac Bay is a favorite early morning destination for Max and Carolyn. They'll get up before sunrise and drive across the island to greet the day. Max sure likes it, and the panorama there is just as striking as the sunsets....Dan

DoggieLogue---Max goes cruising

The Sunday drive is a thing of the past in the US, but being on a beautiful island in the Caribbean you just must get in the car and take a look around....at least that's what Max does.

The landscape photo is by Jake, taken on the eastern (windy, more rugged) side of the island.

Dan