Day 60

I've finished my internship!  I am not officially a divemaster yet because I still need to send in all my paperwork, which (knowing the mail system here) could take a while.  But the good news is that I'm mostly done working and I've got lots of time to go diving, and lots of buddies to dive with!  I'll still be babysitting cruise ship tourists and giving them snorkel tours a few times a week, but I think that's a very fair trade for free diving.

But enough about me.  This was a big week here in Bonaire because it was...

CARNIVAL!

It's Carnival here in Bonaire!  In Roman Catholic countries, carnival is a celebration that takes place the week before Lent.  The biggest and most well-known carnival is in Rio, but quite a lot of places have their own carnivals.  Bonaire's is a bit small, but then again, so is the island.  It looks like a ton of work, but it's really fun!

There are several parades, of which I've only seen one.  There was an adult parade yesterday, and there's supposed to be another at night tomorrow.  We'll see if I can get there before my bedtime, haha!

I was here for Bonaire's carnival celebration in 2011, and I had kind of expected them to reuse the same costumes every year.  I was completely wrong!  Everything was totally new.  I was very impressed by how creative and talented the costumers were!

First up was a group of developmentally disabled people dressed up like jokers!  They're riding in the train.

Behind the train were costumed performers!

They use anything and everything to pull the floats!

Noisy!

It was really loud, so a few people were walking around selling earplugs.  I kinda wish I'd bought some!

The earplug sellers are easy to find because they're covered in ears.

This man did not walk.  He STRUTTED.

The same float from the back.

I got a shot of this whole group!

Strut, strut, strut!

Next group: Africa!

This truck seemed to have some cooling issues.

The Africa-themed group was my favorite!

This guy is being 'eaten' by a snake!

Oh man, those are cool.

Next up was the feathered people!  Honestly, I have no idea what this theme is.  But they're very pretty.

Dear lord, look at those heels!  This parade is FOUR HOURS LONG.

That lady in the back was seriously channeling some Beyonce.

Notice how the drink cups match their costumes?

I have no idea how they keep those headpieces on.

Are you noticing how all the drink cups match the costumes?  Drinks are a serious business at carnival.  They are mostly alcoholic, which is exactly what I would want if I had to walk around very, very slowly in high heels for four hours.

Next was a casino/gambling-themed group:

I didn't get many photos of them, but they were a pretty small group.  The Jamaican group, on the other hand, really made their presence known!

Each and every float is a mobile DJ stand and bar.

These guys were having a really good time.

Loving those sunglasses, dude in the background.

New Year leftovers?

Is that... the ghost guy that lectures Scrooge?

Another group having a great time was the Aladdin-themed group!  These guys were my second-favorite because they wrote their own Carnival-themed version of Gangnam Style!  (Remember the ridiculously popular Korean horse-dance song?  Yeah, that one.  I know, I thought the fad was over too.)

And this group, which was kinda with the feathered people but not really?  Their theme song was Rihanna's "Diamond," but they just played the opening part over and over and over again.  "Shine bright like a diamond!  Shine bright like a diamond!"

Color coordinated drinks!

Lots of people took photos with the performers.

Oh my gosh look how precious that is.

The diamond people again.

Seriously, how did they keep these on their heads?

Some sort of carnival court, as determined by... the office of tourism?

And we can't forget the Indians group.  I'd normally be all politically correct and call them "native Americans" but there was nothing politically correct about this.  I don't think you could do this in America in this day and age!  You'd probably be sued by the ACLU for cultural appropriation or something.  But the notion of 'cultural appropriation' really only exists in America right now, so from an entertainment point of view, they were good!

In addition the headdresses, they also did the Hollywood Indian woo-woo-woo hand-over-mouth war cry.  (Does that have a proper name?)

And the beer float:

Polar is a big deal here.  Gives another meaning to the whole "polar vortex" thing!

And last but not least was a group of scantily clad and rhythmically talented young ladies!

They actually had a pretty good dance with lots of body shaking.  I think the men enjoyed it thoroughly.

Carnival is over now, but it was fun!  I'm kind of glad for the peace and quiet now, though.