Day 8

Today was a lazy Sunday.  I wandered around (and apparently out of) town and finally found the post office!  There was a cruise ship in port so there were lots of American tourists roaming about.  I went on a good 7 mile run today, so I guess I wasn't that lazy.

Yesterday we rented bikes and rode out to a dive site called 1000 Steps.  I am doubting whether it's actually a dive site because I can't imagine lugging my gear down those steps.  (There aren't quite a thousand steps but it's still a long way!)  We snorkeled and sunbathed and ate lunch there, but we had to get the bikes back by 4:30 so we couldn't stay long.  (There was apparently some copious drinking the night before so nobody else woke up early.)  It was lovely, although I have swimmers' ear so I couldn't stay in the water for very long.  I got some very cheap medicine from the botica (pharmacy), $3.00 for a bottle with no prescription, no instructions and no expiration date.  Hooray for medicine in foreign countries!

We've gone to a few bars out here and I have to say, I miss Michigan and its smoke-free policy.  Apparently all Dutch people smoke, and I absolutely cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke.  But being blonde and standing just a few feet from a group seems to attract Dutch people.  Dutch men can be described as very tall, blonde, model-looking men, but they're not terribly attractive on the whole.  (That could have something to do with their smoking habits, though.)  They seem pretty nice friendly, I suppose.  But seriously, they're all over six feet and blonde, every single one.

Anyway, on to more pictures!  There's more in my picasa album, here!

The group in front of the slave huts.

The bar/windsurfing place in Lac Bay.

Salt, the main export of Bonaire.

Also at Lac Bay.

Me, with snorkel gear.

Underwater camera!

Something cool I found.

Lac Bay again!

Somewhere scenic.

Cool lizard!

Cool lizard close-up!

One more thing I forgot: we visited the hyperbaric chamber on Wednesday!  A hyperbaric chamber is a big tank that compresses the atmosphere to simulate an underwater environment.  They're used to treat dive injuries, because sometimes nitrogen bubbles get trapped in your body and it causes decompression sickness, or DCS.  DCS usually just causes joint aches but if you get a big enough bubble in your blood vessels it can kill you.  We got a lovely tour, but we're hoping we don't ever have to go back!

Us in the chamber.  (I'm not in there, I'm taking the picture!)

The controls.  Scary!