Camping on the Beach

Yesterday we went to Washington Slagbaii National Park for an overnight camping trip. We stopped at a few different spots to enjoy the views and swim. 

• Stop 1: Playa Chikitu. This is one of the only turtle nesting beaches on the island. We didn’t see any turtles while here but we enjoyed the views of the ocean. 
• Stop 2: Supladó. The only blowhole on Bonaire. A few of us had already seen this area but it was cool to see it again. The spouts of water out of the blowhole were not as large because it wasn’t as windy as the previous time. 

• Stop 3: Boka Kokolishi. Here we swam in an area that was protected by a rock barrier. Some of us swam in the protected area and on the other side. Getting to the other side was a bit interesting because we had to be careful not to step on sea urchins. However, when we got to the other side it was worth the trek. We swam around in the deeper water enjoying the waves gentle rolling in from the open ocean. After a while, we headed back in using the waves to push us back to the rock barrier. We did have to time the waves once we got closer so we didn't crash into them. Once we got back to the protected area, we did some exploring seeing more sea urchins, chitons, and crabs. 

Chiton

• Stop 4: Seru Bentana. Here we did a short hike up to a small arch to enjoy the ocean views as well as looked at a lighthouse. 

• Stop 5: Malmok. This is the furtherest north point of the island and is where an old settlement use to be. There were remnants of a house and lighthouse. 

• Stop 6: Wayaká. A few of us had seen this area earlier but this time we went swimming. I got to see some lettuce sea slugs.
• Stop 7: Boka Slagbaii. This is where we would be spending the night on the beach. After unloading the gear, we went snorkeling and swimming before dinner. During this time, I saw my first lobster and midnight parrotfish. It was exciting. After swimming for an hour and a half we went and cooked dinner. We had quite a large feast eating chicken, ribs, sausage, potato salad and coleslaw. After eating a very fulfilling dinner, we went on a short hike looking for scorpions that fluoresce. We saw about 5 or 6 scorpions. This was very cool to see because I did not know that scorpions fluoresced. After having enough fun, we went back to the beach to get ready for bed and star gaze. The night skies were amazing and we saw a number of shooting stars. It was an early night with the sounds of the waves putting us all to sleep. 

In the morning, we were up bright an early with the sunrise. We enjoyed the peaceful morning eating breakfast and taking in the views. Slowly, we started picking up camp to get ready to go hit Mount Brandaris. This is the tallest mountain on Bonaire at 784 feet. The views from up there were so amazing. We could see a majority of the island and the ocean on both sides. This was a much needed trip after the long week at school finishing up all our assignments for the semester and preparing for finals next week. 

View from the top of Brandaris