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Food, Food, Food!
Certain things seem to happen in clusters, and that couldn't be truer for the food scene on Bonaire, where we have uncovered four great
finds in the past week.
For the dinner crowd, we reported last month that the restaurant formerly known as Chez Truus and then Klein Bonaire, is now under new management and called the Blue Moon. The new owner, Rianne (whom some of you may
know from City Café and City Fondue) has done a splendid job at making the Blue Moon very inviting, both in terms of comfort as well as with respect to the quality of the food. Based on the dinner we had there last
Friday, and meals other friends have enjoyed there in the last week as well, we recommend the Blue Moon highly. The highlights of the menu include a cold cucumber soup appetizer served with smoked salmon, and for
the main course, you can select fish of the day in one of several sauces (we had the tasty spicy hollandaise, while friends raved over the papaya sauce), lamb, tenderloin (in a flavorful au jus tempered with olives
or pepper corns), and even ostrich (we're saving that for our next visit). And, if you're like us, and want to eat every dessert on the menu, you get that option with the Grand Dessert, which two of us shared with
delight. Our dinner, which included a shared Dutch cheese salad appetizer, but no beverages other than coffee and tea, cost about NAFl 90, with tip. Reservations, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, are highly
recommended. The Blue Moon is located Kaya C.E.B. Hellmund, right next door to the Notary's office, by the water. Call 8617 for more information and reservations.
For those more budget minded looking for a great snack or meal, our friend Rudolph Lamidi has just opened up his eatery on wheels - the Klijn Maar Fijn (small but good) Mobile Grill. Rudolph parks his mobile eatery
between Cultimara and the Centro Medico Central (across from Hospitaal San Francisco) every day except Sundays, between 7am and 3pm, and serves a wide variety of take out food. Daily offerings include Dutch
"broodjes" (sandwiches) with bacon & egg, ham & egg, cheese, zoutvlees (corned beef), curried egg, shrimps, steak, tuna, bakkeljauw (salt fish), and even chicken breast. He also makes hamburgers
and cheeseburgers to order. But, in our mind, the best of what Rudolph has to offer are his daily Surinam-style specials. Bami goreng (fried noodles with chicken) is offered daily, while nasi goreng (fried rice with
chicken), moksi alesi (fried rice with beans & meat), moksi meti (smoked meat with rice & vegetables), satay, and roti (Indian flat bread with curry chicken) are only offered once a week. And you have to be
quick, because in our experience, by 12:30pm the lunch crowd has ordered and eaten the last of the daily special and the bami.
And, if you're planning a party or need some baked goods (like cakes or cupcakes) for a special event, we've discovered that another friend, Silda Beaumont, in Amboina, makes great cakes. We had heard of her baking
prowess, but hadn't checked it out until we needed a birthday cake for our son this past weekend. Silda came through on short notice with a huge cake, and a very reasonable price. Give her a try at 7787 or mailto:silda@bonairelive.com .
Finally, Port Call reports that Don and Ditta, former proprietors of the Leeward Inn are set to open their new restaurant, which will feature Papa Don's famous pizza, early in April. The Pier 1 Cafe will be on the
waterfront directly opposite the Customs warehouse on the Commercial South Pier, just south of the video rental store and t'Ankertje. An expanded menu featuring ribs, lasagna, soups and salads along with Ditta's
yummy brownies and cheesecake will be available. Call 4882 for for more information.
Phone System Getting Upgraded
On March 11 the Bonaire telephone company, TELBO, signed a NAFl 8.6 million contract with Ericsson Telecommunications for the
installation of a new central telephone exchange and communications infrastructure upgrade for the island. It will include substations in Rincon, Antriol, and Hato linked by fiber optic cables as well as features
such as Caller ID, direct dial and ISDN. Most of the improvements should be completed by the end of this year, relieving the long waiting time for new service and speeding Internet connections. (Courtesy of Port
Call)
Knowing Your Fish
We don't usually review software for the Bonaire E-News, but we were recently sent a copy of ReefNet Software's "Reef Series: Vol. 1,
'Fishes of the Caribbean and Adjacent Waters'" CD-ROM (retails for US$49.95, which features a large number of pictures and video taken on Bonaire (about 80% of the 1500 photos and 220 video clips on the CD-ROM,
to be more specific). Additionally, the software covers a topic very dear to the hearts and minds of many who dive Bonaire's wonderful reefs - fish identification. What follows is a review by Linda Richter...
The Reef Series software consists of a Browser, Search Engine, Complete Description, Illustrated Glossary, Anatomical Drawings, Sightings Log, and Slide Show.
First I took a quick look at the Browser to find familiar names and then looked at the Complete Descriptions of those fish. Browser had several listings sorted by family, alphabetically, and by similarities which
helped me locate most any fish I was trying to find. The information returned was generally equal to, and in many cases better than what is provided in the current bible on the topic of fish identification, namely
Paul Humann's classic book "Reef Fish ID", 2nd Edition. The extra information included complete scientific classification (taxonomy), extra photos, sketches, and sometimes even a video clip. One real nice
touch was the inclusion of the pronunciation of the species name - via sound, and not just via written words.
The Search Engine was the real test. Using a past situation, where I came back from a dive with as many details as I could remember about a fish I hadn't seen before, I wanted to find out what it was. Using the
Search Engine feature, I entered the various criteria it required, and after a couple attempts I found the fish I had seen - a Glasseye Snapper. The way the Search Engine reports results is by providing a list of
perfect matches, one-mismatch matches, two-mismatch matches, and three or more mismatch matches, based on the matches of the criteria I provided. The Glasseye Snapper showed up under the one-mismatch results area,
but I'm not sure why (I would like to see the software indicate what feature was mismatched to get a sense of how the software categorizes things).
Many of the search criteria helped eliminate the very obvious fish like sharks or sand dwellers, but left the sea wide open, full of grunts and snappers. I would have like to have had more choices for body shapes,
like the ones offered in the Humann book, as well as illustrated choices for the less obvious items like "snout - tubular", or "dorsal - highly elevated". These terms are supposed to be explained
in the Illustrated Glossary section, but I found them hard to find (a click to the correct section would have been nice). In playing with the Search Engine some more, I determined that for the most part, each search
(at least for me) requires a couple attempts to get it right, but the software is fast and it is easy to change criteria.
The Slide Show might prove to be an effective method of identifying that particular elusive fish. You can quickly compile a list of fish (or just include all 500 fish documented) to browse through in a slide show
presentation. The nice feature here is that the pictures (including multiple shots of the same fish at varying ages, for example) and sketches can be full screen with the common and species name at the bottom of the
screen. So, as an example, if you are trying to identify a particular fish which you think is in the parrot fish family, you can perform a slide show of all the parrot fish and figure out the culprit from the slide
show line up. The CD-ROM even offers background music for your personal slide show. Your slide show line up can also be saved for future use.
The Illustrated Glossary worked well and it was quick and easy to page through the entries. I wasn't really interested in the Anatomical Drawings at this point since they focused on the more generic fish types.
The only real disappointment in this software is the Sightings Log. The sightings log is your basic lifetime fish sightings list only. You can easily record your first sighting of each species at varies levels of
development: Terminal, Juvenile, etc. You can print out the Complete List, Sighted List, or Unsighted List but not the in-depth logs for a given species. In other words, your print out provides a checklist but no
details. For this you need to read the details from your computer screen, e.g. the date, time and location of that Whale Shark. I would have a liked a one-dive sightings log for doing fun projects like counting fish
populations (like REEF's fish survey) or trying to spot as many species as possible in one dive (like the century club - identify 100 different fish on a single dive - instituted by Sand Dollar's Jerry Ligon). For
us, the sightings log will probably be the only unused portion of this software.
The software does have basic computer requirements including a 486 or better, Windows 95 or better, 16 MB Ram and at least 8 MB free hard disk space. While its price is a little more than the comparable Humann Fish
ID book, and it's not effective to take out to a dive site (since it requires a computer - a device notable in its incompatibility with salt water), the Reef Series CD-ROM software is something we'd highly recommend
as part of a fish aficionado's fish ID library.
For more information on this software, check out http://www.reefnet.on.ca , and hopefully some dive shops on Bonaire may carry the software soon too.
Sewage Plant Delayed?
The installation of a sewage system for Bonaire is bogged down in the approval cycle. In mid-October last year a pre-feasibility plan
was presented which proposed sewage removal from a critical waterfront area could be done as early as 2002. The "pre-feasibility study" for the project has been presented to the Island Government who
forwarded it to DROB, the Public Works Department. After DROB review it then must return to Island Government which sends it to the Central Government officer in Curaçao in charge of E.U. financing. Reportedly the
E.U. has already approved the project. Until all the Government approvals are complete the necessary outside consultants and planners can't be hired. Bidding still has to be done although the engineering community
in Curaçao is aware of project. Our source says, "The way the paper is moving it will be at least 3 years before the first shovel hits the dirt." (Courtesy of Port Call)
Contest - Things You Never Hear On Bonaire
We frequently receive humor e-mails, and one of our recent favorite is a list of things you'd never hear them
say in the south (the southern U.S.), while some items are a little degrading to those of southern stock, there are others that are quite funny without being offensive.
That made us think about how we could apply the concept (a funny, non-offensive list) to Bonaire, and we decided that we'd like to have a contest to see what our readers could come up with (to help compensate for our
obvious lack of creativity). So, here goes: The Bonaire E-News is sponsoring a contest to come up with a humourous list of things you'd never hear on Bonaire. You may enter as many times as you want, but the
originator of the first entry of a given phrase or item (or a similar variant) takes precedence. Each person whose entry gets published by the E-News in May will win recognition (their name in electronic print) and
a prize (we're not sure what we're giving out yet, but it will be in the vicintiy of cool t-shirts or gift certificates for a movie or meal on Bonaire). If we feel a grand prize is in order for a particular entry,
we'll come up with one. The contest runs through the end of April, 1999, and the winning list will be published in one of the early May 1999 editions of the Bonaire E-News.
Here are a couple of the items we've come up with so far for the "Things You Won't Hear on Bonaire" list:
* Hmmm, looks like it might snow today
* Is there any coral to see in the water?
* The McDonald's is over there
Now it's your turn... Send your entries to mailto:Contest@BonaireENews.com
(NOTE: If any Bonairean-related businesses are interested in sponsoring this contest in exchange for free publicity to nearly 1000 readers weekly, please drop us a note at mailto:ContestSponsorship@BonaireENews.com )
Wine & Cheese Fundraiser - Recap
Last Saturday night's gala fundraiser for the Bonaire Culinary Team was a huge success. There were smiling faces
and sparkling conversation everywhere. In the romantic and enchanting ambiance of Harbour Village's Plaza Mayor guests were treated to vast selections of wines from Bonaire's wine merchants, wonderfully tasty and
attractive appetizers from members of the Bonaire Restaurant Association and cool jazz from Byron Tromp's new jazz group. 250 tickets were sold and the proceeds will help send our team to the "Taste of the
Caribbean" culinary competition this July in Miami. (Courtesy of Port Call
Bonaire Twin Cinema News & Features - March 25 - 31, 1999
Bonaire Twin Cinema is located in the heart of Kralendijk next to the Exito Bakery and
behind the Cultimara Supermarket. Starting Thursday, March 25, Bonaire Twin Cinema will be offering the following film features (NaFl. 10.- for all normal features, special pricing for matinees on weekends):
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I Still Know What You Did Last Summer - New This Week
- Matinees Sat. & Sun. at 2:00pm and 4:15pm
- Nightly at 6:30pm, 8:45pm, and 10:00pm
- Late Shows Fri. & Sat. at 12:15am
In the sequel to the popular "I Know What You Did Last Summer", Jennifer Love Hewitt returns as the attractive but haunted student star, this time accompanying her college roommate, played by Brandy, on a
trip to a posh Bahamian resort won in a radio contest. On the island, the vacation becomes a nightmare and Hewitt's character becomes the victim of a murderous stalker, once again. (Rated R, Thriller, 108 minutes)
For more details, see http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/Movies/I_Still_Know_What_You_Di d_Last_Summer/
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Patch Adams
- Matinees Sat. & Sun. at 4:45pm
- Nightly at 9:45pm
- Late Shows Fri. & Sat. at 12:30am
Robin Williams stars in a movie about the real Dr. Patch Adams, who uses humor to help cure his patients, much to the chagrin of his superiors. Laughs abound in this touching comedy (Rated PG-13, Comedy Drama, 115
minutes). For more details, visit http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/Movies/Patch_Adams/
[The Bonaire E-News rates this movie as a
3.5 out of 4 stars. Robin Williams' comedy shines through, while at the same time tugging at our heart strings with his emotional performance. Great date movie.]
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Mighty Joe Young - Last Week
- Matinees Sat. & Sun. at 2:15pm
- Nightly at 7:15pm
In a remake of a classic giant gorilla movie by the same name, a young woman played by Charlize Theron befriends a rather large gorilla (Mighty Joe Young). They in turn are relocated to California with an evil
poacher on their trail, and the movie chronicles the relationship between woman and ape, and the ape's desire to return home to the jungle. This heartwarming tale is suitable for the whole family. (Rated PG, Action
Adventure, 115 minutes). For more details, visit http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/Movies/Mighty_Joe_Young/
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Kids Club Movie
This Sunday, March 28th, at Noon, the monthly Kids Club Movie will be Prince of Egypt.
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Dinner & A Movie
The Bonaire Twin Cinema also offers a Dinner and a Movie special in conjunction with and DeTuin Eetcafe. Nafl. 35.- gets you dinner, beer or soda,
popcorn, and a ticket to a movie.
The Bonaire Twin Cinema Box Office opens nightly at 6:00pm, and no reservations are required. Tickets are only available at the box office. Questions about the movies? Call Bonaire Twin Cinema at 2400 (Noon to
closing everyday), FAX: 8010, or send an e-mail to mailto:TwinCinema@InfoBonaire.com (please include your phone or FAX number).
Quick Takes
- Air ALM Woes. This past weekend, Air ALM temporarily lost use of two of its three large MD-80 aircraft. One of the planes had
mechanical difficulties and was grounded, while Port Call reports that a toilet truck in Trinidad and Tobago crashed into the Air ALM MD-80 aircraft there. The resulting loss of the aircraft wreaked havoc with Air
ALM's flights throughout the entire weekend, stranding Atlanta bound passengers on Bonaire (many of whom also experienced serious problems getting to Bonaire the previous Saturday), and significantly delaying
traffic to and from Miami and St. Maarten. Visitors looking at alternatives to using Air ALM to get to Bonaire have been using the American Airlines flights to Curaçao, and additional airlines to Aruba, with a
connection to Bonaire on the smaller, more reliable Dash-8 Air ALM planes or similar Air Aruba flights. Air ALM can be found at http://www.airalm.com and American Airlines at http://www.aa.com .
- Crime Petition Results. Bruce Bowker reports that as a result of the crime petition given out at the "Town Meeting on Crime" and the on-line petition provided by the Bonaire E-News, close to 700
signatures were collected, the vast majority from Bonaire. The petition is addressed to the Minister of Justice in Curaçao and asks that the Central Government allow Bonaire to initiate community policing.
Collecting that many signatures in just 10 working days proves that fighting crime on the island is a very hot topic. (Courtesy of Port Call)
- Venezuelan Trips from Bonaire. One of our E-News readers recently wrote to tell us that they have discovered a tour company that would provide short-term (three day, for example) and long-term transport,
lodging, and tours in Caracas, all in English. Our readers had a great time, and found the tour company to be quite professional and reasonably priced. The company is Trotamundos International, and they have a Web
site at http://www.trotamundos.com .
- Missing Kitty. DeTuin Eetcafe, located across the street from Exito and the Bonaire Art Gallery, recently adopted a small calico kitten as their "guard cat". Named Piggelmee, the kitten was a
delight to observe and play with, but last Saturday, March 20th, Piggelmee apparently wandered off and disappeared. Anyone with any information as to the location of Piggelmee should contact Helmi at 2999 or mailto:detuin@infobonaire.com . A photo of the missing feline can be found at http://www.BonaireENews.com/piggelmee.jpg .
- Underwater Clean-Up. The next Monthly Underwater Clean-Up dive is scheduled for Saturday, April 3rd. Meeting time is 10AM at Green Submarine Dive Center located at Kaya Playa Lechi 24, and will be followed
by a potluck BBQ. Free tanks will be provided for participating divers. Call Eric at 2929 or mailto:dive@greensubmarine.com , or Jake at 6773, mailto:jake@nettechnv.com to RSVP.
- Pet Sterilization. The Chairman of the Board of the Bonaire Animal Shelter, Barbara van Olphen reports that the new program for the reduced price sterilization of dogs and cats (NAFl. 25 for people with a
limited income) is being used, but even more people have to be made aware of this offer. If you know anyone who needs to have their dog sterilized but just can't afford it, have them call the Shelter at 4989.
Perhaps they can help them out. The Shelter is located on the Lagoen Road and is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Courtesy of Port Call)
- Books for Organizations. NetTech N.V., which provide Web site hosting and design on Bonaire, also sells computer and Internet books on a request basis (i.e. it doesn't stock any books for sale). Taking
advantage of its on-going relationship with book distributors in the U.S., NetTech would like to offer Bonaire's non-profit organizations the ability to order U.S.-published books for their efforts on Bonaire, at
reduced prices - usually 20-30% below U.S. retail price. This low rate would already include all shipping costs. This offer, in addition to Internet and computer related books, applies to any educational materials,
as well as works of fiction and non-fiction. Any non-profit organization that requires such books should contact Jake at 6773 or mailto:jake@nettech.an , providing a title, author, and ISBN number if available. Prepayment would be required, and it typically takes 3 weeks for the books to get to Bonaire from time of order.
Web Site of the Week
Each week, we'll list the addresses of new Bonaire Web sites that we come across.
Our Web site of the week is:
Caribbean Court - http://www.CaribbeanCourt.com
If you have a new Bonaire-related Web site and want to make sure people know about it, send a message to mailto:news@BonaireENews.com with the details.
Classifieds
Lots of things for sale, and some things being sought. Please note that we do not warrant the accuracy or validity of the
products/services/etc. being presented here - in other words, Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware). Note: Advertising real estate for sale or rent in our Classifieds is fee based. Contact us at mailto:classifieds@BonaireENews.com for details.
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Seeking Something:
COMPUTER
Villa Candidus (Maria Hoppner Foundation) is looking for someone to donate a computer for administration and for the older children's school work. If you can help, contact L. Michael Gayner at phone/FAX
4781 or mailto:gmichael@bonairelive.net .
ROOMMATE Looking for female roommate to share oceanfront condo. Fully furnished with all amenities. Private bedroom and bath. NAFl. 800, includes utilities. Call/fax: 7071 or mailto:islandfashions@bonairenet.com
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Real Estate:
CONDO/APARTMENT COMPLEX FOR SALE
Visit http://www.infobonaire.com/html/classifieds.html#apartments for details
RENTAL - BEACH FRONT
Attractive 2-bedroom beach house for rent on a weekly or monthly basis. Fully furnished. Aircos in bedrooms. Ceiling fans in bedrooms and living room & dining room. Solar hot water heater.
Wash machine. Beautiful garden. Very secure location with gated entrance. Convenient location, near restaurants, marina, resorts, tennis & spa. Attractive rates to responsible parties. Contact for brochure,
photos and availability. Phone: 570-586-0098; Fax: 570-586-4013; e-mail: larryt49@alumni.princeton.edu
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For Sale/Rent:
COMPUTER SOFTWARE
Paint Shop Pro 5.0 for Windows 95/98 - Professional paint and graphics software for preparing images for brochures, Web site, at affordable price of US$90. Eudora Pro 4.0 for Windows 95/98 -
Professional E-mail software for people who live by e-mail - US$45. Contact Jake @ NetTech, at 6773 or mailto:jake@nettech.an
INBOARD MOTOR
30 HP Inboard Universal Altas Motor. Less than 100 hours since overhaul. Gasoline with 50 liter tank. Contact Mike Solbach at 6862
COLOR PRINTER
Used Canon BJC-610 Color Bubblejet printer - Prints full color, comes with drivers, printer cable, and multiple extra sets of print cartridges - great condition. NAFl. 300 takes it all. Contact Jake
at mailto:jake@nettech.an .
KITCHEN STOVE/OVEN
Gas. Works well. NAFl. 200,- or best offer. Call Carol or Mike at 6862 or mailto:waves@bonairelive.com
MULTIFUNCTION FAX/PRINTER/SCANNER/COPIER
Xerox Office Center Machine. Features plain paper FAX, computer printer & scanner, photo copying. Never used. Asking NAFl. 1500. Call Cristie at 4435
PELLET AIRGUN
Beeman Kodiak .25 - British made, wood finish. Comes with Bushnell 6-18x40 telescope, maintenance kit, cleaning kit, 1400+ pellets, plastic case. Brand new. Value is NAFl. 2450,-, selling for NAFl.
2200,- Call 09-5607426 or 09-5607945.
FURNITURE
One (baby) bed (white) NAfl. 150,-
One (baby) dressing table with storage room for clothes NAfl. 200,-
One small refrigerator with missing freezer door. NAfl. 150,-
For more info: call: 6949 (Rita) during business hours or mailto:ritapcf@hotmail.com
BOOKS
Sea Change, personally autographed by author Dr. Sylvia Earle, NAFl. 25,- or US$14. Profits go to benefit the Bonaire Marine Park. Call Jake at 6773, mailto:jake@nettech.an .
COMPUTER HARDWARE
Used 2GB External SCSI Hard Disk - 3 years old - Nafl. 500 or best offer
Used (5 months) 32MB DIMM - Nafl. 75
Call 6773 or mailto:jake@nettech.an
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Want to Buy:
FURNITURE
Futon Couch or other comfortable couch/sofa. Also a bookcase.
Contact Carol at 7368 or mailto:sunfishworlds@bonairelive.com
UNDERWATER CAMERA
Second hand or new. Preferable Sea and Sea, but other marks are also welcome. Will be on Bonaire mid-May for several weeks.
Contact Ed at mailto:eeboshuizen@amoco.com
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