Bonaire Food Question

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Bossk

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Ontario, Canada
To anyone who has staying in a villa or anything non-inclusive in Bonaire, how was the grocery shopping there, price wise as well as eating out? Seriously considering going to Bonaire now, just need to fill in a couple more details for my group.

Thanks guys
 
Grocery Stores:
Cultimara in downtown Kralendijk is the place to go. It's more European that US/Canadian, so if you have no experience outside the US, be prepared for a fairly high weirdness factor - but this is supposed to be something of an adventure, isn't it? Prices are higher than you're probably used to, since just about everything has to be imported, but not crazy. Almost everything you can buy in the US/Canada is there, just different. There is seafood (fresh, good, varied) and beef (South American, close runner up to American quality and way better than you can find in Europe) and chicken, along with lots of sausages and cheeses. Don't eat the donkeys or flamingos. Portions are packed smaller than the US - the locals just don't eat a quarter pound of meat at every meal. Fruits and vegetables are plentiful. The island water is all manufactured, so you won't have any gastro-prblems with it. When you get into the prepared foods, a working knowledge of Dutch will be helpful in reading labels - that's where most of it comes from. Critical food items for fussy eaters? Consider bringing them along. You can get Vegemite for instance, but peanut butter is almost unheard of.

Restaurants:
There's a bunch of good to very good restaurants, nothing great. Most of the hotels have restaurants that are adequate, but not much above that. Richard's, Mona Lisa, Capriccio's and Fishes are my favorites of the non-resort "upscaleish" operations, all in the Kralendijk vicinity. Have a beer (or 10) at Karol's on the quay in downtown Kralendijk and something casual at Zee Zicht across the street. Find out if you like Dutch standards like kroketten and fricandellen. There's a nice little ice cream store a few doors south, too! If you must, KFC is even available. Plenty of everything in every price range except 5-star.

I'd say you may be over-thinking this. Nobody goes to Bonaire because of the food and nobody refuses to back because of the food, either. The island sees thousands of NorteAmericanos every year and they've pretty much learned to give us the coddling we seem to want. Relax, enjoy the laid back casual and if you ask, the local can clue you in on some of the spots that don't cater to tourists. That's where the fun can really start.

Bon voyage!

Steven
 
Thanks, well I'm all prepared to just go with my dive gear and dive and let the rest sort itself out, but I've got some concerned memebers who are a little more used to being pampered I guess :) So I'm getting what info I can, Bonaire looks like a blast to dive, and this is my #1 reason for wanting to go, the others are divers as well, they'll forget all their cares once they get there :)

Thanks once again for the info though. Just what I wanted.
 
My plan is to bring my speargun, get up early, and get as many donkeys as I can before the other divers wake up and scare them away. I figure with my gun and a bag of Kingsford I can eat as many donkeys as I want and not spend a penny.

Anyone know what the limits are? Do I need tags?
 
O-ring once bubbled...
My plan is to bring my speargun, get up early, and get as many donkeys as I can before the other divers wake up and scare them away. I figure with my gun and a bag of Kingsford I can eat as many donkeys as I want and not spend a penny.

Anyone know what the limits are? Do I need tags?
Goats. It's the goats you want, not the donkeys. Donkeys tend to be too tough.
E. itajara
 
Donkeys tend to be too tough.
Meaning they will trample me and take away my spear?
 
O-ring once bubbled...
Meaning they will trample me and take away my spear?
Among other things. Too hard to skin & butcher, too big to carry, too hard to chew - and the smell... goats. Goats are the ticket. Cabrito.
E. itajara
 
Donkeys usually don't hang around in packs, trampling could be a problem with the goats...... ;)

Watch out for those Billy Goats!
 
ok not over food -- but in the Hello from Bonaire the Scubaboard gang posted some of our pics on the trip we made back in September.
 
There are several grocery stores on Bonaire now, but the Cultimara is the only one I can remember the name of. Seems like another one was called the Wharehouse. We have never had any trouble finding almost any food we want. We find the prices some higher than here in NC but not excessively so, both in the store and in the restuarants. There are a lot of good restaurants on the island, from fairly upscale to some really good local ones. If you have not done so, go over to the Bonaire board and ask over there. www.bonairetalk.com


Eric, no need to go goat hunting, several of the local snacks serve some good goat stew...

Reefrat, you must of missed the peanut butter isle, that's our staple lunch, PBJ's, when on Boniare. We have never had any trouble finding PB.....well I guess that what it was, it had a peanut on the label and tasted like it so we assume it was PB...hehehe
 

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