It has been almost a year since I flew back to the Netherlands after living on Bonaire for three months and in those three months I have experienced so much that it is difficult to summarize it all in a short story. In addition to my volunteer work, I also found a paid job at Coco beach bar. I must say that it was not always easy with Coco. They were long and intensive working days, but after every working day we had a drink with the whole team and during those moments I made nice contacts with my colleagues, even made short-lived friendships. So you have to ask yourself whether you also want a paid job during your Bonaire Break. It’s of course nice to earn some money, but you also miss out on quite a lot if the rest of the group goes to do something fun and you have to go to work. Because I had consciously chosen to stay longer, the work was important to me. I really needed that extra money because Bonaire is not cheap.
Now for something different; every Sunday we had a trip to the island with the group from Bonaire Break. That was always very pleasant and sometimes even educational, such as when we took a bus tour of the island. We drove through Kralendijk (the main village of Bonaire), along Goto Lake (where you can see a lot of flamingos), through Rincon (the oldest village on the island) and of course past the small old huts where slaves used to live together under harsh conditions and worked for salt extraction. This salt extraction is still carried out to this day and you can see this in the beautiful white hills on the west coast of Bonaire. It is too much to mention all the excursions and activities we had. In any case, it was a very nice combination to get to know the island, but also to have a lot of fun together.
I often made that bus tour myself on my scooter and often made a pit stop to take a dip in the wonderfully cooling water of the sea, or I stopped to enjoy the view. The best place to visit for the latter is without a doubt Seru Largu, which means ‘big hill’ in Papiamento. It is therefore the highest (freely accessible) mountain on the island. If you stand there on a clear morning you can even see the coast of Venezuela. On less clear mornings the view is still beautiful! From that top it’s like looking at a diorama.
After such a trip with the scooter I always returned to the resort, which was always buzzing. Everyone was always up for a game or going out together. Then we went to Sorobon, for example, where you can relax on a beach bed with a Brightje and if you want you can also go windsurfing there. Sometimes I went somewhere alone and often met someone I knew, which was very nice!
Well, besides the fact that there was work to be done and many trips were made with the group, the main goal of the Break was of course to make a plan for my future. Before that, I had one or two appointments every week with Mirjam, my study coach. She helped me get to know myself better and ultimately we made a study choice together based on personality tests and interesting conversations. It became the school for journalism and I am now working on that study.
To conclude, I would like to say something. Although it has already been a year since I was on Bonaire, my stay there had such a big impact that I will remember it for the rest of my life. Every now and then I meet up with other Breakers from my group, people who have become dear to me in the short time we were there. That’s the great thing about such a Break; you are thrown into the deep end together and you return to the Netherlands with a huge bag of experiences and even some new friends.
Would you like to discover the beauty of Bonaire like Vincent during a super fun trip with peers? Check out our Bonaire break for more information!
