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BONAIRE

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Bonaire is located 12.5N, 68.2W or 50 miles north of Venezuela, 30 miles east of Curacao, 86 miles east of Aruba, or 1720 miles from New York. It is 112 square miles in size and has a population of 11,500. It is in the Atlantic time zone which is UTC -4.
The capital city is Kralendijk. The average temperature is 82F with an average rainfall of 22". The local water temperature is 80F.

Bonaire was discovered in 1499 by Amerigo Vespucci. Native Indian drawings can be seen today that date back to centuries prior to the discovery by Vespucci. The Spaniards colonized Bonaire in 1527 and stayed for approximately 100 years. The Dutch occupied Curacao during their war against Spain in 1634 and subsequently took control of the neigboring island of Bonaire. Bonaire became a Dutch colony in 1636. In the early part of this century, Bonaireans began to migrate to Curacao and Aruba to work in the oil industry.
Modern day Bonaire is heavily focused on tourism as the leading national industry.

Bonaire is a part of the lesser Antilles and is a desert island. As there are only 22 inches of rain per year and no rivers to cloud visibility, water clarity is superb. Bonaire has two major sources of income, salt mining and dive tourism. Due to its importance to the local economy the whole island is under marine park protection. Klein Bonaire, a small (608 ha), flat, rocky and uninhabited islet one km off Bonaire's shores, is frequented by snorkellers and divers. It has sandy beaches but no natural shade and only a few shelters used by tour boats.

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