30th July

30th July Bonaire Partly cloudy Temp 29c
We were safely alongside at 7am and we were docked on our side which is always nice. Today we had a tour booked which did not leave until 12 Noon which would mean either an early lunch or no lunch. We elected to have the later but to have a big breakfast. We had bacon & eggs instead of our usual cereal and fruit.
About 10am we went ashore for a walk in the town which is about 100 meters from the ship. The town is not much more than one or two streets as far as shops are concerned. We did however find a nice coffee shop which had fast WiFi and I was able to update some of the Apps on my iPad. We now have another Frig magnet to add to our collection. We originally thought we would just put the magnets on the Frig in the garage but they have now taken over and I am going to have to think of a more suitable display.
Our tour met on the dockside as often the afternoon tours do. They were using Toyota Coasters today so there was only about 18 on our bus. Our guide was born in Iraq, she came to Bonaire on a holiday  and stayed. She spoke very good English with an American accent and was very good. After a short tour of the town we headed to the North end of the island along the coast. This island is famous for diving and you can see why, the sea is so blue and clear. There is a reef of course. We passed quite a few groups who were obviously diving. At the end of the island is Goto Lake where if you are lucky you can see flamingos. We were lucky and saw about 4 quite close. In the same area is the oil facility. Oil is shipped in, blended and shipped out again. Because near Bonaire the sea is very deep they can get big tankers in. From here we turned inland to Rincon the oldest village in the Caribbean, it was first settled by the Spanish. Most of the countryside on this tour reminded me of the country between Adelaide and Port Wakefield it is very dry with lots of cactus growing. In fact they make Whiskey out of the Cactus juice. We did not try any but those that did said it was like fire water. Along the way we stopped at a house which years ago belonged to the King but now after falling into disrepair is being resorted by the locals. We returned to the ship with a half an hour to spare before the ship sailed for the Panama Canal.
Coral has spent the day in her cabin today as she has the dreaded Dawn Princess bad throat. She has been getting room service for her meals. We hope she improves by tomorrow. At least we have effectively 3 sea days now as we go through the Panama Canal etc.
Tonight we were entertained in the Princess Theatre by Jade Milian & Sam. Jade sings like Whitney Huston and Sam who is her husband backs her on piano. The DP orchestra also played. She sang one of my favourite songs "One moment in Time" Apart from being a little too loud we all enjoyed the show. Jan particularly as Whitney is a particular favourite. Bev & Ian have not been to dinner for the last 3night because the menu was not suitable, how ever they came tonight.