THB and LB are up early (body clock time, it is very early) and LB "calls" for the car, on her phone, not on the house phone. Did that save time? Was it a call? A text? Bill for the Doubletree room: $198. Final bill: $246, without any food (lots of fees, taxes, and $12 for the valet text). Location proximity to SunTrust Ballpark: priceless.
Traveling to the airport is half the time of Saturday afternoon, maybe because it is still way too early Atlanta body clock time for Atlantans). Turn in the car($35) and then take the shuttle (not the train) to the "International" Terminal. HAH! The shuttle has to go entirely (okay 94%) of the way around the airport because there is a one-way loop road and clearly the "International" Terminal is just around the wrong corner. To top it off, the "International" Terminal is connected to the train system that runs under all the connected terminals, so THB and LB could've take the tram to the train and made it in less time to gate E5.
Breakfast smoothies (and the remains of an Arizmendi roll): $12
Pics along the way: this might be Haiti
Bonaire Pics:
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| THB thinks those are salt flats |
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| The plane turns around and returns to Atlanta; we'll be on this same schedule next Sunday |
Four hour flight to Bonaire, which is on the same time zone as Atlanta. Our rental car company drives us to the Coral Paradise Hotel, where our truck for the week is awaiting us. We're met by hotel owners Caroline and Vincent, French Canadiens. They are exceedingly friendly, maybe because they are not on the wrong time zone.
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| THB is in 7, LB is in 8, and we have an adjoining balcony overlooking the pool |
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| An extra bed makes the perfect "ledge" that makes a room special, per THB |
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| After snorkeling, LB spent another hour in the pool |
Short briefing, we've got connecting rooms upstairs. First thing we notice: it's hot here! Second thing we notice: we're hungry, having both skipped the early morning lunch on the flight.
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| It's brand new, you have to take "the insurance" the way we've handled the rental through the hotel; $350 for one week |
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| Mini |
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| THB gets yellow and brown rice |
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| LB gets white rice |
We sign on for the truck, then head for Surinamese for" lunner" (lunch + dinner, as it turns out). LB has veggie plate, mostly potatoes and rice, and THB goes for chicken with noodles (shared with LB), rice done two ways, small veggies and salad, two Polar mini-brewskies (Venezualan), $31.
Short stop at local convenience store for the essentials: mini-carrots, cheese sticks, milk, yogurt, snacks, four San Miguels, $25.
The Coral Paradise is full service: free mask and flippers for LB, free flippers for THB. The last time THB was here, you used the old-fashion flippers. Now you wear boots (which THB conveniently had brought in case we decide to kayak) which fit nicely in the open ended style of flippers in use now.
The Coral Paradise lives up to its name: after 5pm, THB and LB go snorkeling right in front of the hotel (well, there's a row of houses between the hotel and the beach), and the fish are excellent. LB spots an eel swimming around and then another we both see. Lots of other great fish, some in large schools.
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| Bonaire is a desert, there won't be much natural flora and fauna |
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| THB manages to catch a bird (we can hear some, don't see many) |
Dinner...we already ate lunner, so we skip dinner. THB has dessert only, a cookie from the plane put in the freezer for a few hours
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