Southern Caribbean Cruising — ABC Islands; Bonaire, Back in Kralendijk

I‘m glad we were let off south of the cruise port, as it afforded us some sightseeing we’d missed during our earlier morning foot tour. That building above may appear rather pedestrian until you notice the cannon to the left. It is the south view of Fort Oranje (Fort Orange), which was built by the Dutch West India Company in 1639. Although I’m pretty sure the air conditioning came a bit later, as did the fresnal lens perched atop the structure to the left. Speaking of which:

That structure is a stone lighthouse. In 1932 it replaced the previous wooden lighthouse that served the area beginning in 1868.The four cannon you see are English, and they were made between 1808 and 1812. But there’s something even more impressive right around that corner you see above:

The Bestuurskantoor (government office) on Fort Oranje was built in 1837. It historically was home to the Dutch island’s governor. After it was restored in 1972 it became the offices of the central government of Bonaire.

Time now for some water imagery of Bonaire, which I will present as a photo gallery/slide show. Just click on any of the images below to enlarge and start the slide show:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)