The Great Bonaire Car Hunt

A friend of mine is looking to get his mother a small used car with an automatic transmission.  They are very difficult to find here on Bonaire.  Even harder to find are small second hand SUV/Crossover vehicles with an automatic transmission.

At one dealer, probably the largest on the island, we learned that about 85% of the vehicles they sell are 4 door pickups and SUVs.  A few years ago, over 85% of these had manual transmissions.  Today, over 85% of them have automatic transmissions.  One only has to "drive" through the gridlock downtown whenever cruise ships are in town to get a handle on what caused this big reversal.

So most second hand vehicles these days have manual transmissions, but that will change in a few years, I think.  My friend needs a vehicle now, so he's begun looking at (gasp) new cars and mini SUVs.

Here is what we found:

A Chevy Spark (also known as a Daewoo Matiz) was the least expensive new car we saw, coming in at $14,700 with an automatic transmission.

A Hyundai Accent came in about $16K+ for the base model, ranging up to $20K+ for fancier versions.  The Elantra might have been in the $24K range.

The least expensive SUV was the (3rd generation) Suzuki Jimny for $22,000 with auto transmission.  That is about twice what we paid for our 1991 Suzuki Samurai, which is still our daily driver, 'tho it is getting kind of ragged.

A Daihatsu Terios, with automatic trans, was in the $24K range and a Hyundai Tucson was in the $29Ks.  The Toyota Rav4 might have been in the $34Ks, but we didn't look too closely at anything over $30K.

We saw two Toyota Prius models, a normal one and the sort of station wagon-y one.  They were both in the $31Ks.  I'm not sure what the trim level is on these cars compared to the USA models: 2,3,4,and 5.
Wikipedia says that the plural of Prius is Prii.  I had been wondering about that.  Really.
By the way, in the States, this car is know as a Pree-us.  On the Top Gear TV show from the UK, they call it a Pry-us.  I didn't think to ask the salesman what they call it here on Bonaire.  He and my friend had switched from Papiamentu to Dutch by that point in the conversation, leaving me in the proverbial dust.

So what did my friend buy?  Nothing yet.  As I left him, he was mumbling something about looking for small second hand SUVs with automatic transmissions, in Curacao!

Long Lived Birds

Here is an interesting story about the world's oldest Flamingo.

Speaking of birds with long lives, this past Saturday was the annual Lora (parrot) count here on Bonaire. The Boanire Insider reports they saw about the same number of birds as last year.

I saw some parrot counting teams coming back to the Washington Park entrance as I was riding in at the start of my weekly bike ride.  I was envious of them being in the park before dawn 'cause last Saturday had super clear skies.  I was outside around 05:45 and saw Vega in the north, brillilant Venus in the East, the whole of Scorpius in the SE, and Alpha and Beta Centaurus blazing the path to the Southern Cross in the South.  The view was truly awesome and memorable.  (by the way, you can pretty easily spot Mercury in the West a little after sunset these days)

I took loads of pictures in the park during my morning bike ride, and then drove out to Washikimba in the late afternoon to take some more.  They might make it to the blog some day....  the afternoon shots aren't even off of my camera memory cards yet.  Maybe we need some more rainy weather to keep me indoors working on photos.  What happens all to often, is that after sitting in front of a computer all day at work, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a monitor at home.  Been reading the "new" Nero Wolfe books by Robert Goldsborough, this week.

I know...  I should be able to process a bunch of photos during the Super Bowl this Sunday, in between watching the new commercials.  heh-heh  I already saw a really cute new Puppy/Clydesdale one online.

TWR MKs Visit Bonaire

Some former TWR Bonaire Missionary Kids stopped by the office the other week, and got a chance to meet Lauren Libby, the President of TWR.

From left to right, we see Lauren Libby, Pam (Hogan) Daniels, John McDonald, and Doug Daniels.  Pam and Doug were here on a cruise ship, while John is here on an extended scuba diving vacation.

TWR VIPs Visit Bonaire

We recently had some distinguished visitors here at TWR Bonaire.  The president of TWR International, Lauren Libby, and the TWR director for the Americas region, Tim Klingbeil, were here from the North American office.  They were joined by the Eps and the Rempels, from our TWR partner organization in Brazil.  Klaus Rempel also serves on the TWR international board of directors.
Here we see Bonaire station director, Joe Barker, explaining the automation room to the Eps (foreground) and the Rempels (background.)


In this shot, Bonaire missionary, Dave Pedersen (on the left) talks with the Rempels, while in the background, Sandra Swanson and Laura Neal share a light moment with Tim Klingbeil.










I've made a zillion versions of this picture, trying to balance the sun and the people.  But different monitors will probably display it differently anyway.  This sunset was pretty dramatic and there was almost a green flash.  heh-heh

New TWR Sign at TX Site

One of the things the student group from Waynesburg did the week they were here was to paint the new TWR logo on the entrance to the transmitter site.  I like it a lot, and I think it will be a popular photo-op spot for visitors to TWR.

More cruise ships

There were two ships in port at least three days last week.  Here is a shot on Friday from Te Amo beach.

My latest thing is looking for images that can survive being printed big.  I think this one has potential.

Cruise Ship Season

There were two cruise ships in port yesterday, and two more today.  Here is the view today, from near the end of the airport runway (south end of donkey beach.)

Waynesburg University Returns

A group of student volunteers from the communications department at Waynesburg University were just here on Bonaire for a week, for the second year in a row.  They enthusiastically assisted us with a whole bunch of projects in and around TWR.  Some activities were related to their studies, while others, like cleaning and painting, just provided help where we needed it most.


They took a bunch of creative group photos at picturesque sites all around the island.  Here is a shot of
 the group at the TWR offices.

They also shot a nice group portrait of our TWR staff.

Family Fun

Our son, Richard, and our daughter in law, Nancy, visited us a week ago.  We had a great time hanging out with them, as well as touring the island.

While at Sorobon, we saw an octopus in shallow water by the fishing boat dock.
















We also did some astronomy, snorkeling, "saté ku batata" eating, and took the surprisingly bumpy road out to Cai.  It was really pleasant out at Cai, compared to the summertime, when the heat can be oppressive.

 

Video Visit

Tyler Gates was here on Bonaire last week for a week of filming.  Although based at the TWR office in Cary, NC, Tyler is shooting video footage for TWR all over the world.  More importantly, he brought us two boxes of Candy Cane Joe Joes.  :)

Here we see Tyler in action, interviewing TWR Bonaire Director, Joe Barker.

Wild Weather

The weather here on Bonaire was pretty crazy last week.  Not cold and crazy, like N. America, but wet and crazy.  Our friend, Donna, measured three inches of rain last Thursday.  The rain wasn't steady but came in cloud bursts as various fronts came through.

The winds gusted very strongly during the rain squalls, even for Bonaire.  Donna's Flamingo sculpture blew over, and this giant sign, which has been there for ever at Den Laman, blew over too.

Christmas Eve - Eve Breakfast

We, at TWR, had a Christmas time breakfast at Eddy's Restaurant, just down the road from the office.  I had a nice early morning bike ride to work up an appetite.  (it is dark at 6am these days.  I could see Jupiter and Sirius all the way to Karpata)  Eddy and Sonia used to have a catering service back in the day, but have been operating this restaurant at Sand Dollar for a number of years now.  Their food is a yummy as ever.










I've noticed quite a few big holiday events taking place at Eddy's this year.  It is a great place for a party. 
Check out the real live Poinsettias! 












Brandon did the master of ceremonies thing and thanked us all for our hard work this year, and said that we'd have to work even harder in 2014 because of the 50th anniversary, TWR Partners conference and other events and projects.  But we didn't mind 'cause he was feeding us!










Besides all the usual breakfast buffet items like Sonia's made to order omelets, we were treated to some European and Latin American Christmas specialties.  They were VERY tasty indeed.

On the other hand, while we were all standing in line to get a custom crafted omelet, Brandon made a beeline for the APPLE JACKS!!

New Bonaire Bird Book

A little over a week ago, a new bird guide book was released by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance and STINAPA Bonaire.  Besides telling about the birds of Bonaire, it provides some information on the best places to observe them.  Sounds good to me.
The introduction was held at Addo's Books downtown.  By the way, there is now an Addo's Toys just around the corner from the book store.





The book was introduced by Elsmarie Beukenboom, who later graciously signed copies for us.  Hmm, I wonder what a first edition, autographed at the introduction event, will be worth on eBay...  Oops, it's not "mint" any more, I was looking at the birds.












But wait, there's more!  Jerry Ligon gave an illustrated talk about Bonaire Birds, and signed books too.  Congratulations and a hearty thank you to everyone who made this event and this book possible.

Christmas Greeting from Radio Trans Mundial

Has the Christmas rush got you in a tizzy.  Wait until you see our TWR - USA Hispanic ministries department in action in this cute Christmas Greeting and video clip.

TWR Africa Salutes Nelson Mandela

You can read what TWR's International Director for Africa, Dr. Emmanuel Mbennah, had to say from our Africa Regional Office, located outside Johannesburg.

Ministry Report from the Field

I write from time to time about the enthusiastic listeners to TWR Bonaire that live on a certain large island to the north of us.  Our TWR representative there recently made a trip to some remote areas on the eastern edge of the country.  Here are some excerpts from his report.

"Just last week, we travelled to meet listeners and have a preaching workshop at xxxxxx, the eastern municipality of our country.  People live across the mountains in humble and very small wooden houses. It is a very isolated and deserted area, almost entirely without running water. Houses do not have bathrooms or anything like that. Roads don’t exist in some areas.  But thousands of people live there!  The good news is there are churches everywhere and almost every person has been a TWR listener for many years. Many of them became Christians just by listening to radio programs. They also have electricity service and have radios (TV and DVD players, as well. How it is possible?).

In some places there are modest but good church buildings, but the majority of churches meet in homes, led by new pastors, many of them without seminary training. You can see a church or a home isolated on the mountain, but at night, it is exciting to see how the people get down from their places with flashlights and you can see a crowded temple or home church every night everywhere. It is really marvelous!!

Thinking about the way that people live, it is exciting to know that even though they have almost nothing, the Gospel has reached them giving salvation and hope. They were very excited because of our visit. “Nobody visits us ever”, they said constantly. “It is unbelievable to have people from TWR visiting us!” They came to see me and touch me. They were proud telling me: “I am a TWR listener, do you imagine what it means to listen the word of God every night in that mountains?” Although they have radios, TVs and DVDs players, they are really forgotten and abandoned people with a lot of need.

How many people live on the mountains?  It is impossible for me to say. But I thank God for being a part of a ministry which is touching and reaching people for Christ everywhere."

United Airlines Update

Susan, at the Bonaire Insider, has dug up some information on the upcoming United Airlines schedule changes for their flights to Bonaire from Houston and Newark.
On one hand, these last minute changes have wreaked havoc with some of my friends travel plans.  On the other hand, United has added some more flights during the peak season, which can only be a good thing for those of us here on Bonaire, and those of you who want to be here on Bonaire.

Here is a link to the Bonaire Insider article.  It includes a handy dandy PDF chart showing what flights are flying on what dates.

For example:  from Newark, it looks like there are both Saturday and Sunday flights (at the new daytime time slot) every week from January through March.   It looks like there is also a Monday flight on Jan. 6.  And there are also Friday flights during the whole month of March.

USA Sunday Mail Deliveries are BACK!

Whoo whoo, our son, Richard, just mentioned that he received some stuff from Amazon from the USPS on Sunday this past weekend.
Here is an article telling about Amazon's deal with the US Postal Service.  Ordering Kindle books provided instant gratification.  Now the pesky weekends no longer get in the way of almost instant gratification for other stuff too.  At least if you live near New York City.

New United Airlines Flight Schedule to Bonaire

My brother just got tickets to visit us in March.  I was amazed when I saw that his flight from Newark, left at like 9am, and not 11:55pm.  I went online and found out that the March flights from Houston are daytime flights too.  Looks like the redeye specials are a thing of the past.

Our son, who is coming here in January, just got an email from United saying his flights have just been changed to the new schedule too.  So my guess is that the new United changes are happening pretty much at the start of the new year.

So if you are heading here or planning to head here, be sure to keep the new schedule in mind when looking for connecting flights to Newark or Houston.

International Bible Church happenings

We had a clean up day at the church recently.  Lots of people turned up, had a great time, and got a lot of sprucing up accomplished.












The IBCB added three new Elders to go with the two who were already serving.  Here is a view of their installation, thanks to Rick Veldman, who remembered to bring a camera that week.  Pastor Doug is on the left.









We recently had a service of appreciation for Pastor Baran and Felicia, recognizing and thanking them for their years of service with the IBCB.  I don't have any pictures at the moment, but the audio from the service is available on the church Web site.  The audio clip begins with the installation of the elders and then continues with the tribute to the Barans.
Pastor Baran and Felecia continue to have an active counseling ministry at their home in Nikiboko, and Pastor Toto is still the voice of the church radio program, heard on BON FM (102.7) on Sunday afternoons at 4:30.  Some of the radio programs can be heard on the church Web site as well.

We had a men's breakfast this morning.  Dave Pedersen cooked up a hearty breakfast, and Pastor Doug shared a tongue in cheek lesson on the Top 10 Ways Fathers can Exasperate their Kids.