It took far too long, but finally here's a blog from us again. Unfortunately not a happy topic, but a part of our journey nonetheless.

And then there was the Corona virus
In December 2019, a cluster of symptoms of "pneumonia of unknown origin" was observed in the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan. The virus was first identified in January 2019 and in the months that followed millions of people worldwide became infected, of whom more than 1 million patients died from the effects of the virus. Since March 11, 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak has been recognized as a pandemic by the WHO (World Health Organization). Social life in a significant part of the world largely came to a halt.
 
Worldwide
The world is turned upside down and no one really knows what to do. Each country makes its own decisions and security measures. In addition, the population reacts completely differently per country to the consequences of this pandemic and the measures imposed. Parts of the world's population are overflowing with empathy, while suspicion is growing among the other half of the population. Distrust in humanity is increasing drastically, hate and love have never lived so close to each other. Internet is inundated with heartbreaking videos of hospitals that are overcrowded and where medical staff have to make choices about who can or cannot be treated. My respect for all healthcare personnel is growing day by day. Personal stories from people affected by the virus and what it has done to their lives. Proponents and opponents who fight each other, victims with sad stories and conspiracy theories. The world seems to have gone mad and we look at it with sorrow.

Then there are the many companies and individuals who fully exploit this whole event to make themselves a lot richer. The masking industry is growing and flourishing, so to speak. Products that should be free and accessible to everyone are now being sold for bizarre amounts. The economy has taken a massive blow, companies are going bankrupt because of the Lockdowns. But social life has also changed completely. Kissing, cuddling or embracing is no longer allowed and possible. No parties or gatherings, you have to stay at home. Loneliness strikes, there is nowhere to go. Contact mainly takes place via social media. Zoom and WhatsApp are working overtime. Companies close and employees work at home, schools are closed and students are taught via video calls. Boredom sets in, because how do you spend your time now? Children drive their parents crazy. Yet this time brings also a lot of creativity, and all kinds of You tube and TikTok videos are made out of sheer boredom. The number of vloggers has increased enormously because people are shackled at home. The necessary puzzles are spread over the net and Photoshop has become very creative.

There is also a real tidying up rage in many households worldwide. In addition, loneliness strikes. Older people no longer receive visitors, people who have difficulty with social contact are now almost completely cut off from the world. Has this made the world more fun? I personally don't think so, we are very concerned about how this will turn out.
 
Bonaire
We too are not deprived of the news in the world. Bonaire has only 21,000 inhabitants and did everything to protect itself against the entry of this virus. Cruise boats were banned, which the many local people and we don't mind at all. The ordinary tourists who come in by air, are more profitable for the tourism industry on which most of Bonaire depends. Bonaire was closed to protect itself against virus entry. Although in the first months it seemed that Bonaire was in a safe bubble, the virus also emerged here. In the beginning it was only one case, but over the months this number rose to well over 100. When the first fatal victim fell, a general practitioner from Bonaire, they were very shocked by this. Time to tighten everything up even more. We get to see images of Curacao, where the riots have broken out and there is a lot of violence in the street. Fortunately, it is not too bad on Bonaire. Unfortunately, there are always individuals who do not follow the rules and, despite all measures, do not care about anything.

Especially the tourists who arrived by plane are viewed with suspicion by part of the population. Very contradictory, because their income often comes from tourism. In addition, even a number of local people do not follow the rules and still throw parties and BBQs on the beach. Nowadays they take stricter action against this, there is more control. The middle class took a big hit due to the fact that they were closed for weeks and later only allowed to receive a limited number of people and were allowed to be open until 10 p.m. During the entire period when no or very few planes came in, the companies also had little or no income. People live off the tourists on this island. Poverty is on the rise, the food bank is working overtime to provide everyone in need with a good meal. Fortunately, we see that there are many good initiatives, which gives people courage again. The supermarkets could not be properly stocked, resulting in a shortage of a number of products. For a long time it was no longer possible to go out for dinner and play music, as before with e.g. Little Havana were no longer possible. We miss it, there is much less life in Kralendijk. There was a period when everything was open again, but with restrictions on the number of people, among other things. We go to the side less often, go out for dinner occasionally or do Happy Hour somewhere, but not nearly as often as before. At the beginning of March of 2021, the number of cases of Corona increased so much that it was again decided to close everything. Obviously, the necessary companies will remain open, but restaurants and the like were closed and are only open for take away. In the last few weeks, the number has risen so rapidly that there are currently 2 times as many Covid cases than at the last peak. We stay on the boat as much as possible and only go to the shore to do the shopping. It is quiet in the streets of Bonaire ………
 

Latest new, 15 March 2021

Sailors on Bonaire
Because of the Corona, most boats could not leave from Bonaire and the mooring remained occupied. Some stayed with Bonaire for months, just like us, others left as soon as possible. We as sailors provide at least a bit of income by doing errands etc. Although not every resident of Bonaire sees it that way, because after all you are an outsider. Unfortunately, there are also a number of sailors who do not respect the rules. For example, a sailor, who was staying at an island where there was a total lockdown, secretly left for Bonaire. Not only did she come in with a pathetic story, which was kicked in by customs, but she also did not adhere to the quarantine rules imposed on her. The local population was very outraged about this and this incident put the sailing community in a bad light and many sailors found this unacceptable behavior. How stupid and anti-social can you be for not following these rules ?! It is about the health of the population of Bonaire and its guests, like us. After more than a year on a mooring, you know most sailors. Besides a number of Dutch boats there were, among others, Canadians, Americans, English, Germans, French, Swiss, Swedes, Danes, Portoricians. Although the sailors with the same nationality still attract each other more, we still have a nice contact with many sailors. For months we had pleasant contact with Heather and Don, our Canadian neighbors, with whom we regularly had a drink at Divers Diner or Karel's. Koen and Yvonne from Heavy Metal have also been next door to us for a few months and they were very nice friends and neighbors. Just before the last wave of Covid, a number of boats left and the mooring field looked a lot more empty. But now so many boats have arrived that it is full again. The possibilities to go to other islands are limited, so many sailors have decided to stay here.

Humor onder zeilers

About us during the Corona
We arrived on Bonaire in November 2019, assuming that we would leave for Cuba and Jamaica sometime in March 2020. It was not because many islands were locked. At the beginning of March 2020, I voluntarily stayed in quarantine on the boat for 5 weeks. This is a precaution because of my poor resistance. Fred did the shopping. Every now and then sailors came for coffee or to have a drink, but they stayed in their dinghy at a suitable distance. What I especially missed during those weeks is the contact and the movement. We are not easily bored, so that was no problem. When everything had stabilized a bit, I could also disembark. We still keep our distance and are careful with larger groups of people. But when we go out to eat or drink, we also do this to support the middle class a little. With the numbers rising dramatically again, we are definitely keeping our distance. Enough about Covid for a moment.
 

Dear family, friends and all acquaintances