Go Local

When following  the road up north into the hills, you will find the village Rincon with its 2.000 inhabitants. Rincon is the oldest village on Bonaire and it has maintained the charming atmosphere of the old times. It’s sure worth to make a stop for a local lunch and cold drinks in one of the restaurants.

In 1633, the Dutch took possession of Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba. Bonaire then became a plantation island belonging to the Dutch West Indies Company. It was during those early years that the first African slaves were forced to work, harvesting solar salt. Grim reminders of those days still remain in the form of slave huts and salt pans which were laboriously constructed by hand. In those days, every weekend the slaves were sent to premises in Rincon, a 22 mile long hike.

Lac Cai has a nature reserve with a large mangrove forest, situated on the north side of Lac Bay. These natural nurseries for our coral reef fish can be visited with a nature tour aboard kayaks. The large stacks of conch shells still remains of the rich underwater culture of Lac Cai. Every Sunday the local people are enjoying listening mariachi music.