As I mentioned in an earlier post, I wanted to tell you a little bit about a summer trip I just experienced. My wife and I were celebrating our 30th anniversary down in the Caribbean Island of Bonaire. Now I know many of you may be wondering where is Bonaire, as I have been asked that question several times both before and after the vacation. Bonaire is one of the southernmost islands in the Lesser Antilles. It is about 60 miles north of Venezuela and makes up part of the ABC islands; Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.
Bonaire is the second best diving/snorkeling place in the world, second only to the Great Barrier Reef which is off the coast of Queensland Australia. The picture just below is just one of several from our many dive trips. Please stop by the office and see several other pictures that are just as beautiful. The reason we chose this island is because it has a population about the size of Van Wert and is 111 square miles. In other words, not many tourists, only dedicated divers and snorklers. I am not one who likes to go on the all inclusive resorts or a place where it is packed with tourist. I like to go where I can mingle with the locals and talk with them. Find out how they arrived at such a beautiful place, where were they originally from or how far back does their family line go on the island. I believe that can be one of the more fascinating things about the entire trip.
There is on thing that I brought back from the island that I want to share with you today. There is a small city on the western side of the island called Rincon (There are only two cities Rincon and Kralendijk, the capital). Rincon is where all the local people live. By local I mean the natives that have had family on the island since the early 1800's when they were slaves. This is a very poor region as you can see by the picture. Some work in the restaurants in Kralendijk and the hotels and condos. By no means do these people have a lot of money.
One night in town, they held a "local fare" festival. It was a way to demonstrate their food, music and arts/crafts. The music was unbelievable. Any one of these groups could have put out a CD. It was all reggae type music and the musicians ranged from 8 year old children all the way up to the very elderly. However, the thing I noticed was the great attitude so many of them had. Not only that night but whenever you ran into any of them it was always the same attitude. They always smiled and said "No problems mon". Here they were, living in poverty but found the things in life that made them happy. They had friends and family and good health. They enjoyed food, music and fellowship. I couldn't help thinking about this over and over. Here we are in the United States, specifically the Van Wert area, and have so many things available to us. I recognize that many students have issues that they are dealing with, both at home and school, I get that. However, the majority of us have our smart phones, high-def TV's, 3D gaming systems, food on our table and friends and family, yet we like to complain about our life, our job, our teachers, etc... I wonder if all this technology we have and this busy lifestyle we lead isn't pulling us away from simpler times. I believe the people of Rincon would look at the way we live and say "no thanks". It's always interesting when you read about some of these islands or far off places that don't have internet, tv or technology, and yet the people live to be over 100 years old. Makes you wonder.
I'm not suggesting that we give all these "gadgets" up, but maybe we should think about how much they are controlling our life. Are they taking away from us communicating face to face with our friends and family? Are they replacing a nice walk in the park or a bike ride? I think this weekend I may try a day without the phone, laptop or television. You never know, maybe I will be smiling and saying "No problem mon". Believe it or not, when we were in Bonaire, we never once had the TV on, never used the phone (just to take pics) and accessed the internet very sparingly. Enjoy some of the pictures below of Beautiful Bonaire.
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