Have you ever wondered what Bonaire was like before you first visited?
Many visitors to Bonaire return year after year. In fact, these days, it is not unusual to hear of some repeat guests celebrating 30 years of visits, or even 40 years! These visitors have truly witnessed lots of changes on Bonaire, as it has transitioned from a sparsely populated island to a less-sparsely populated island.
But even those visitors who first came in the 1980s, when dive tourism to Bonaire was taking off, still can’t imagine what Bonaire was like in earlier decades. The Bonaire Insider has located some videos online that were taken on Bonaire in the 1950s, and we thought you would enjoy seeing it as much as we did.
Bonaire Video from the 1950s.
Sometime in the early 1950s, Polygoon-Profilti, a Dutch production company, produced a short documentary about Bonaire, entitled “Eiland van rust” (Island of Rest). The film shows fascinating scenes of life on Bonaire from over half a century ago, documenting salt harvesting, charcoal creation, aloe farming, boat building, and traditional fishing from locally crafted sail boats. One can see the roots of today’s festivals of Simadan and Maskarada. The video is an amazing look at a Bonaire we no longer see. Narration is in Dutch.
Bonaire: Island of Rest.
(Source: Youtube Videos)
