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Bonaire

Bonaire (/bɒˈnɛər/ bon-AIR,[7] Dutch: [boːˈnɛːr(ə)] ;[8] Papiamento: [bʊˈne̝i̯ru]) is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a special municipality (officially "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands, 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of Venezuela.[9] Unlike much of the Caribbean region, the ABC islands lie outside Hurricane Alley. The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm, sunny weather all year round. Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.

This article is about the Caribbean island. For other uses, see Bonaire (disambiguation).

Bonaire
Boneiru (Papiamentu)

288 km2 (111 sq mi)

24,090[1]

83.6/km2 (217/sq mi)

Bonairean

US Dollar ($) (USD)

As of 1 January 2023, the island's population totaled 24,090 permanent residents,[10] an increase of over 7,500 (or 45.6%) since 2012. The island's total land area is 288 square kilometres (111 sq mi);[2] it is 38.6 kilometres (24.0 mi) long from north to south, and ranges from 5–8 km (3–5 mi) wide from east to west. A short 800 metres (0.50 mi) west of Bonaire across the sea is the uninhabited islet Klein Bonaire with a total land area of 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi). Klein Bonaire has low-growing vegetation including cactus (Papiamentu: kadushi), with sparse palm trees near the water and is bordered by white sandy beaches and a fringing reef. The reefs, beaches and on-island reserves located on both Bonaire and Klein Bonaire are under the protection of the Bonaire National Marine Park, and managed by Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA).[11]


Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution in 2010,[12] when the island became a special municipality (officially, a "Caribbean public body") within the country of the Netherlands.[13] It is one of three special municipalities in the Caribbean; the others are Sint Eustatius and Saba.[13][14] 80% of Bonaire's population are Dutch nationals, and nearly 60% of its residents were born in the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.[15]

Etymology[edit]

The name 'Bonaire' is thought to be derived from the Caquetio word 'Bonay', meaning 'low country'. The early Spanish and Dutch modified its spelling to Bojnaj and also Bonaire. French influence, while present at various times, was never strong enough to make the assumption that the name means 'good air'.[16] According to another theory, the name might be derived from the Spanish phrase "buen aire", which does mean 'good air', as the Spanish were the first Europeans to colonise the island.[17][18]

Media[edit]

Radio[edit]

Trans World Radio (TWR) first established its AM broadcasting site on the island of Bonaire in 1964 to broadcast Christian programs into Latin America and the Caribbean.[97] The programs were broadcast in Spanish, Dutch and English.[98] TWR-Bonaire began their operation with three transmitters, including a Brown-Boveri medium wave transmitter (500 kW over 800 kHz) and two shortwave transmitters (200 kW and 50 kW); however, their license to operate the 500 kW transmitter was revoked in 1999 thereby restricting broadcast to 100 kW. The Brown-Boveri medium wave transmitter was sold and removed from the island. It was replaced with another medium wave transmitter (PJB3-AM).[98] In 2012, TWR-Bonaire was permitted to increase its power from 100 kW to 450 kW but in order to do so, they had to raise 38 million euros (US$43,456,610.00). In 2016 they commissioned Kintronic Labs to build a four-mast, 231 metres (758 ft) parallel-array directional antenna system. On January 31, 2018, they acquired a 450 kW Nautel Broadcast medium wave transmitter for US$3.8 million, and the name changed from Trans World Radio to Shine 800 AM.[98]

Symbols[edit]

Flag[edit]

The flag, with the six-pointed star, symbolises a compass. The people of Bonaire were and are excellent fishermen and sailors.[104] It is also said that the four points of the ring indicating East, West, South and North are intended to indicate that all people in the world are equal, regardless of where they come from. The red colour refers to the blood and the survivability of the people of Bonaire. Yellow represents the sun, the beach and the flowers of the Kibrahachi and the cactus. White represents peace and internationalisation. Blue represents the sea. The flag has not existed for a long time. It was only on 11 December 1981 that the design was approved, to which the whole population was able to contribute and give its opinion.[105]

map 

Caribbean portal

flag 

Netherlands portal

Media related to Bonaire at Wikimedia Commons

Bonaire travel guide from Wikivoyage

 – Live webcams from Bonaire (including the first megapixel underwater webcam)

Breathe Bonaire