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Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean |
Ride the Karpata Trail with Discover Bonaire
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Just down the hill from the
Bonaire Caribbean Club, you will notice a narrow asphalt
single bike track running along the shore. This is the first
of several, most of which are about 100 m long and always
lead you back to the main road. Take care, as these paths
often lie very close to the edge of the cliff running along
the shoreline. These side paths are optional as they always
lead one back to the main road. Along this road you get a
sampling of Bonaire's flora and fauna. In the morning you'll
see the blousanas (blue-tailed lizards) and iguanas sunning
on rocks or right in the middle of the road. Don't worry
about hitting them - they are faster than the most gonzo
biker. Soon you come upon
Witches Hut, the small ruin of an old house where the locals
say a curandero (witch doctor) once lived. Legend has it
that many ghosts haunt this road. Stories abound of
motorists who stop and pick up hitchhikers only to look in
the rearview mirror and find that they have disappeared from
the backseat. Up and down a few
mildly challenging hills and you come upon the site of 1,000
Steps, a popular dive site. Whether or not there are exactly
1,000 steps leading down to the coral rubble beach and then
back up to the road is not certain, but you will definitely
feel as though there are 1,000 since you must carry your
bike the entire distance should you choose to
explore. Take the Ol' Blue
Nature Trail, a track along the foot of the cliffs, also
used as a walking path for bird watchers. Most active during
the early morning hours, the birds have claimed this area
for their own. Darting in and out from the pock-marked
cliffs set back from the road are a wide variety of
Bonairean birds, the loudest of which are the
parrots. As you leave the
nature trail, a large arch-shaped rock formation created by
wind and water erosion is visible just in front of the
cliffs. Known as the Eye of the Devil, this is the place
where, according to oral tradition, slaves who worked too
slowly were brought in order to scare them into working
harder. A coral rock wall
marks the beginning of Karpata, an old aloe plantation. Stop
and pick a piece to rub on your sunburn. It grows wild all
over the island. Land Huis Karpata is situated on your
right. This old house was the office and residence for the
plantation overseers. Used in more recent history as a
marine biology research center, the centuries old buildings
have been restored very closely to their original state. In
the yard near the house gates, the large yellow, pot-shaped
structure with steps leading up to it was used to cook down
the aloe and prepare it for shipping Across the street,
take the steps down to the Karpata dive site. All along this
stretch of reef are scattered huge coral-encrusted anchors
lost by ships that put in here to pick up aloe in centuries
past. This is also a great place to stop for a picnic and a
breather. For more trail
information, click on the links below Discover
Bonaire tel:(599)
717-5433 fax:(599)
717-5252
Kaya Gobernador
N. Debrot #77
Bonaire, Netherlands
Antilles
email: info@discoverbonaire.com
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