Happy with visitors, dishwashers and our sedula

Yes, the dishwasher is working! Suddenly, you find joy in very different things compared to when we were “just” living in the Netherlands. 😉 After nine weeks of washing dishes in a 40-year-old kitchen, where you were occasionally greeted by a giant cockroach if you were lucky, it does start to wear on you. So, when we finally got to use the new kitchen and the water was connected as well, we did a little happy dance!

Visitors, Wonderful!

What also brought us a lot of joy was having visitors from the Netherlands. Sabrina’s parents—Joke and Bert—and her uncle and aunt—Linda and Fred—brought weeks of cheer, handy help, and some vacation vibes. As the icing on the cake, family friend (and contractor) Sjaak Driessen joined for a week to lend a hand. There was plenty of hard work in the heat, chatting, barbecuing, swimming, not-so-great sleeping (thanks to the heat and the still-missing air conditioning), and sightseeing. A couple of highlights for everyone: swimming with sea turtles at Lac Cai and spotting a large stingray near Klein Bonaire.

Green Pool

The kids absolutely loved all the attention and outings with their grandparents. They played endless card games with Fred and got extra tasty ice creams and cookies from Linda. The (temporary) 3.5-meter-wide pool was (and still is) a big hit. After school and a quick lunch, they’d jump right in and only come out three hours later! We quickly learned that a pool requires quite a bit of maintenance—when the water starts turning green, it’s time to act. 😉 After cleaning and refilling it with fresh water, along with carefully checking all the levels, they’re happily splashing around again!

Hooray for a Working Toilet

With all the help, we made great progress on the renovations, focusing primarily on the first bathrooms. Tiling, plumbing, and finally a properly functioning toilet (another thing to celebrate!). Meanwhile, the other guys were busy hacking, grinding, and building walls. Saying goodbye after three weeks wasn’t easy—it took some getting used to again afterward.

Typical Bonaire

Another small victory: we got our sedula (residence permit)! After hearing horror stories about spending entire days waiting at various government offices, we were a bit wary of the whole process, but it turned out to be manageable. An hour of waiting here, another hour there, and then a few weeks to get the result—not too bad. Next step: applying for the residence permit, which also seems doable. Though, when you visit the government office and find out after an hour of waiting that all the staff are at a sports day (because of course, there’s no notice posted anywhere), it does feel very “typical Bonaire.” 🙂

Planning, Budget, and Weight Loss

Staying focused, keeping an overview, and especially keeping a close eye on the budget—it’s not always easy. Sometimes it feels like you’re drowning in everything that still needs to be done, but taking a moment to focus on the “now” and what you’re working on at the moment really helps. We still feel the pressure and responsibility to make this project succeed. Lex losing 10 kg (22 lbs) in the first six weeks (unfortunately, not Sabrina!) gives you an idea of the stress levels involved.

Now that the veranda spans the full length of the house and all the large windows and doors are installed, we’re starting to better envision how it will look. By September, we aim to have three apartments ready—we’re going for it!

P.S. Bookings are already open through our website!