Living in paradise is amazing, but having no income certainly has its drawbacks.  It is very hard to refrain from going out when you visit beautiful islands with new cultures and cuisines.  You of course want to eat like a king but can only do so on a pauper’s pence.  Typically, we eat on the boat as Matt is an excellent cook, but there have been a few occasions over the last month where we have splurged and gone out to eat.  I wanted to share some of my favorite places.

Gio’s Gelateria & Caffe is famous on Bonaire and a frequent hide out for many sailors.  They have air conditioning, wifi, and delicious ice cream and gelato for $1.50 per scoop.  The setting is perfectly feminine with black chandeliers, comfy tables and chairs, indoor and outdoor seating, and very friendly staff.  You can buy 10 scoops up front for $12.50 ($1.25 each scoop) or you can buy a coffee card where you get 10 coffees for a similar discount, you can buy your scoops individually or you can take advantage of their other special for $5 for a coffee, piece of pie and a small dollop of gelato.  Since I am not a coffee drinker, I focused on the ice cream and gelato.  I was only able to try 6-7 flavors over the last few weeks, but each flavor was filled deliciousness. Certainly, worth returning for in the future!

In the center of town is a cozy little eatery called “La Creperie” that serves breakfast and lunch.  We walked by it dozens of times but never went in – as we were never hungry when we passed by.  One morning we specifically set out to visit this place as I love crepes!  They have indoor and outdoor seating, air conditioning, wifi, and very sweet, friendly staff.  There were so many tasty items on the menu that we had a tough time deciding so we asked our server to recommend a few items.  We ordered the chorizo crepe and a caramel crepe (yes, I know, it is breakfast, but we could not resist the sweet treat).  Absolutely scrumptious.  I would highly recommend a stop here as the food is mouthwatering – we stopped short of licking the plates.

I decided I needed a girl’s day so I invited my two walking friends to join me for shopping and lunch.  Cindy Smith from “Tranquility” and Jane Baum from “Cheetah II” have been walking together for years whenever they meet up at the same island and they were kind enough to let me tag along with them in Bonaire.  It gave Matt a rest from having to “walk his wife” and it gave me some girl time.  The three of us had a few items on our to do list including sneakers and a hat for Jane, walking shoes for Cindy, tank top, sticker, and water proof bag for me.

After a pretty successful treasure hunt, we stopped in at “La Terrazza” which is a new café that had only been open for 2 days (no hyperlink available yet).  They were super friendly and are trying to be completely green (eliminating all plastic – even straws), and have a daily changing menu.  We sat down and ordered three different meals so we could share and they were all very tasty.  I ordered risotto in a red wine sauce (which is why it is purple), Jane ordered a salad with fresh Tuna and Cindy ordered spinach gnocchi.  Each of the dishes were packed with flavor and zest.

The owner’s wife opened a small store next door called “Element” which sells beautiful jewelry, signs, and shirts – be sure to stop in and see her.

During one of our happy hour events, some new friends on Shangri-La told us about “Cuba Compagnie” so we had to check it out.  We stopped by on a Saturday night, without reservations, and it was packed.  They have a huge outdoor seating area that could easily accommodate over 100 people.  As we walked up to the host stand, with fingers crossed, we asked for a table and were able to get one of the last available ones that was just being cleaned – sweet!  It was a perfect night out, with a soft breeze, bright moon, and light music playing.  Matt ordered tuna and I ordered a zesty shrimp dish. The servers switched around with several different people checking on us, taking drink orders, delivering our food and drinks – but they were all really nice.  It turned out to be a delectable!

Right across from our mooring is a delightful restaurant called “It Rains Fishes”.  We had the pleasure of eating lunch here twice as it was so good and reasonably priced.  They have their own fisherman who go out to get the catch of the day.  Both visits, Matt ordered the tuna burger and I ordered the special.  The first special was a shrimp wrap and the 2^nd special was a chicken salad wrap and both were fabulous.  You get huge portions for a good price and served with a smile.

Blue Garden Brazillian Grille and Gourmet Pizza provided us with a pretty authentic Brazilian experience.  We arrived around 630p with our friends from Ad Astra for a double date.  Matt and Erik ordered genuine Brazilian Caipirinha with cachaca and Kate and I ordered muddled fruit versions.  We absolutely had to order the cheese bread (which has an official Brazilian name that I can’t remember) and then dinner was: a meat medley for Matt, shrimp skewers for me, and a chicken/steak grill for Kate and Erik.  It was all divine and extremely filling.  A wonderful dining experience.

Every Wednesday night, “Bistro de Paris” has half price burger night starting of course, with happy hour – buy a coke and get the rum for free!  Yep, you read that right.  Basically, $2.50 for a rum and coke or for me a rum and ginger ale.  Oscar our talented and super cool bartender always took care of us and had no qualms about filling our sippy cups to the rim.  Although we came for happy hour several times, we only ate burgers once as they were only “average” and still pricey, even with a 50% discount.  Matt had the tuna burger (which did not compare to the one from It Rains Fishes) and I had the falafel burger which was a bit dry.  But, the company was great, the scenery beautiful, and the drinks were strong.

With the hot temperatures and drought in California there were rumors of an avocado shortage which is just unheard of as you can get avocado’s the size of honeydew melons in the islands – there are from Venezuela and are as tasty as they are large.