In Europe, we can't imagine that there would be any inscription on the official vehicle registration plates, in America it can be seen from time to time, but on the Caribbean island of Bonaire, they took it a bit further and directly stated who the island is mainly for. The signs say "BONAIRE - DIVERS PARADISE", i.e. Bonaire - a diver's paradise. And this sign is undoubtedly true, nowhere else in the world I have experienced such freedom of diving as here. In the past, the main source of livelihood on the island was the "production" of sea salt, today the island is mainly oriented towards tourism, which is very successful thanks to the unspoiled nature. Even though the island is literally within sight of Venezuela, it is more associated with tourists visiting from Europe, as it is a special administrative district of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which has its roots in colonial history. Since my main focus is underwater photography, we will of course take a look under the water of the Caribbean coral sea. But we'll also visit Washington Slagbaai Park, which takes up a full fifth of the island, to look at sea salt production, in whose history slaves played no small part.


Travel lecture by Michal Černý.