Casa Leon

There is nothing my mother interprets as more of an open invitation than a for sale sign.  I once saw her loot a neighbours pool house because the property was for sale and clearly the things there were unwanted. The house nearby on the beach has had its invitation posted unknowingly to its gate for at least two years, which makes it practically hers. She calls the house Casa Leon. 

My mother has found an entry point to the walled and gated property through some fencing that has been mysteriously snipped near the wall. If it wasnt for this, she would have to do a water entry. 

Bonaire's waters are all part of the STINAPA Marine Park (no, I dont know what it stands for).  Anyone wishing to do anything in the water (including scuba diving, snorkeling, kiteboarding, windsurfing, etc) is required to purchase a tag that can be worn on clothing and identifies you as having a right to be in the "park".  

It is illegal to prevent anyone from accessing the marine park, so had we washed up here, on Casa Leon's beach when we were snorkeling in this area on Friday, we would not have been doing anything illegal.

My mothers interpretation of the law is slightly more broad. ("All the doors are locked, I can't get inside. We just have to look through the windows.")

The property is beautiful and has been for sale for two years, so if you are in the market for a Carribbean get away and have $700K USD to spend, it can be all yours. It has three air-conditioned bedrooms, and a kitchen which my mother says has been redone since she last peered into the windows. There is also a nice pass-through from the kitchen to the big covered porch, which is right on the sea.

My mother believes it used to be the house of the island's governor, though this has yet to be confirmed by outside sources. (My mother is sort of the Mrs. Kravitz of the pool area, running outside to pass gossip from one neighbour to the next like a Chibi on sugar.) Legend has it that is is owned by the bank and they use Casa Leon to throw parties.

If you are looking for privacy in your beach retreat, Casa Leon is surrounded by both a wall and sticker bushes. (You would, however, probably want to fix that pesky hole in the fence.)

The nearest neighbours are pretty far away, and one of them is the deserted Esmerelda.

The rooftop deck can, however, be seen from our pool, so beware of looking east from it at night, or you're likely to catch my parents skinnydipping.