Shopping Excursion

We have gone into town at various points in my stay to collect various items on various lists.

The stores here are a cultural melting pot. Most of them are closed between noon and two for a break.

Bonaire Super Store is a mishmash of clothing, electronics, and whatever will fit on the shelves. It is as close to a wal-mart as you can get on the island, with about the same quality you'd expect from an American Dollar $tore. If it is Cheap and Plastic, you are likely to find it here. If it costs only a dollar, then you are incredibly lucky.

The currency on the island is the US Dollar, so it is pretty easy to comparison shop. 

Another place we have been frequently is Tung Fong, known as "Tong Fung" or "the chinese store" to my parents.

You could probably find almost anything here if you had a map.

A mere $8 will get you some Mighty Warriors and their skateboards, which inexplicably feature both Spiderman and Batman on the packaging. Take that, DC and Marvel! Copyright means nothing in Tung Fong!

Another store we have been to a lot is Kooyman. The most interesting thing about Kooyman is the name, otherwise its pretty much an island home despot. This is their parking lot. They are across the street from the Bonaire Family Store, where my dad says you can buy families. Needless to say, I havent shopped there.

If (marked-up) Ikea merchandise is what you are after, then you need to head to the Antillean Wine Company, where they both make wine, and will order you anything you want from the Ikea catalog.

They have a bit of a showroom in case you dont want to wait for your Swedish merch...

...and/or spirits.

Did I mention the whole place is located in some storage units? Nothing says "upscale winery" like a storage unit.

On the other end of the spectrum is Van den Tweel supermarket, which is nicer than any of my local stores at home. 

It is decorated for the world cup rigt now, orange things and dutch flags everywhere.

The signage and labels in the store are all Dutch. I was surprised how many nouns I remembered from my High-school time in The Hague.

Most of the produce comes in from Venezuela. Last week they had a sign that said "Sorry, the boat hasnt come in this week, this is all we have."

If the world cup decor, signage, and name didnt tip you off about the dutchness of this place, the vast mayonaise selection might. Most of it has pictures of fries on it.

They thank us in Papiamentu on the way out.