Most vacationers spend their whole time on Bonaire diving, diving, and diving some more. Karen and I aren’t quite as hardcore: we explored on land as well as under the sea.

On our first day, there was a children’s parade in downtown Kralendijk, the biggest city on the island.

The Super Bowl was that night, and while the game didn’t interest us very much, we joined the party at the restaurant next door. The ribs were delicious.

For our last day, we rented a two-person scooter capable of whisking us to the far-flung corners of the island. Well, not all that far: the island is only 24 miles long and a third as wide.

All around the island, we spotted distinctive, all-natural fences.

And finally, an important lesson we learned on this Dutch island: no matter what, make sure you always have a poederblusser handy. Just because it sounds cool.