Pa really enjoys cooking while we travel.  He is also cheap!  After we land and get situated in our accommodations, Pa’s first trip is to a local market or grocery store.  To save a little bit of money, or be cheap like I said, he will buy ingredients to cook breakfast and dinner almost every day.

For this trip, in particular, our Casa Topana was perfect for enjoying our meals.  We were right on the ocean.  There were several areas to enjoy our meals outside and listen to the water.  It was nestled in a local community so we could also see and hear how the locals live.

We would have breakfast on the patio every morning in our PJ’s.  It was the perfect way to start each day.  But the best meal we had at home was some marinated chicken that Pa cooked on the grill.  He does a pretty good job of cooking over a fire and this was no different.  We had the chicken with some rice and fried ripe plantains.  I think I could eat those plantains every single day!

As for restaurants, we only ate out a couple of times.  Our second day on the island was Ma’s Day.  On the recommendation of a friend, Pa and I took her to Capriccio.  It was small Italian restaurant located right on the water.  We sat on the patio and Ma and Pa enjoyed a bottle of wine.  We chowed down on same pasta but the highlight of my night was the homemade bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic.  I did the dipping myself, and I made sure I got every last drop. It was delish!

 

 

The owners of the house stopped by in the middle of the week to check on us, and they let us know that on Friday nights Zazu Bar cooked up homemade arepas.  We have had these back home in Houston, but we thought we needed to give them a shot here in Bonaire.  Oh boy, was I glad we did.  We sat down a few minutes before service and watched the ladies set up their arepa-making station.  I was so excited (note the main picture on this post).  My arepa had pork, black beans, avocado, and fried plantains.  While Ma and Pa relaxed drinking their Sangria, I devoured my arepa.  It was an excellent evening of food and entertainment.

The next morning we decided to go out for breakfast.  We stumbled upon a place on the main drag through town.  We knew it had to be good because it was full of locals.  We ordered some fruit and eggs, but the highlight of breakfast was the Dutch Apple and Bacon Pancake.  Pa ordered it. When it arrived, he started scarfing it down.  Pancakes are one of my favorite breakfast foods, so I munched on some of my fruit, patiently waiting for Pa to share.  I waited.  And waited.  And waited.  He just kept eating.  I thought to myself “this fool better be sharing with me!”  Ma captured the moment when I had that very thought.  Pa finally felt my eyes burning him from behind and decided to share.  Boy oh boy, it was tasty.  I can see why Pa wanted it all to himself.

Finally, our house during the trip was perfect.  I had my own room and air condition!  There were even hammocks for relaxing during the day.  But the best part of Casa Topana was the fact it was right on the water.  There was a sidewalk that you could take all the way into the town.  We would take a walk at sunset every night.  And every night the sunset was just spectacular.  It was an excellent week in Bonaire!