“Life goes so much slower here”

What started as an adventure led to a move to Bonaire. Bass and Jessica round faucet from Schiedam likes to travel. Right before the pandemic hit, they had big plans. They had tickets to Australia and New Zealand for a few months. Then the world shut down. “While we were stuck in the Netherlands, I saw pictures of a friend in Bonaire passing by every day. I thought ‘it can be done differently’.

“We visited the island for six months. Every weekend felt like a mini vacation, the quality of your free time is high,” says Jessica. The return to the Netherlands after these six months was therefore quite difficult for the couple. “A few weeks after our return home, we decided to return indefinitely. Bas adds: “Of course you don’t leave your life in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, we decided to fulfill this dream and leave. Eight months later, our house was sold and our things were on a ship for Bonaire!

crown hour

With Adventurers working from home during lockdown, Jessica realized she was not location-bound. Bas quit her job in primary education and Jessica asked her employer if she could work from Bonaire. Bas: “I finished the school year as a master and while we were in Bonaire I worked on a book on deer photography, which will be published next year. I had plenty of time for that during those six months.

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Hopi-Bonaire

Now Bas and Jessica are working on their own tourism business: Hopi-Bonaire. They want to take tourists on private tours and show them all the beauty that Bonaire has to offer. “Here on Bonaire, nature is a gift both above and below the water,” says Bas. “Nature photography is a real passion for me, hence the book on deer photography. Tourists who share this passion can join a special tour along the most beautiful photographic sites of Bonaire.

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Interior facade

What is Jessica van Schiedam missing? “You could regularly find me at Lucas or some other place to drink or eat. I was one hell of a pub crawler. I also think the old center is really fantastic. The great thing about Schiedam is that for such a small town it has a rich cultural program and many new initiatives. Schiedam can be proud of that.

Despite the good life that Jessica leads, she misses her family and her friends very much. A good friend of his from America will soon be visiting. “During our six months in Bonaire in 2021, we had visitors every month. It was fun but also quite intense. So most of my friends have been there before and so far it’s quiet. “It’s good for us now, because emigrating is very different from staying six months.”

island life

“I really like the almost empty diary! Life here is so much slower than in the Netherlands,” says Jessica. Bas: “There doesn’t seem to be a rush here and the people are generally very friendly. You also live with nature here, you are almost always outside, unlike life in the Netherlands.

Check it here Instagram account by Jessica and Bas!