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Bonaire has a long history involving salt and slavery. The southern end of the island is still little more than a large expanse of salt drying beds. Windmills pump ocean water into huge flats where it is evaporated by the sun and then ‘harvested’ by bulldoziers. These mountains of salt are then loaded on ships directly offshore for transport around the world. Pink flamingos flock to these drying beds to feast on the tiny pink shrimp that flourish in the brine and, coincidentally, cause the pink coloring of the flamingo’s feathers. While the salt is processed by machinery today, there are several reminders of the slaves who originally performed the labor. Small concrete ‘huts’ can still be found near shore where the slaves rested and stored their meager belongings, as well as escape the heat from the sun.
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