Today saw the arrival of Sanikolas. As per tradition in the Netherlands he arrived by steamboat (tugboat) from Spain (Klein Bonaire) to greet the children of Bonaire. He was accompanied by a troop of Zwarte Piet (Black Peter) and his ship was escorted by a fleet of little sailboats captained by children. There were booths set up in the park where the
In case you haven’t figured it out by now, Sanikolas is Papiamentu for Sinterklaas
On December 5, children leave their shoes at the front door with grass or carrots for Sinterklaas’ horse. Sinterklaas and Zwarte
Typical Sinterklaas candy is a chocolate letter of the child’s first name, a chocolate Sinterklaas wrapped in aluminum foil and chocolate coins.
In days past Zwarte Piet was known to leave salt or sticks for children who were ‘bad’, but that part of the tradition has been left in the past.
One thing that amazed both of us was the tugboat. Before pulling into the dock it came into the area of the bay where we dock the dinghy and did a 360 degree turn, pivoting around the boat’s centre. This was done in a space that was just a little bit wider than the length of the boat.
Although we didn't stay past the arrival and greeting of Sanikolas, we could hear the celebrations continue for about 3 hours after we left. There was music and entertainment on the stage that is at the centre of the park by the town pier. We were both extremely grateful that we were able to watch and learn more new customs as we have so often during our voyage.
1 comment:
That sounds so neat! Look forward to sharing some adventures. Love Hol
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