Between 1970-1979 I used to go there with my parents and sister. There was a Portuguese family living there and they managed the place. I used to swim with some of their children through those arches. Jumping from one pool into another. The water was a lot clearer back then. We used to use flashlights and go into the cave where the water came from. I remember there were bats in there and the tunnel split into two at one point. That's all I will say about that. Different fruits and vegetables were grown at Fontein by the Piloto family. The place was open to the public on Sundays. After it closed, the family moved to Kralendijk and lived behind the Bernardus school in Playa. To my knowledge, two of those "children" still live on Bonaire. They must be in their 60's now.
Very nice to make a video about this place. I remember the time that everybody could go there and enjoy nature around the basins. Till suddenly the gate was closed and never opened again. Very disappointing😩 The years before LVV used the land from the neighbouring lot to grow vegetables because the had good wells there. A pity it isn't in use anymore for growing local food. Hope one day the wil start growing vegetables there again also. Good to hear that they are going to restore Fontein and will open it to the public again. Thank you for the nice video and update about the place!👍
Thanks for taking us to a private secret site. This was one of my favorite. It will be great if it really opens as a park!!! Keep us updated on the progress. And some news on that large development would be interesting too
Thank you so much! We really love the Bonaire history and have been collecting the research and of course the video content for some time. We do hope the Aruba National Parke Foundation opens it up for public access.
Hi Rich this is a cool video, I live in Bonaire but never know about the Fontain, My Father probably know the story about the Fontain. I would love to walk around someday. Also did not know that Mansur from Aruba is owning it, but what i can tell you that de Fontain selling tho our Bonaire government is almost complete as from to today latest update news 8-14-2023.
Thank you. If Bonaire buys it my hope is that the nature in the area is preserved vs just converting it to just farmed agriculture or as a water source for Bolivia. After hearing plans for Bolivia I am concerned. This is a natural wonder of Bonaire. It does belong to the people of Bonaire vs. an owner in Aruba.
@@ADiversLife Bonaire government has the buy almost don with the Mansur., they are going to renovate Fontain to maintain its original status. As for the locals but also for the tourists who would like to enjoy the nature of Bonaire. its part of the culture of Bonaire, Bonaire whants it back
Man, what a blast from the past. I used to swim in those pools as a little kid. How did you get all the historical data for the old maps. It was interesting to see.
Thank you Caleb. Much of the sources for my research is in the description. I spent a lot of time on line and in Facebook research. It was a lot of work but I like to share the stories and history.
We notice the sign each time we're on the Rincon road but we did not know about this magical place. Thanks to you, we have a visual baseline for the restoration work that will hopefully come.
Between 1970-1979 I used to go there with my parents and sister. There was a Portuguese family living there and they managed the place. I used to swim with some of their children through those arches. Jumping from one pool into another. The water was a lot clearer back then. We used to use flashlights and go into the cave where the water came from. I remember there were bats in there and the tunnel split into two at one point. That's all I will say about that. Different fruits and vegetables were grown at Fontein by the Piloto family. The place was open to the public on Sundays. After it closed, the family moved to Kralendijk and lived behind the Bernardus school in Playa. To my knowledge, two of those "children" still live on Bonaire. They must be in their 60's now.
Rudolf, thank you so much for sharing that. What beautiful memories. You made our day!
Headed to Bonaire in December 2022. Love watching your videos to get an insider perspective of everything beautiful Bonaire has to offer!
Thank you
great new segment 'surface interval' ! Looking forward to more.. Thank you guys!
Thank you
Very nice to make a video about this place.
I remember the time that everybody could go there and enjoy nature around the basins. Till suddenly the gate was closed and never opened again. Very disappointing😩
The years before LVV used the land from the neighbouring lot to grow vegetables because the had good wells there.
A pity it isn't in use anymore for growing local food.
Hope one day the wil start growing vegetables there again also.
Good to hear that they are going to restore Fontein and will open it to the public again.
Thank you for the nice video and update about the place!👍
You are most welcome Jella and for sharing your memories of Fontein.
Rich and Doreen, this is really great! Never knew anything about it. I'm really enjoying learning more about the island. Thanks for what you do!
Thank you for the kind words! You are very welcome.
Nice video Rich. Another fascinating piece of Bonaire. :)
Thank you!
Really enjoyed this video. Thank you.
Thank you Reza.
Thanks for taking us to a private secret site. This was one of my favorite. It will be great if it really opens as a park!!! Keep us updated on the progress. And some news on that large development would be interesting too
Thank you. Will do
Wow, this is truly some of your best work. Thanks for sharing! And thanks for making me late for my next appointment 😅
Thank you so much! We really love the Bonaire history and have been collecting the research and of course the video content for some time. We do hope the Aruba National Parke Foundation opens it up for public access.
Excellent video Rich!!
Thank you!
Great video Rich! I didn't know about this place and found it really interesting.
Thank you!
Hi Rich this is a cool video, I live in Bonaire but never know about the Fontain, My Father probably know the story about the Fontain. I would love to walk around someday. Also did not know that Mansur from Aruba is owning it, but what i can tell you that de Fontain selling tho our Bonaire government is almost complete as from to today latest update news 8-14-2023.
Thank you. If Bonaire buys it my hope is that the nature in the area is preserved vs just converting it to just farmed agriculture or as a water source for Bolivia. After hearing plans for Bolivia I am concerned. This is a natural wonder of Bonaire. It does belong to the people of Bonaire vs. an owner in Aruba.
@@ADiversLife Bonaire government has the buy almost don with the Mansur., they are going to renovate Fontain to maintain its original status. As for the locals but also for the tourists who would like to enjoy the nature of Bonaire. its part of the culture of Bonaire, Bonaire whants it back
@@franklinnicolaas7733 that is excellent
Thanks Rich - this was great!
Thank you so much!
Very interesting... Cool video
Thank you Dacik!
Man, what a blast from the past. I used to swim in those pools as a little kid. How did you get all the historical data for the old maps. It was interesting to see.
Thank you Caleb. Much of the sources for my research is in the description. I spent a lot of time on line and in Facebook research. It was a lot of work but I like to share the stories and history.
Doh!!! That was obvious. 🤣
I'm 68
And I used to swim there tooo late sixtes early seventies .
!! We were not supposed too
We notice the sign each time we're on the Rincon road but we did not know about this magical place. Thanks to you, we have a visual baseline for the restoration work that will hopefully come.
You are most welcome.
Corrected the English subtitles