Photos courtesy of Eric Gietman / The Cadushy Distillery

Rincon Renaissanceby Susan Campbell

Bonaire is a diver’s paradise and so it’s not surprising that most visitors spend as much time as they can by the sea. But the island’s first town, Rincon (estab-lished by the Spanish in the 1500s), was purposely founded inland in order to escape detection by passing pirates, and, because of its location far from the island’s most popular tourist draws, hasn’t typi-cally received a lot of visitor interest. For locals, however, Rincon is the heart and soul of Bonaire. This is where the island’s most important cultural festivals take place, events like the feast days of San Juan and San Pedro, Bari (a traditional beating-of-the drums bash), and Simadan, the harvest festival that culminates with Dia di Rincon, held each April 30. But there are other reasons to visit this charm-ing little outpost, especially now that the kadushi cactus of the region is providing an innovative new product that promises to infuse Rincon with a refreshing new spirit!

A fresh idea for an ancient plantIt all started with Eric and Jolande

Gietman, a Dutch couple who fell in love with Bonaire and decided to move here in

2009. They had been here many times on holiday and noticed that there were few choices of souvenirs made from local pro-ducts. In an attempt to develop one they began extensive research into Bonaire’s past and discovered that the kadushi cac-tus that grows so abundantly all over the island is used as a base for a traditional soup; they figured, if it can make soup, why not try and distill it as a unique spirit? After much experimentation, they found a way to make a refreshing alcoholic drink using the cactus peels and the tradition-al Bonairean beverage awa di lamoenchi (water with lime). They named it Cadushy of Bonaire Liqueur and began selling it on the island to tremendous response. But the Gietmans did not stop there; in fact, the development of the new spirit was only the beginning. E

Photo by Pierre Arsenault

The humble kadushi cactus has spawned a new spirit that’s rejuvenating the little town that time forgot.

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Island scene

44 Nights

Island scene

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Middle photo by Pierre Arsenault. Other photos courtesy of Eric Gietman / The Cadushy Distillery

Digging into RinconTheir exploration into the past kept

leading them back to Rincon, so that is where they decided to establish their home base. They also discovered that though the island’s nature is very well protected, the cultural and historic build-ings could use some help. They bought land in Rincon where a handful of century-old buildings – including the island’s oldest movie theater – had been left to the ele-ments and decided to restore them. Then they founded the Bonaire Heritage Foun-dation and dedicated a portion of the sales of Cadushy to help fund it. The Gietmans also opened a tasting garden and welcome visitors to come and tour the distillery, sample the unique liqueur, and see just how it’s made.

More new developmentsThe Gietmans want visitors to dis-

cover the town as well, so they helped produce a guided walking tour booklet and maps and a new website that show-cases its interesting history. They also offer guided tours on Friday afternoons. Eric says, “We love our new home here so much we want to share the unique Rincon

experience with others.” In 2010, they invited the UNESCO delegation to tour Rincon and hopefully include it on their list. Unfortunately, it did not make the cut, but they did express interest in Simadan, Rincon’s unique harvest festival, for pos-sible inclusion in a special list of cultural heritage. As for the liqueur, it’s now sold all over Bonaire and is used in cocktails, cakes, and cooking. The Gietmans also produce liqueurs that highlight the cul-tural heritage of other islands like Aruba and Curaçao, and are even using the cac-tus peels to make flavorful teas and dehy-drated soup mixes. Ask your local bar or restaurant for their list of special cocktails that use Cadushy of Bonaire Liqueur – it’s a delicious way to help fund the re-naissance of Rincon. K

For more information, visit cadushy.com. For more about Rincon, visit rincon.nl.

Island scene

46 Nights