a world away from lush
volcanic slopes these are the desert
islands of the caribbean
with no mountains and their southerly
position they get very little rain
and they are also exposed to strong dry
trade winds blowing across the caribbean
sea
the wind is so strong here that trees
like these dividivis
all tilt one way
candelabra cacti deal with lack of water
by storing it in their stems
while turks head cacti have roots
several meters long
turks head fruit is a real treasure for
a blue whip-tail lizard
it’s first come first served
tempest can get spiky when there’s not
enough to go around
all kinds of birds rely on fruiting
cacti too
oreos
but they’ve got competition these yellow
shouldered parrots live
only on the abc islands
mockingbirds are also fruit lovers
the cactus fruit contains some moisture
but a proper drink is hard to find
so a freshwater spring is like a gold
mine
common ground doves flock to quench
their thirst
and it’s the only place a green iguana
can cool off
on bonaire the dry heat creates an
island speciality
salt pans
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heat evaporates off the water leaving
salt crystals
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more than 400 000 tons each year
they’ve been evaporating sea salt here
for more than 500 years
white gold that first attracted dutch
settlers
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these tiny huts were used to shelter
slaves who mined the salt
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