Bonaire short trip and report

[chauncy19]

ALthough not many people on this board seem to head there figure I should say something about my trip to Bonaire. I have been going every year for two weeks. This year I added a solo week trip.
Tried to leave August 22nd on red eye out of Newark, actually ended up leaving august 23rd at 11:15am. An airline horror story. Returned august 30th –no problems except had to get up at 3am. Getting harder to get there it seems except for you lucky people who fly out of Houston.

Stayed at Black Durgon Inn(7th time) and rented from AB car rental (8th time). First solo trip so that was very different. Black Durgon is a very small resort and therefore
very dependant on who is around for ambiance. Although diving right off the dock is great ambiance. Find the diving to be extremely easy and inviting right there off the dock. Need to phych myself to get out and about. anyway....

Bought and brought new split fins with spring straps, and new atomic mask. Split fins with spring straps great!! New mask not so good, found couldn’t equalize as easy as previous mask which was more of a difference that the “better” glass. Thanks Scuba toys!! Love those fins & straps and a great deal!

Highlight of trip was diving Taylor Made and La Diana’s Leap with Bas Noij . Great dives, had never done Talyor Maid and would of never found it without Bas. Vivid coral and fish not sure why but everything seemed brighter and more alive. Tricky entrance as coral starts right at the shore entry. Also saw a school of rather large barracuda when reached about 25’. Taylor Maid is not on any dive maps and is an extreme northern site after oil tanks but before nucove.
La Diana’s Leap is a favorite with large wall and many turtles. Ending at Karparta which is also a great site.

Snorkeled last day and got a great view of turtles , rays and seahorses. Amazes me how close I get to these creatures in shallow water. Have to make sure I spend more time in the shallows on my next trip.


Love Bonaire and can’t wait to return. Suffering from withdrawl and uncertain return
No pictures, sorry no camera.

[TRACI]

I got to dive Taylor Made on my second trip to Bonaire back in March. The entry was pretty brutal, but it was one of the best dives that I have done so far in Bonaire. It was well worth the effort : )

[comet24]

I love Bonaire for the freedom it provides. No schedule at all dive whenever you want where ever you want. Now I need to go back.

[snagel]

Dang you.....I just about had this out of my head, but you brought it all back in. I leave Nov 7th for a week in Bonaire Paradise. The other day I had to stop my urge to pack for the trip (it's 2 months till I ship out).

Nice report.

Snagel

[brains]

I am leaving for Bonaire on Nov. 13 and i can't wait! This will be our first trip down there.

[chauncy19]

As I said love Bonaire,wish I knew when I was going back. this is the first time in 10 years that I have no idea about the return. could be soon, could be a long way off. Guessing that Curacao will be next partly because of american airlines but who knows. Enjoy and taylor maid was a very special dive.I had more issues getting out though than getting in :-) .
La Dania's leap is also a special dive but I am sure a case can be made for many more. It is though the only real wall dive there. I've done it before and it is a favorite of mine.

[Zenagirl]

We spent 2 weeks on Bonaire this summer (2nd year in a row) and feel that the whole diver's freedom and island vibe just can't be beat. We won't be returning next year (we're heading to Fiji instead), and we're hoping that when we do return all the new construction won't change the feel of the island.

In addition to shore diving, we also did a charter with East Coast Diving. Although it was an interesting trip and worth doing once, the conditions and diving just weren't appealing enough to do it again. Granted, we were there when there were unusually large swells for July, so conditions were more challenging than normal thus restricting us to 2 sites.

[Mtrewyn]

I'm going in OCT.

Can't wait!!

[texas-buzzard]

we went last year for the 5th time and noticed alot of brown algea at many sites. this is caused by waste products mainly from resorts that dump directly into the water. capt. Don has written many threads in Bonaire Talk concerned about this polution and along with others are trying to get the government to correct it. It turns out the Dutch government wants to attract more pod boats to bring more income to the island while disregarding the reef structure. Bonaire still has some of the best diving ever but has changed since the first time i went. as far as i know not much has changed to protect the reef. check out Bonaire Talk - The place to discuss everything and anything about Bonaire! for more info on the subject.

[chauncy19]

I am sure what you say is true. But Bonaire has been out front making the area a marine park. Not to say they still can't kill it but if there is a chance anywhere Bonaire does have lot of awareness of the issues.

They're monitoring the water in front of the resorts now. I am sure they're collecting this data with some purpose in mind.

All the construction that is going on makes me more concerned than the pod people. If sewage is a major issue that will be much more impactful imho then cruise ships.

The dive I did at Taylor Maid I am guessing is closer to what Bonaire used to be like. Very vivid color and I didn't witness any brown algae. It is ofcourse very far from any resorts. anyway still love the diving and hope that peoples' better natures triumph.