Bonaire Trip 10/04/07 to 10/11/07

[dallasdivergirl]

Bonaire October 4th through 11th, 2007

Diving: I will start of saying that there were several storms that rolled through during my week of diving. I do think that affected the visibility quite a bit. I know it was not clear as Roatan at the same time as last year. This is my observation only. Also I refrained from diving during rain, thunder & lightening (and very dark skies) while observing many divers who did not do this. I am all about living to dive another dive. I have also never done shore diving and I was fairly apprehensive about that. With the exception of a few mis-steps I was ok, I was glad there was no video going on! J I do have some improved leg tone from the surface swims and diving in the shallows.


Dove the Belmar house reef for the check out dive and the first night dive. The Hilma Hooker was wreck that should take just about 10 minutes and then spend the rest of your time exploring the reef between it and the shore. There was a very nice size green moray eel in the sand between the reef and the wreck. Invisibles was also a good dive, I did that one in the morning and also in the evening. The Lake was an excellent dive with ending up on the Hilma Hooker when going against the tide. Avery friendly barracuda decided to hang out for about 5 minutes, just a tad un-nerving. Oilslick Leap is supposed to have seahorses but I did not see any but there was a flamingo tongue convention going on! Did this dive as a late afternoon early evening dive and when it was dark the exit ladder was a tad difficult to find with out surfacing. Almost every evening I did the late afternoon dive that would get me out about ten minutes before dark. A very busy time on the reef with the spotted eels going about their business, the fish going from one place to another, the reef was teeming with life.

I did one morning of boat diving with Belmar/Buddy Dive (Buddy dive provided the tanks and boat for diving) and we went to Klein Bonaire. I can’t remember the first dive site we went to but it is where the momma shark hangs out with her babies in the shallows. I didn’t see the sharksL. The second dive was Carl’s Hill. A nice dive with nice coral. The first dive from the boat was when a storm was rolling in. We were told to get in & go down to the sand patch to hang out for everyone. Getting back out was fun! Lots of rocking & rolling. I don’t get sea sick but if some one did that would have been a bad day.

If there was more than one vehicle on a dive site we would skip that site for one that was close by. The dive at the Lake that ended up on the Hooker there was a dive boat that showed up and dropped 10 people off and then there was a huge shore dive group that showed. The inevitable mysterious “shaker” fish would be showing up with those groups. I much prefer the peace and quiet.




Accommodations: Belmar Apartments Much nicer than where I stay in Roatan or Belize. Started of in the second floor two story 3 bedroom apartment (grand deluxe, #18) one bedroom with a queen bed & it’s own bathroom. Complete with a Closet, dresser, two night stands & safe. Nice spacious bathroom, plenty of room for a couple to share counter space. Nice kitchen with all the necessary tools for making meals and with new fridge. Big open living room opening out on the deck with lovely view of the ocean. Deck had table, chairs, and ottomans, drying rack, hangers for BC & wetsuits. Access to second floor was via a spiral staircase. Two bedrooms with two twin beds each and a shared bathroom (slightly smaller than the one down stairs). There were skylights that opened in the bathroom and one of bedrooms, very nice for an almost open air shower experience. Moved mid week to a classic superior #6 on the first floor. Same master setup with the other bedroom with two twins and a smallish bathroom but a great shower in it. The deck/patio opened right on to the pool. The only real differences were smaller kitchen/living room area and the mosquitoes found their way in. No more just leaving the patio door opens the whole time.

I did the package deal with the truck from A/B rental and a nitrox upgrade. Air was available 24 hours a day from the tank area. There was always plenty of nitrox available.

The office & dive staff was really nice and helpful.


Food: Casablanca was very good. I had the filet two different nights prepared two different ways, both excellent. Mambo Jambo I had the fish menu at lunch. Crab bisque soup, salad, veggies and the fish of the day. I had tuna prepared rare. Yummy! Went to City Café twice at lunch, both times good. Garden café had wonderful hummus and Tabouli and watermelon water. Mona Lisa I had the dinner special and it was to die for. If you are a lover of tex-mex don’t have dinner at Papaya Moon but do have the crème Brule with the jalapeño glaze. I had that twice. Wattaburger was good for a quick lunch.

Almost every meal was served with French fries. I have sworn off fries for the next year after this trip. I did not eat any breakfasts out. I brought clif and luna bars for snacks and I had those.

[unclepooty]

Good report! thanks, glad to have you back.

[WV Diver]

So glad you had such a good time, despite some off weather. We had such a good time our last trip with great weather.

Will you have pictures to post at some point?

Now th PBD can set in and begin to eat away at you. It gets easier with time but never goes away....................until the next trip.

[Illini_Fan]

So, is this a place you'd return to?

[dallasdivergirl]

Originally Posted by WV Diver

So glad you had such a good time, despite some off weather. We had such a good time our last trip with great weather.

Will you have pictures to post at some point?

Now th PBD can set in and begin to eat away at you. It gets easier with time but never goes away....................until the next trip.

Sorry no u/w pics. I did not get my u/w housing fixed in time. I have a few shots of flamingos and Lac Bay & that is about it. I was not in charge of driving or any top side activities for this trip so I did not have any say on where & when something would happen.

Regatta was going on & I did not get to see any of that.


Illini_Fan
So, is this a place you'd return to?

I would go back there, especially to see some of the areas I did not get to see due to weather like Washington Park and possibly do the magrove tour in the kayaks. I would have liked to see more of the island but on Monday (10/08/07) there was some severe rain (down town was flooded to the curbs) that kept me in the hotel most of the day.

I would most definately return to the hotel. It was away from down town and was very quiet.

I would probably not go back during Regatta. Parking for dinner in the evenings got down right crazy (think the red-river shoot out in Dallas).

[RocketMan]

Thanks for the report. I've wanted to go to Bonaire for some time now, but haven't yet. Belmar is one of the places I've been looking into. Now if I can only find a cheap airline ticket. Was this your 1st trip to Bonaire?

[ertechsg]

Glad ya had a good time. You mentioned a 3 bedroom apt were you with people you knew ?

[dallasdivergirl]

Originally Posted by ertechsg

Glad ya had a good time. You mentioned a 3 bedroom apt were you with people you knew ?

Nope just me & my buddy.

The two bedroom was not available until Saturday so we took the 3 bedroom until then.

And yes this was my first trip to Bonaire.

2005 I went to San Pedro, Belize and 2006 three trips to Roatan (July, September, October). I am hoping to hit the Cayman Islands very soon.

[Vercingetorix]

Great report, Georgia.Thanks

I'm looking to do the Caymn Islands next year as well. I'm thinking of the Nekton boat that hits all three islands and the Keith Tibbets wreck.

[Zenagirl]

Great report, thanks for posting! We'll be heading to Bonaire for 2 weeks next summer and I'm always happy to read trip reports with details like yours.