Trip Report - Bonaire December 3-10, 2005

Ten of us departed the cold weather of the north to head south to Bonaire for a week of warmth and scuba diving. The weather was a comfortable 85º-90º and we had enough time there to completely forget about the miserable Michigan weather. There were periods of brief showers, as typical of tropical islands, but it never dampened our outlook.

We stayed at the Divi Flamingo Resort located within a 5 minute ride of the airport and a 5 minute walk to downtown. We all had deluxe rooms, and after a brief shuffle of roommates we got settled in. There was a charter group that didn't make it as scheduled, so whatever complaint we had about our room was easily accommodated by the Divi. When it rains it pours. Linda and Lisa had a bit of water intrusion, so they were provided another room. I thought the upstairs room was nicer than the water level room, but the water level room really gave you the impression of being at water level. It all worked out great.

Not only will we get to diving, but I wanted to say that eating out was a good experience. Our first night we ate at the Chibi Chibi, the Divi house diner. I would rate the food a little below par if it wasn't for it convenience for our first night. There after, since we didn't purchase the resort dinner plan, we ate out and about at some very good restaurants at reasonable prices. I would make these my recommendations should you ever go: Casablanca, Capriccios, Mona Lisa, and Richard's. All within a few minutes walk from the resort and excellent food and selection.

The Divi really knows how to accommodate divers. There were 3 boat dives available daily in the package, and most of us used them all. Fair to say a couple of people brought a little Michigan congestion with them which made it a little uncomfortable, so soaking in the sun was elected instead. On several dives our group had a "private boat" which gave us a lot of room and special attention from the Dive Masters, Pepe and Orlando. Couldn't ask for more. There's a lot to say about having a group of friends sharing such a unique outing.

The dive lockers and the rinse tanks on the dock next to the dive boat proved to be a real convenience. We didn't have to lug our gear every day from our rooms. The dive shop at the end of the dock made it easy to visit and keep our names signed up on the next day's outing.

In all, our ten person group had nine certified divers, and one in training. Congratulations to Linda for overcoming her bout of cold and completing the Open Water (OW) Certification. If you're not going to complete your OW in the cold murky depths of a quarry or lake, there is no better place to go than on a trip such as this, to Bonaire. Warm water, visibility at least ten fold, a tremendous amount of scenery, and all packaged into a vacation.

Bonaire is known for its popularity for divers because of it is location next to Venezuela, outside the path of hurricanes. Maybe once in a hundred years it is it hit with something big, so the reefs are predictably in good shape. All the dive sites are on the leeward side of the island, with a few "wild side" exceptions. This will save until next time. There was too much to see on the leeward side for our first visit. The dive sites are all accessible from shore and are clearly marked should you decide to rent a vehicle and start exploring on your own. For our first visit we decided to be chauffeured by the experience of the boat captain and dive masters. Did I mention how convenient this is from the Divi Dock? Oh, yeah.

As if this wasn't enough, we had access to all the shore diving we could want. Kurt would spend hours after the final boat dive just soaking up more of the warm water. The water temperature was 80-82º so there was no problem trying to stay in as long as your heart desired.

There was a lot to see just off the resort. You could go down to the dock and strap on another tank anytime you wanted. Several of us tried doing a night dive for the first time. The ocean has two shifts, the day shift and the night shift. Most of the fish you see during the day go to bed (a nice way to say go into hiding), and the nighttime creatures come out to play (a nice way to say the predators feed).

Eight of us armed with lights headed out one night to see what we could find. Not only were we looking for things to find, some things found us. A Tarpon is a rather large fish and several the size of submarines (actually 5 feet) came to swim with us. (a note, things appear 25% bigger due to the visual distortion of the dive mask, and 50% bigger just because it is dark) The above size is actual, the impression is tremendous. The tarpon were intimidating because they approach closely in order to use the dive lights for hunting. You can only see where you are shining your light. It can be startling when one glides from behind within a couple of feet, then you gasp "didn't see that coming". We also got to see a rather large Spotted Moray Eel out in the open hunting. We never saw the elusive octopus out doing its thing. A very exciting night if you are into this kind of night experience.

Diving on the reefs is quite the visual experience for color and fish life. In Bonaire we got to see Sea Horses and Frogfish. These are a rare find so it was quite pleasing to experience them. The visibility was probably about 90% of perfect because there were heavy showers occasionally and the water had suspended particles. But what the heck, 80-90 feet isn't bad.

Traveling to Bonaire is an all day trip. Most of us had to start the day about 4am in order to make the early morning flights. There were connections, layovers, and flight time. This made both the outgoing and return about a 14 hour day or more. Given the location of Bonaire, there is little that can be done. Bonaire's motto is a "Diver's Paradise" for several reasons. First because it is the most pristine place in this hemisphere to dive and the travel weeds out most lighthearted vacationers.

I can say that we were 100% on the luggage arriving. It's hard to believe that all the gear made it. We were not 100% on the people though. Rose had made her own flight arrangements for frequent flyer miles, and through no fault of hers (the plane broke), missed the San Juan connection. She did show up 2 days later. Did I say getting there was part of the adventure? The schedule is quite tight getting to these islands because flight service is not as frequent. So I would recommend adding some buffer time if there are connections. But the airline industry has us where they want us. What you gonna do?

What else was there to do? Well, obviously we didn't get around to doing enough. On the windward side there is world class wind surfing and has been voted the #1 place to learn 5 years in a row. One of the fastest growing sports today is kayaking. Bonaire, being blessed with lots of calm waters and mild winds, has been quick to offer the sport to visitors. Did I mention there was a casino right at the Divi Resort? There is the Washington Park located at the north end of the island where you can go hiking and bird watching. Rent a car an drive yourself around the island. At least they drive on the same side of the road as us. The list can go on and on.

We had our picture and video review already, and missed a couple of participant who didn't make it. Thanks to Lisa who hosted us. We had food and spirits as we watched the video, bringing back the longing to be there and do it again. A few chuckles about the video is an objective of mine, and I think I succeeded. Disks were exchanged containing some wonderful digital underwater shots (as well as the above water). It is interesting to see for the first time what someone else saw, that you didn't, on the same dive. Very cool.

A few of my recollections, meant lightheartedly for the participants: