By Patrick Matthew White (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #144) on Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 9:48 pm: |
I always try to plan our trips to Bonaire using flexible dates to try and meet the predetermined max that we will spend for that trip. I never look back to see if the prices go down and begin securing lodging etc. The hardest part is traveling to and from our favorite winter destination. We have bonded with Coco Palm Garden who have exceeded our needs for all of what they provide.
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By Barbara "CB" Gibson (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6204) on Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 10:21 pm: |
Well, if it isn't funny at the time, it will be later when we retell it....
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By Ann Phelan - www.bonairecaribbean.com (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #4181) on Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 10:50 pm: |
I have to say, having flown Air Jamaica a gazillion times (miss that airline, AA to BON via SJU and now to CUR, Delta (horrid arrival the same time as Arkefly and KLM one time) and more Continental, I feel Continental is INTOLERABLE..the tuna can size and small cramped seats are abysmal. Nuff said..
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By brenda (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1205) on Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 11:32 pm: |
I consider it just a part of the adventure.
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By Patrick Matthew White (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #146) on Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 11:35 pm: |
Ann:
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By Grunt (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1212) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 12:09 am: |
In a word... "sedation"
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By Bill Thorpe, (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #742) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 2:01 am: |
I've always considered traveling an adventure, especially to Bonaire! Sometimes you swing from the vines scot free, other times your dragged through the muck.
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By Lizard0924 (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #462) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 2:19 am: |
I haven't actually found the travel to/from BON on Continental to be particularly annoying, not even the epic trek there from the far west coast. (Let's hope tomorrow's flight doesn't break that trend.)
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By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #3392) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 6:56 am: |
This is a real EZ one. The answer is simple.. I take drugs; better living through chemistry!
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By KOB (LBR32) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #391) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 8:00 am: |
Patrick -- thanks for starting a great thread. For travel to BON, as others have stated, it's just part of the adventure. Some sanity-saving thoughts ... we arrive early to avoid stressing about getting through security, laugh when removing boat shoes to walk through with bare feet ... plan for not enough overhead space, so carry things that will go under the seat in front ... plan for a large person to be in the seat next to you, then be pleasantly surprised when not ... don't worry about being the first one to clear immigration on BON, feel the warm sea air while you wait ... etc. We can't control the people or circumstances around us, just our reaction to them (sometimes easier said than done, I will admit).
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By Kelly(*) (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6572) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 9:37 am: |
I'm going with Grunt and Vince on this one.... xanax and sometimes even a BEER at 7 am, too. And headphones with my meditation music.
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By RObert Carter (BonaireTalker - Post #43) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 10:27 am: |
I am a first grade teacher. We go to Bonaire during the Christmas season to escape from the kids and the snow. Flying is just part of the expierence. Since there is not direct flights from SLC to BON yet (We always hope that Delta may Change that) We have to make connections. During the connections We wonder around the airport working out in a sense getting tired. Then have drinks and board the airplane. Being uneasy with crowds and tight places I then get another drink on the plane and try to sleep ignoring the other people as much as I can.
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By Tom Schamp (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #642) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 10:42 am: |
Some observations above apply to air travel in general, not specifically to Bonaire.
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By Bob RE/MAX Bonaire www.bonairehomes.com (BonaireTalker - Post #70) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 11:08 am: |
Here is my best suggestion for those of you who can only visit here. Baggage loss is a fairly common occurrence, so plan ahead. Either wear you island clothes on the plane, or pack them in your carry on. Pack a swimsuit, hat, underwear, shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops so you can still enjoy your first day or two on Bonaire until your luggage arrives.
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By Ruth van Tilburg (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1462) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 12:52 pm: |
Getting from & to is just as aggravating. I travel via CUR/MIA on AA, and travel at non-peak times, like Tue/Wed/Thur. I've tried DL & CO. DL/ATL was just awful--one of my worst traveling experiences ever, and I've flown Haiti Air & Air India (a long time ago). The CO flight times make me lose too many days to recuperate from lack of sleep. And via Aruba is just too much of a PITA.
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By Just little ole me with a (*) (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6217) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 1:04 pm: |
Ditto Kelly, after the old KLM and ALM flights we have been seasoned in traveling to Bonaire. We do miss air Jamaica as that was the most convenient for us. Continental bailed us out when Delta didn't wait.
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By Kelly(*) (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6573) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 2:26 pm: |
I'm a big fan of modern medicine. lol. I pop a zannie, put on the headphones, wrap my "nerd neck pillow" around my neck and it's all good!!!
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By Just little ole me with a (*) (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6219) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 2:39 pm: |
Up all night, zannie..and V and oj right before... It's all good.
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By Jeff Kehnle (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #176) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 4:11 pm: |
Coping with getting to Bonaire? Simply the knowledge that we're going to be there is the great sustaining factor of weird flight schedules, overcrowded airports, uncomfortable planes, etc.
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By Jane (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 7:01 pm: |
If you are flying Continental through Houston one way to reduce the aggro of a long layover is lunch or dinner at Pappadeaux. Decent to very good seafood, attentive service and a full bar. It is also in the international terminal.
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By Grunt (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1213) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 7:22 pm: |
Pappadeaux has an oyster and shrimp po'boy that is darn good.
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By Patrick Matthew White (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #150) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 10:13 pm: |
Where are you people when we are flying to Bonaire? I know that it is the 0.5% no make that 2-3% of people that act out their annoyances while getting to Bonaire. Actually I am guilty of at least one that I can recall. It happened some years ago while we were catching a connecting flight on AA out of MIA. We arrived at the recommended time at the AA check-in counter and were among the few there waiting. The Staff arrived about 45 minutes before departure. A line of people formed behind us. The check-in passengers became a mob similar to 1970s teenagers trying to get tickets for a Jethro Tull Concert. They squeezed us against the counter. We could hardly breath. I was thinking "Fire in the Firesign Theater". When we finally popped out of the mayhem with boarding passes in hand we tried to rush through security. I was carrying a wheel of gouda from Warehouse Grocery. I tried my reporte of humor by calling myself "The Big Cheese" while jamming to RHCP Californication on CD. Not effective. They took their obligatory time to swipe for explosives as they had from Flamingo on. When completed and cleared, we had minutes to board. In transit, that is when I had my annoyance meltdown of this century and the last. If you are reading: I am sorry three most south NY borough ladies with self inflicted trout pout. I didn't mean it. The gouda made me do it. From that time on, I believe in gouda. I only eat it while vacationing on bonaire. Stay away. It really is mass gluttony.
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By R.A.... (BonaireTalk Deity - Post #17199) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 11:01 pm: |
This thread made me smile..I've had many adventures...and wouldn't trade a single one!
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By Fid Chinoy (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #278) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 11:31 pm: |
Just pop a couple of Xanax or Valium (or both) and nothing will bother you.
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By Lizard0924 (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #464) on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 11:47 pm: |
Pappadeux and the Continental President's Club....no Xanax needed.
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By Patrick Matthew White (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #152) on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 1:16 am: |
I could ask one of the MDs that I work with or personal doctor to get sedation for the travels. As a nurse for 26+ years, I feel compelled to never be one of those people who cross the line (determined by a real diagnosis). Dr Jack and more humor is what I use. Thank all of you for using our convenient kiosks though! Because when you are part of my 4.5 hour family getting to Bonaire and you are happy; I am happy.
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By Jeff Kehnle (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #177) on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 10:14 am: |
Amen. Life is full of diversions and diversity. For some, they are "annoyances" and for others they are "adventures" and for still others, they just "are."
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By Bea and Marvin Jones (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #188) on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 10:51 am: |
Ahhh - ALM. Our first trip to BON was while ALM was on strike - but, of course, United didn't bother to tell us. We finally found out in Miami.
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By Just little ole me with a (*) (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6224) on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 11:04 am: |
Haiti... ALM never told us this was a stop over...we wondered why it took so long to get fro Miami to Bonaire! Phili to Miami to Haiti to curaçao to Bonaire .
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By Bonnie C (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #124) on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 1:16 pm: |
I'm with you, KOB and Jeff. My vacation starts when I step out my back door because it's all attitude. And my attitude is - a bad trip to Bonaire is still better than a good trip to most other places. My strategies are to give myself plenty of time, and to pamper myself by bringing a good book, bringing great snacks, wearing comfortable clothes, and packing my carry-on to cope with the unexpected.
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By Steve S (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 3:19 pm: |
Great thread. I'll be sure to mentally prepare for the flights. See you on Continental. I'll be the 6'7" 280 lb guy stuffed into the seat next to you with a smile on my face. Sorry about that. Hopefully you'll be smiling too. No doubt I'll be a lot more uncomfortable than you. I think I need to visit the doc for some xanax. Sounds like a good idea. Hope I don't snore too loudly.
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By Jennifer Gray (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 4:10 pm: |
6 years ago, when our direct flight from St. Louis to Puerto Rico was cancelled and redirected us to Chicago in January and naturally our flight in Chicago got delayed due to believe it or not...SNOW, to the point that we were surely going to miss the flight out of PR. Lucky for us (not so much for the ones waiting in PR) they held the plane so we arrived in BON as originally planned. Too bad our luggage didn't. My father-in-law coined our vacation motto - The Joys of Traveling. I learned many things from that experience: balk at being redirected to Chicago in Winter Pack essentials in the carry-on (listed in above post, except we added booties and mask)and smile, smile, smile. Bonaire is worth every minute of The Joys of Traveling
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By R.A.... (BonaireTalk Deity - Post #17202) on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 5:41 pm: |
Oh did I mention hubbies luggage showed up a day before he left on our most recent trip. Ruth offered to pilfer some clothes from her hubbies closet but we had more fun buying him a new wardrobe at Bonaire Superstore! We got Dolce and Gabbana shirts for 15Fl.! hahahahha
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By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #3396) on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 7:46 pm: |
I've also found that home made brownies seems to work for me too! Ummmmmmm.....
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By Jerry (BonaireTalk Deity - Post #30487) on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 10:35 pm: |
Why I did not go to Bon this year.
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By Patrick Matthew White (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #153) on Sunday, January 16, 2011 - 3:36 am: |
Steve:
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By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #3398) on Sunday, January 16, 2011 - 8:02 am: |
Jerry...Hmmmm.. Only so much that brownies can do no matter how excellent the ingredients are. Between you & me, I don't even think a copious consumption of them would solve that dilemma!
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By Trish (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #151) on Sunday, January 16, 2011 - 9:29 am: |
It's not so much the other passengers on the plane that annoy us as it is the TSA people that are rude & unfriendly. Not all of them are this way, the TSA staff in Houston and in Bonaire are pretty friendly compared to the ones we have in Detroit. Of course this trip there was one lady (Houston), short & stout, that must have been a retired Marine sargent, she was screaming & yelling at people & getting annoyed because when she screamed sir or ma'am at hundreds of people standing in line we couldn't figure out which sir or ma'am she was talking too! I realize that they deal with A LOT of foolish folks, but if they can't at least be respectful then they need to look for another job. And you can't even defend yourself to them or you might end up in jail!
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By Steve S (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #7) on Sunday, January 16, 2011 - 10:34 pm: |
Patrick - you don't have to worry about me kicking your seat back. I couldn't move enough to do it even if I wanted to! If I snore, my wife will put a stop to that (nicely). I do get paranoid about bumping the seat in front of me with my knees. I'm actually probably too self conscious about my size in planes, theaters, etc. As a result, I think I'm a pretty good neighbor on planes. I wish everyone else could be the same. Last month on a flight the people behind me put a baby seat in backwards so I couldn't recline at all. The flight attendant offered to make them move it, and I said it was fine. For the most part I'm so uncomfortable on any flight that it really didn't matter. That baby was amazingly happy and quite. And the flight attendant gave me special attention and perks. Good karma comes back to you. Hope it lasts for the Bonaire flight Feb 25. I'll be way in the back of the bus.
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By Eric author of "Why is the Grass Green?" (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1543) on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 4:04 pm: |
(NOT AIMED AT THE OP who obviously has found their own way of looking at things in a positive light.)
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By Lloyd H (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #633) on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 4:10 pm: |
Well said .
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By Lizard0924 (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #468) on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 7:13 pm: |
Okay...I regret posting about how "ok" Continental is. Our red-eye flight on Friday night was THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE FLIGHT IN THE HISTORY OF MAN. Seriously, I believe CO might purposely find the worst plane in their fleet to assign to this flight. It SUCKED. Cramped, cardboard seats and the craziest seatmates ever encountered.
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By Julia Graves (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1593) on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 7:17 pm: |
How do I deal with the annoyance of getting to Bonaire? GIN!!!!!
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By Robert J. Patch (BonaireTalker - Post #64) on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 7:30 pm: |
Ordinarily I don't mind security pat-downs, but when the TSA lady told me to turn my head and cough, I thought it was going too far.
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By Evan (BonaireTalker - Post #62) on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 11:03 pm: |
Papadeaux helps take the edge off, but if you take the later CO flight out of LAX, they (and all other food service) will be closed in the CO terminal.
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By Patrick Matthew White (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #167) on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 11:14 pm: |
Eric: Thank you for serving. My gratitude can never be enough. I will say; however, I have encountered people without culture in first class as well (I rarely get to fly first class). On a trip from Newark to Tel Aviv there was a self entitled women who insisted that the first class cabin have the lights off and all dvds turned off. She was ready to sleep. After screaming and throwing things at the flight crew, she stopped. Only after being told that if she continued; she would be restrained. Definitely not cultured. I really do agree; however, that the pains of getting to Bonaire are worth it.
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By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #3404) on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 - 7:38 am: |
The most uncomfortable flight in the history of man? Hmmm.. Liz I can recollect some Air Jamaica flights that can give you a run for the money in that department.
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By Eric author of "Why is the Grass Green?" (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1546) on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 - 12:14 pm: |
Patrick, I couldn't agree more. I'm not just military, I'm a front ender on a commercial airline. So believe me when I say that culture doesn't know one side of the curtain from the other.
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By Donna M. Leiss (BonaireTalker - Post #36) on Sunday, January 23, 2011 - 3:02 pm: |
If there are two of you travelling together, try booking the aisle and window seats. About 50% of the time, the seat in the middle will be vacant, and then you can spread out. Our flight down to Houston on 1/7 was jampacked, but the flight on to Bonaire had lots of empty seats, including the one between us. Flight back to Houston on the 22nd was full, but the flight from Houston to Boston was only 2/3s full. Lots of empty rows. And speaking of your fellow travellers being sick--the person in the row with our friends (travelling and staying with us) coughed/hacked/snorked the whole way on the Houston/Bonaire leg. Consequence: all 4 of us came down with colds, 1 after the other. But we just soldiered on. Nothing like sunshine and warm salt water to speed up the cure. Along with plenty of rum punch...
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By Deb Gunther (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Sunday, January 23, 2011 - 4:28 pm: |
If you have a long layover, sometimes you can buy airline President's Lounge tickets on EBay at a good discount. Our 8-hour layover in Houston on 1/15 was really nice: free drinks, modest snacks, and a front row seat for the Packer's game on TV.
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By Sailor (BonaireTalker - Post #13) on Sunday, January 23, 2011 - 6:57 pm: |
Deb~ I'm a daily reader of this Board with 15+ trips to Bonaire. I'm not really much of a poster, but I just had to respond to your post.
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