Getting to Bonaire on time was the best Christmas present ever! The only hitch was the Immigration Inspector at Flamingo Airport discovered our passports had expired. (Oops. One thing I forgot to check before leaving.) But, in true Bonairean fashion, we were admitted without a hassle. (Wonder why the Green Bay and San Juan inspectors missed that?) Our luggage arrived on the same plane, was unloaded inside a half hour, and Louise and Mel from Happy Holiday Homes were there to greet us. After tossing, okay dragging, our suitcases into the bungalow, we zoomed off to Dive Inn Studios to meet friends who had kindly gotten us some KFC since everything was closed for the holiday and we were starving.

While HHH isn't on the water, the bungalows are spacious, clean, and comfortable. Louise bends over backwards to make you happy and believes that while you are there, the bungalow is YOUR home. Sheets and towels are replaced every 3 days and the maid comes once a week. Kitchens are well supplied with dishes and cooking needs and a 'starter supply' of groceries can be ordered before your arrival for about $25. Each unit has a private, gated entry garden, hose and rinse tub, wooden pegs on the covered porch for gear hanging, a lounge chair for sunning, table and chairs for al fresco dining, and clotheslines in back for towels and swimsuits which are also privately fenced. Bedroom(s) have a/c and ceiling fans and big windows cool the rest of the apartment. A great place for a mere $75/night for 2 people.

Bright and early the next morning we went to Dive Inn to do our check-out dive and saw a school of 8 tarpon at the house reef. Stopped at Monticatini mini-mart (expensive) in town for a few more basics, since everything else was closed for the holiday. Afternoon dive at Tori's Reef which is one of our favorites because of the ease of entry in the 'swimming pool' area in front of the salt pan's gates which is protected by a natural breakwater. Makes putting on fins and masks easy because even 3' waves become swells.

Lazed around Sat. morning before hitting Cultimara for 'real' groceries, then a dive at Angel City. Love that double reef! After lunch and nap, dived Dive Inn's house reef again to watch the change of day shift to night.

Gotta get ready for work. PBD coming on strong! More later!

Getting ready for work? Where are your priorities? There are folks out here who need to get their dose of Bonaire and need it NOW.

Looking forward to the next installment.

Thanks for the start of the report!!

Dinner Friday night was supposed to be from Bobbejan's BBQ but they were closed. Dang! And there I was all ready to dip my fries in the sateh peanut sauce and make a pig of myself squabbling with Don over the last rib. Made do with Spam-eroni and cheese brought from home, just in case.

Saturday dawned hot and still. Diving makes you cool--and seeing a 3' Cubera snapper is even cooler. Lots of baby fishies lurking in holes in the reef. The surf was still a bit rough for our aging knees so it was Playa Cha-cha-cha across from Dive Inn again--we're spoiled by those easy to navigate cement steps.

Sunday morning we repacked to move to a different bungalow since arriving guests had requested our initial place. Decided to cool off by standing in front of the Street Cam trying to decide which sign to hold up. (Annie B., Don and I are the mystery faces at 28-Dec-2003 09:42:05 and 09:46:06. I'm the short one on the right.) Took a drive around the swank homes in Santa Barbara Crowns to see how the other half lives. I picked out a nice blue one with a big porch covered by flowering vines but Don was partial to the dark rust adobe.

Picked up friend Kevin at Dive Inn Studios after lunch and dived Tori's Reef again since he'd never been there. It was pouring rain but, what the heck, we were trying to get wet anyway! Saw a couple big Spotted Drums, 3 Scorpionfish, and 4 Scarlet-striped Cleaner Shrimp on one evidently filthy Blue Tang. Hit the jackpot on the swim back, seeing about a dozen small eels in the rubble and fire coral in the shallows: spotted morays, goldentails, and one itsy bitsy chain moray. Four in one tiny pile alone! I must confess that 'safety stop-ish' long, slow swim back to the exit through the shallows is my favorite part of the dive--peering into every anemone and finding tiny shrimp waving back, watching jewel-like juvenile damselfish and angelfish dart back under fist-sized corals, eels the size of my pinky practicing their menacing looks. This time Bobbejan's was open, so we took our Bobbejan's Sampler (about 10 ribs, a chicken leg & thigh, 3 sateh, fries, and coleslaw for a mere 17 nafl.--about $10 US) with an extra order of ribs to forestall squabbling, back to the bungalow and made pigs of ourselves.

Monday was not our best day--started out to dive one of the Andrea's but it was even rougher and the rocks looked dangerous so we stopped at Photo Tours and visited with our friend, Leone. She recommended we try her reef, Cliff, and even showed us where to find 'their' seahorse. Down the steps, across the rubble, and into the building surf we went. Don made it past the surf line, but I got off-balance on a tippy rock, knocked down and rolled around a bit. Once I'd regained my knees, we decided to call the dive. I crawled out but Don got Maytagged on his exit too. A nice woman came down the beach to help us struggle out of the surf and back to safety. Once we were safe, I noticed the path to the left leading to a much easier entry point. Too shaken to try again, we hauled our sandcovered selves back to the truck, drove to the bungalow to rinse the gear, and spent the afternoon putting salve and band-aids on tiny scrapes. Luckily, we both wear full suits so only our palms and ankles were exposed. The only major injury was to our pride, and the realization that we're no longer as young and nimble was a little tough to take. Delicious chocolate covered cake from Cultimara for dessert went a long way to salving our egos.

Tuesday morning we decided to spring for a few boat dives since the waves were still building. They tried to tie up at No Name Beach on Klein Bonaire but the waves were tossing truckloads of sand into the water and and the wind had pushed so much water away from shore that the boarding ladder buried itself in the sand. Too shallow! So they released the mooring and we went across to Andrea II. Still low viz but much calmer. Don spotted a nice turtle, a Hawksbill. Will find out tomorrow when the pictures are ready if I got it's picture. Walked downtown, peering into shop windows, and made a reservation at Chez Lucille for New Year's Eve.

Dang! Time for breakfast and shower before work. Sorry, Dean, but I've gotta work to have the $$ to go back to Bonaire. PBD hitting big time!

Great reading Bookie!
Please don't let your work interfer with the important things in life...

Don't worry, Igor, I know that Bonaire and diving come first, but the mailman keeps bringing those pesky bills and I can't convince Don that he should work and I should play--preferrably in Bonaire!

Wednesday dawned windy from the wrong direction--again. Dived the house reef and watched a little Hawksbill turtle swim up for a few breaths and then descend for more snacking on the reef. He wasn't shy of us at all. Got to see 2 more tarpon and said hello to the garden eels.

After lunch, Dive Inn put out a big box of Olie Bollen, yummy sweet raisin fritters that I understand are traditional Dutch New Year's treats. I can attest to the fact that eating "oily balls" is a great way to get ready for a boat dive.

Opted for the afternoon boat dive instead of a nap and were we glad we went. Nearest Point on Klein Bonaire was the most beautiful I've seen in a long time--lush corals crowding the reef, seafans waving from the top of the drop-off, and more sponges than I've seen on the island in years. Startled a peacock flouder about the size of a dinner plate and followed a midnight parrotfish for a few kicks. Still rough and roll-y climbing the ladder onto the boat.

After a few more olie bollen (didn't want them to go to waste), back to the bungalow for showers and to 'dress' for dinner. Due to the rain, we were seated in the dining room of Chez Lucille rather than the garden but in spite of the shift in ambience, the food was fabulous. Some of the best escargot I've eaten in ages and the wahoo with cream and leek sauce is to die for. I had hoped to stay up for the fireworks but only made it until 11. Such party animals!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Did just one boat dive today. Supposed to go to Klein but about halfway there the boat driver decided it was way too windy and ended up at Small Wall to pose for the ReefCam. That's us at 01-Jan-2004 14:14:04, if you're checking the archives. Jake and Linda are very lucky to have such a beautiful site in their backyard. Saw 2 swimming moray eels, one big spotted and a goldentail, out looking for new hiding places. And 2 friendly pairs of French Angelfish.

Friday morning went back to Tori's Reef to dive since it was still pretty rough. We were amazed that in the 3 days since our last dive there, about 2-3 meters of coral rubble had been piled against the salt pond gates! I wonder if the Salt Works people clear that out? Drove by N. Belnem, Windsock, and 18th Palm and watched the waves crash on the rocks--too rough for us oldies. So it was back to Playa Cha-cha-cha, the house reef of Dive Inn. A tiny sharptail eel greeted us in about 3 ft. and the full school of 8 tarpon were waiting for us just beyond the drop-off. Since there were no boats at the south pier we swam over to check out the coral and sponges growing on the pilings. Big schools of snappers and grunts swayed under the pier and zillions of baby fishes frolicked in the sunken tires, cement blocks, and flip flops. On the swim back along the rocky embankment, Don spotted a school of 8 squid just under the surface. They flashed their colors at us, red then white then dark red. I love the way they line up and look like they're as interested in us as we are in them.

After dinner, we drove downtown to make sure that Lover's mango and coconut ice creams are still as delicious as the previous night. Yep, they were.

Saturday the wind had shifted a bit back to normal and the surf had calmed considerably. Dived 18th Palm which has a very easy sand entry at the north end of the Plaza. Low viz due to the sand but the reef teemed with blue and brown chromis and streams of creole wrasse would dip down to the reef for a quick cleaning and then zoom on their way. Where do they go? Or do they just circle the island endlessly? I read somewhere that they're one of the few fish that mate daily. Whew, all that swimming and mating must make them very tired! Another take-out dinner from Bobbejan's kept our energy levels up.

Sunday, rain and wind. Monday, more of the same. We stuck with the easy dive sites and were vastly entertained to find Rosy Razorfish in the shallow sandy plain at the house reef. They hover over the sand and if you get too close, they dive right into the sand. No hole, just swim right down so fast they seem to disappear. Never saw one reappear, so we'll have to go back and make a more complete study of this amazing behavior. Had a nice big Cornetfish pose for pics on the way back to shore.

Tuesday morning we took the boat dive to the Hilma Hooker. Does anyone know that Hilma Hooker isn't the true name of that ship? Our DM challenged us to find the true name and I did. It's "William Express" out of Panama and it's welded on the stern. They say renaming a ship without a rechristening is unlucky, must be why she sunk. Well, that and being overloaded with wacky weed. We scared up lots of flying fish on the drive out and back. I'd love to see them underwater but probably never will. It amazes me that they can soar so far. Did a night dive at the house reef and saw 2 small Spotted Lobsters in the rocks.

Finally, Wednesday dawned calm. Had a great dive at Windsock, still a little surgy, but found lots to look at--4 Arrow Crabs on one little sponge, a big Scorpionfish, and a pair of the biggest Rainbow Parrotfish I've ever seen. Dived the house reef in the afternoon because Anya had seen a dolphin jump as we were getting fresh tanks but were disappointed.

Thursday, our last dive day, went back to Tori's Reef and followed a feeding Spotted Eagle Ray for a while. I'm amazed that its tail was about 3 times as long as its wingspan. Maybe they grow into them. After lunch, dived the Salt Pier and saw a school of about 20 Barracuda hanging over the drop-off. Lots of Schoolmasters and grunts under the pilings and a school of Bonefish went by as we were exiting. Drove to the office of Cargill Salt Works and talked to the nicest lady. She answered all our questions and gave out samples. The huge salt crystals on display were beautiful. They looked like quartz.

No diving on Friday. Looked into the possibility of a long-term rental at HHH for next winter, drove to Jibe City for one of Denise's delicious crab salad sandwiches and fresh-squeezed OJ, tried to get on an earlier flight out of San Juan (no luck), changed our guilders back to dollars, paid our departure tax, and packed.

Got the pics back yesterday. Looking for a better camera today. If I can figure out how to scan them in, I'll post a few later.

Now that the laundry's done and the dive gear soaked and hung, we start the countdown to our next trip to Bonaire--December 26, 2004--better start planning!

great report bookie, we know what you mean about that eagle ray. we saw one there on our last trip that matched that description....really long tail compared to wingspan. tori's reef became a favorite of ours too.