Another trip, another stamp.. five years have passed since our first experience. Already planning the next one!

Getting there..

KLM direct to BON. Very good on-board service.. no problems at Heathrow/Schiphol.. flight arrived on time.

Stayed at an apartment in Belnem, looking for something different next year..

Dining..

We mostly BBQ at home, but did venture out to the Lions Den Restaurant for both lunch and dinner.. would highly recommend..

Richards, always nice.. great food/service.. (when I finally separate Hugh and Richard)! Always lots of catching up to do..(especially this year).

Captain Wook's.. wonderful food/service, as always. Fed the Harbour Village cat this year.. last year he had already caught his meal!

Diving/Snorkeling

Hugh obtained Tech Deep Diver Certification this year.. he had a lot of fun with it.. nice video of final dive at Windjammer..

Dive Operator.. Toucan Diving, Plaza Resort.
Very professional, very friendly, as always..

During our stay, I had time to observe progress on BON, in terms of coral regrowth.. lots of new coral growing behind BelMar Resort.. therefore, an increase in marine life.. wonderful.. saw juvenile moray.. lots of initial/terminal stage parrotfish; along with Nassau grouper; squirrelfish; yellowtail snappers; spotted drum; angelfish; scorpionfish; foureye butterflyfish; banded butterflyfish and so on.. I also frequently observed symbiotic relationships. On our last day in the water, it was like an aquarium back there.. no kidding

Didn't experience any crime whatsoever.. fortunate again.

Fed the donkeys.. left one donkey an entire bag of cold crunchy carrots on last day.. a donkey's dream come true! Have come up with an idea to protect the donkeys from crazy island drivers.. will e-mail sanctuary about this..

Had frequenet parrot visitors at property.. along with all the other beautiful island birds we so look forward to seeing/feeding..

Met Jake & Linda, handed over jelly babies! Big smiles all around.. wonderful..

Had many happy hours..
My special thanks to Steve at TD for supplying us with cold Amstels to kick off our last night on island We met up with some fellow BonaireTalkers and with friends we run into every year.. Picked-up Andy's hat (you all know about that)!

Left BON for the US.. had a great Xmas.

We did have travel problems once we arrived at Curacao.. it's a long story, I won't go into it too much.. but let's just say that we're hoping to avoid Curacao next year! Miami Airport was a Zoo.. we were pulled out continuously for security checks throughout the trip in the US.. I try to look innocent.. but failed profusely! One thing, "Dulles Airport, get your act together".

Well, that's it Folks.. it was another wonderful trip to BON.. we will return. S

Here are a few pics..

Ooops.. I'm out of practice..

Here they are Folks.. Sorry!

great pics - really nice iguana shot!

Sarah,
Nice pics, but why did Hugh put all his empty beer bottles in front of me before you took the photo?
Steve

Steve, I don't understand? They were my bottles, weren't they?? Glad you liked the pics..S

sarah, great pictures! i am glad you had a good time

Thanks for the pics & even more thanks for the hat....I am forever in your debt!
Tell me....Is that an arrow sticking in Steves head?

The iguana is definitely an outstanding shot! But I love all the little birdies, too, all lined up with the flowers -- almost don't need Christmas decorations with all that color...

Faith

Andy, you're most welcome... As for the arrow, I really don't know where that came from, or where's it's heading for that matter!! S

Sarah

Great report & Pics. Don't worry about Curacao for next year, the direct flights start from Schipol in June 2002. We are booking this for September. It seems to be an overnighter leaving Schipol at 23:55 and arriving on Bonaire at 03:40.

Brian and Sue

Sarah, great shots! You're right...no one would ever need to buy a Christmas Tree with a tree such as the one on your balcony....absolutely spectacular! They are soooo sweet! We don't see many of them at the Divi, I wonder why? Maybe they are all hiding in the trees up higher than we are....(are we hiding??). Thanks again for the posts. Carole

Brian, I am somewhat confused,(or just extremely tired)!! We have been flying direct to BON from Schiphol for the past 2 years now.. We had problems at Curacao on our way home. We had to connect to an American Flight for Miami from there. I hope that the KLM Schedule for 2001 will not change.. I don't like the idea of arriving on BON at 03:40am!!! The flight we have been taking gets us there in time for Dinner.

Carole, try leaving out a bowl of sugar on your balcony/terrace.. good luck.. S

ps: looking at the work I have to do and the darkness outside, I'm getting a touch of PBD!! HELP!!!!

Sarah,

That is quite a bird pic!! Is there a prize for counting the number correctly???!!

Sarah,great shots as usual....looks like you had a very relaxing time....and you did a good deed in the process also!

Nice to see you're all enjoying the pics.. I do have more, but I'll put those on my site at some point! S

Sarah

Have just checked on KLM's website, and the current schedule is changing from the beginning of June 2002. The good bit is that there will be a direct flight from Schiphol to Bonaire every day rather than just on Friday and Sunday. The current Friday 12:45 flight will stop but the Sunday 12:45 will continue. The new 'everyday' flight will be an overnighter - leaving at 23:55 and getting in at 03:40 (good news is that there are no stops at all, and at least we'll get there in time for the marine park briefing!).

Re avoiding Curacao en route to the US - some friends of ours flew via San Juan instead of Curacao - don't know if this helps?

Brian, thank you so much for the info.. yes, it really does help.. have a good day..S