Our first time on Bonaire started on Dec. 19, 2000 when we landed at Flamingo Airport via ALM. We were met by AB Car Rentals with a Toyota Hi-Lux pick-up, which was perfect for our group of five. We drove to Bel-Mar Ocean Front Apartments and were greeted by our hosts Wilma and Jan. Wilma showed us to the three bedroom unit that was to be our home for the next nine days.

Bel-Mar was a excellent choice for our family of three teenagers and two adults. The unit was comfortable, clean and roomy. The balcony was a delight, overlooking the pool, docks and ocean. There was a TV with cable hook-up. While this may not be a need for most purists, it helped with our group! Wilma and Jan were available for any questions or needs that we had. This property truly enhanced our experience on Bonaire and I would recommend it to anyone.

The kids did their open water certification with Irene at the Toucan Dice Shop located at Bel-Mar. Irene was professional, friendly and helpful to all of us. When my daughter lost a clip on her fin, Irene graciously lent her old fins until a replacement clip was found. Irene also pointed out dive sites that fit our experience levels which was very helpful for newcomers as the selection on Bonaire seems endless. The reef off of Bel-Mar was perfect for the kids training and our check out dive. Thank you very much Irene!

The Diving: I now know what is meant by "Dive Freedom". We dove everyday possible, 2, 3, up to 4 dives a day. Toucan made it very easy, tanks were available at all hours at the Bel-Mar property. We'd make our plans, load the tanks and be gone until our air ran out. We'd off gas between dives by driving to the next dive site or stopping back at Bel-Mar for a bite to eat. We dove: Karpata (2X), 1000 Steps (2X), Ol' Blue, Hilma Hooker (2X), Salt Pier, Windsock (2X), Alice in Wonderland, Oil Slick Leap (the youngest divers liked the giant stride entry so we made a point of diving this twice), and Andrea II.

We were on Bonaire over Christmas and so attended the midnight mass at San Bernardo's. The service was beautiful and the church members made us feel welcome.

We ate at a number of excellent restuarants, but with a family of five they were a bit expensive. The kitchen at Bel-Mar enabled us to make cheap meals on the run. Rice worked out very well!

Our main focus was to introduce the childern to the world of diving, and in the process expose them to anothe culture and place. Bonaire acomplished this wonderfully and we plan to return as soon as possible.

Thank you to everyone in the newsgroup. We've been monitoring for the last year and all the information has been extremely helpful.

Oil Slick Leap is a favorite of my 8 year old, who loves to snorkel. He perfers to snorkel at Andrea I & II, but loves to swim at Oil Slick.

Mike & Mary, Happy to hear you had a great time! You've joined our ranks of wanting to go back again, now you understand why, glad we were of some assistance here :)

Mike & Mary - did you dive Ol' Blue as a shore dive or boat dive? When we first went to Bonaire, as fairly experienced divers but no previous shore diving, we kept driving up there and leaving without getting in the water because of the surf. We are planning on doing that dive site in March - much more shore diving under our BCs - but I'm curious about your experience there.

My Wife and I will also be in Bonaire in March. (28th - April 4th). I'm also intrested in Blue Hole.

Try to hit Ol' Blue first thing in the morning when it should be calmer.

I saw my first (and only) whale shark at ol blue in 1990. It was a baby (25 feet)

Ol' Blue was my very first dive in Bonaire. It was actually the sight where I realized how much I loved diving. Surf can be tricky, but if you go in sidewards, brace beteen waves, it's not too bad. When shore diving, we also put our fins on after we are out of the surf. Ol' Blue is a great sight. 28 days and counting :)