a couple of angels???

(what mom said)





i'll do a real report soon...

and a dandy at that !!!

oh...gary the gargoyle...

keep our truck guarded (did a good job)

Happy Belated Birthday Bob.

Bob, I didn't know you were going to Bonaire.... I feel like I don't even know you anymore !! LOL

Looks like a fun trip, you can post more pics please....

Happy belated bday...

Sponge, Happy Belated Birthday....and the gargoyle did a good job, good to see him on the cams...

Dilly

geez...

haven't even unpacked yet...need to get stuff done - the pictures will be here all winter...

so anyway, first and last pics - funny how bonaire has the effect indicated in the last...




PBD bigtime

Bob, that's hilarious. Next time I will have a printed sign, laminated of course, that says just that. Glad you're home safe and sound.

Hi Spongebob and a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Nice pics - It was good to see you in front of the cam!!!

Kathy - I am with you - that sign says it all!!!

(Message edited by marym on August 17, 2004)

Excuse me Kelly - not Kathy - don't know what my eye are seeing this morning!!LOL!!! Sorry Kelly!!!!

Happy belated BD SB! Cool pics, can't wait to see more!

bob, you were a stealth visitor this year. stayed under the radar. but gargoyle was a hit. we enjoyed it. lol: your mom's comment. see ya another time in lowercaseland, niki

ok...i guess i'll type some of this up...i am working on organizing my underwater digital pics, got the topside film ones back - not much i can do with those...the picture of rick plucking thorns out of his foot was messed up by my shadow - it was such a great pic - i laughed and shot it (then hid while i pulled the prickly pear cactus lobe off my knee - so rick could not get even)...

anyway - we flew AA/AE again, same story - got us there and back with our bags - one hour layover in san juan on the return trip - hardly enough time to clear immigration, recheck bags and go through security again - two hours for a layover would be better...

stayed at cocopalm gardens again, nice, safe place. had our dive package with phototour divers - mostly so we could continue to track down Bas and have him take us out on the east side, truck rental was taken care of by marion at cocopalms - totally stress free that way...

did not eat much - did try pizza at pizza bonaire (whatever), and did manage to get over to casablanca for a filet and a bottle of merlot...had KFC and wattaburgers too...rick made some really good grilled cheese sandwiches, french butter, dutch cheese, and some sort of whole grain wheat bread from cultimart - yum!!!

again rented a cell phone from michael at chat and browse and then proceeded not to call anyone...

met some people whom i have seen referenced on BT, jack chalk who walked into the pizza joint looking like one of the hell's angels , then there was renee of snorkeling fame, she was host at the tues BT get together at Gibi's (in jake's absence). met carin(sp?) from sea and discover - she was getting ready to do la dania's leap snorkel, we had just finished that dive, said hello to larry of larry's wild side diving - he sure is proud of his new boat. said hi to marc and kitty. rick asked about night life and marc told rick it did not start until all the divers went to bed

at Gibis we met john and his wife (name?) from wisconsin and jen and steve from connecticut - we all dove together with Bas at Lac Cai - great dive - more on that later...

so we ended up doing 27 dives and i think i'm ready to flip back to preferring the north end - dives at karpata, bopec, and the drift dive from la dania's to karpata were just superb...south side vis really was significantly lower this trip, we did do a series of drift dives covering fish hut to white slave, just marked our exit and started the next dive at that point - never made it more than a 5 minute walk back for the truck - that whole reef system down there is gorgeous but you do have to watch the vis some. then we (on my birthday) did Lac Cai with Bas - what a great, fun dive, even if i had to buddy breath off Bas to make it back - that's now two dives Bas has had to share his air - not sure why he needs air when he has gills - must be part of his cover we saw eagle rays, tarpons, turtles, puffer fish, peacock flounder, and some really nice coral stands, sea fans, really everything was there...

so we saw lots of donkeys, plently of parrotts, but not a single iguana...played chicken with the blue tail lizards and the truck - remind me to post the handout on resuccitating(sp?) lizards

january is looking pretty good right know

gotta go...

thanks

Spongebob! Can't wait for the pics, and when exactly were you there??? We were there July 30 - Aug 7 (not nearly long enough).

hey, the scanner wizard in XP seems pretty easy to use;)

however, i believe i may need to go back and customize the scan setup - pretty low res by default...or go back to the neg and scan that instead (lots more work ;()

out of 7 rolls of film i like one shot...

oh, here's another scan - Bas at work...nice legs?





i promise to post some real pics...

turtle, peacock flounder, and some swigglies...

Hey Bob... next time you go to Bon., I'll give you my number so you'll have someone to call.

Great legs on Bas, by the way. ;)

PS. maybe diving at Portage this weekend. Others will be there, but I'm leaving Sun. morning for Las Vegas so I'm going to TRY to make it.

(yeah, lame but it was deep)

more reef...

Thanks for sharing all the great pictures!

Beautiful color in the pictures, great shots!

Thanks for everything, Sponge! Thoroughly enjoyed it. We're always ready for more!!! Carole

some film scans...don't really know what the problem - bad luck i guess - just not really very inspirational...

anyway,

rick at thousand steps - and yes there really are about a thousand if you count them beyond the beach:



rick in the desert:



rick having a coffee in our room - Sol Alegre at Cocopalm Gardens:



someone home for a visit? :



beware of dog?



bird at karpata:



john and his wife (from milwaukee)



oh well...

Thanks, again, Bob! I see coffee but I also see a beer! Yours??!! LOL. Carole

ok...the web thumbnails:

http://24.93.113.215/aug04/albframe.htm
http://24.93.113.215:81/aug04/albframe.htm

500 pics...just don't look at the bad ones

Thanks for posting some more pics Bob! Love to see them all!

arrival(s) at gibi's...

lizard first aid...

Sponge, great pics as usual...and nice commentary as well...and that lizard first aid is a hoot! I think they should pass out that pamplet at the airport! LOL!

north vs south...




and even the "stuff" between was good this time

diver's paradise...

got around to processing rick's topside pics:

http://24.93.113.215/topside/albframe.htm
http://24.93.113.215:81/topside/albframe.htm

pretty good collection considering we spent way too much time diving;)

camera repair...

Bob, are you hitting it with a rock?

Bob, lol !!

I love the north vs. south pics. I think I like the shallows in the north better.

Good stuff, Bob! You and I would be dangerous on a trip together...all we would be doing is shooting pics...that's how I "saw" Hawaii in 1976..thru the lens of a camera. Great shots, tho...brings us right back to Bonaire while we can't be there in person. Thanks for the links.

How did the major surgery go on the camera, by the way??!! Thanks again, Bob! CArole