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Trip Reports: Port Bonaire Trip rept, 2/22-3/2
Bonaire Talk: Trip Reports: Archives: Archives 2000 to 2005: Archives - 2001-11-30 to 2002-09-25: Port Bonaire Trip rept, 2/22-3/2
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Vince DePietro on Sunday, March 3, 2002 - 8:03 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

This was our 6th trip to Bonaire & first time at Port Bonaire (previously at Divi, Sand Doller, Harbour Village, & Plaza on the beach). The condo met our needs, it was a short 9 min walk to the Plaza beach & was quieter which we enjoyed. The one major problem encountered was the refrigerator which never kept our food cold enough (notwithstanding that management brought another in after we complained when we arrived our first night). Other than that, we enjoyed the unit, had a magnificient balcony view etc.
The diving.. Toucan runs a well managed first class operation. We dove with them previously
. The staff was timely, efficient, friendly & helpful.
Will certainly dive with them again. We purchased
a 1 boat dive/day plan & depending on our mood, did a shore dive up north in the morning or down south in the afternoon. We left the windows of our truck down, used common sense in not bringing any type of valuables & never had a problem at any of the dive sites.
We did a night dive from Buddy's pier & cudos to them for being so accomodating to visiting divers not staying at the resort. Why Captain Don's sees the need to charge outside divers when no one else on the Island does (to my knowledge) I don't understand.. I would think that all dive operations should be in agreement on a set policy for visiting divers (since they all eat off the same plate of tourism).
The food..Generally speaking we normally ate breakfast & lunch in, dinner out. Exceptional in our opinion was Capriccio's.. I'm Italian, my wife's Italian & we've eaten all over Italy & know food. Also, in the Italian arena was the thin crust pizza at Rumrunner's..Outstanding! I hate to admit it, but the 2 of us ordered 1 pizza & it was so good we ordered another!
Also excellent was It Rains Fishes, Richards, Gibi's Terrace (formerly San Miguel)..And, it was well worth a drive in the country to locate Maiky Snack where we enjoyed an excellent lunch.We never would have located this without the excellent directions given elsewhere on this board.
Parentheticaly, we tried to locate Latino Karnecia for the Sat ribs/chicken but it was hopeless!
Disappointing was our first dinner on arrival, the beach BBQ at Lion's Dive. However, they did make up for it with the LAST meal we had on the Island before our departure, their classic cheeseburger which was reminescent of the old Green Parrot.
We had dinner at the Sand dollar Sports Terrace &
frankly it was disappointing. Hamburger lacked taste. I remember the days of pre-Lenny at Sand Dollar & when we were there noticed a very different ambiance.
We were also disappointed with Kon Tiki.. I ordered a steak & it was served smothered in BBQ sauce. Personally, I believe a good steak should "stand on it's own". No need to camouflage it.
Something new which I tried was windsurfing at Lac Bay. Yes I like to try different things. A unique experience, I enjoyed it but it will never replace diving (but it's a great way to burn off nitrogen).
Air transport.. This was the easiest transportation we've ever experienced & the first time with Air Jamaica. We departed from Newark Airport. Sure beats the American/ALM nonsense we used to go through (Miami/ Curacao/Bonire).
Lastly, thanks to all on this board who shared their opinions/experiences on this wonderful Island. Yes, we'll be back..We keep visiting other Islands in the Carib but always return to Bonaire.

 


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