Hi all.

We just got back from 10 days in Bonaire. A trip report follows.

AIR TRAVEL
I know this is very important to all of you. We purchased AJ tickets in early January, before knowing of the demise of AJ. We really sweated it out-but we arrived exactly on time. The flight pattern was-Detroit to Atlanta, overnight, then AJ to MB and BON. A smooth sailing there.

And back? Well not so smooth-but it could have been much worse. A one hour delay in the "hot box" (meaning no a/c) waiting for the delayed flight. The plane was there; it appeared we were waiting for the pilot-he showed up in a fast trot. Soon after, we boarded.

WEATHER...a bit disappointing, especially for the windsufers. NO WIND. Even the locals were complaining--. We think it might have been due to the hurricane. Windsurfing events were cancelled, which must have been a huge disappointment---especially for Annie who worked so hard to put it all together. We came by one afternoon, but nothing was going on. Can't do much about that.

DIVING-wonderful.Temp about 83-84 F. Thank you Eddie, G, Ingrid and Photo Tours diving, for providing great service, very thorough orientation, and friendliness. We met Eddie when he was working for Bon Bini, and he remembered our names. It was great to hook up with you, and Photo Tours provided a similar kind of service as Bon Bini. Sorry we missed you Bas! BTW, we would definitely use your services again.

DINING-some old places, some new. Memorable ones-always MONA LISA-we went there twice, really nice food. It RAINS FISHES, which is always pretty good, kicked it up a notch and provided outstanding service and food. CAPPRICIOS-a BIG disappointment-decent main course, then we were ignored. We finally got someone's attention to order dessert. We ordered one serving of tiarmisui, which was terrible-soured, something wrong with it. When we complained to the manager/owner(?)-she's been there for years, she was defensive, dismissive and not helpful. I would think twice before going again.

THE LOST PENGUIN-stable reliable food, and a restaurant that actually serves past 1:00 pm. Renota provided lots of conversation-we knew her when she worked at Bon Bini as well.

WIL'S GRIL-very nice. We especially enjoyed their Lemon Twist drinks!

LE BISTRO DE PARIS-very nice French food, and a pleasant French man who owned the restaurant. He was eager to make sure everything was just right.

In sum, a great trip-but I wish we had had more breeze. It was uncomfortable. But we made it down and back in one piece, and also had 16 great dives.

Jake and Linda-we went into the gallery. Nice display and nice art. We missed you this trip-I know that you were in the States. Next time!

One more restaurant review-Croccatino's. We ate there twice-it was excellent, as well as the service. If you're in the mood for Italian food, I would definitely recommend it above Cappricio's.

Thank you for the report and so glad to hear that your AJ flight went well.

Thanks for the report and all the good info!

Mary, Thanks for your trip report. I also enjoy Croccatino's.

Thanks for the info on the restaurants, and glad you made the most of your trip! Did you try diving on the "Wild Side" this trip? Debbie

We thought about it, Debbie, but it was sooo expensive that we decided against it. Instead, we did a boat dive with Photo Tours. G was the divemaster, he was awesome. Maybe we'll try it next time.