This was the eighth trip to Bonaire since September of 1999 for me and my husband (Mike), and we took Mike’s 21-year-old son (Matt) for his second time. Bonaire’s very special for me, since I learned to dive there (open water, advanced, nitrox.) Matt and Mike got their advanced certifications on Bonaire as well (as did Mike's daughter, Laura... unfortunately, she just started a new job and couldn't join us.) So it’s always a little like coming home, whenever we return to Bonaire. By the way, all photos in this report were taken by Matt. I'll probably break this report up into a few parts... try as I might for efficient editing, I tend to be overly wordy. Feel free to contact me with any specific questions.

Our plan was to sneak in a quick dive trip before Matt returned to college for his senior year on August 28 (yes, we cut it close.) We planned this trip at the time Air Jamaica announced that it would be suspending ALL flights to Bonaire in late August, 2005. We’d used AJ out of Baltimore for our previous Bonaire trips (mostly without problems), but flew American and American Eagle through San Juan this time. Ironically, as soon as Continental announced its December direct flight from Houston to Bonaire, Air Jamaica decided to keep flying to BON on Saturdays. Oh well. The flight schedule from BWI to BON pretty much sucks with American, although in retrospect I’m almost glad we had 7-hour layovers in San Juan. At least we didn’t have to worry about not making the SJU to BON connection - there have been some horror stories lately. Knowing we'd have lots of time in San Juan, I could concentrate on worrying about whether our luggage would arrive in Bonaire with us. :o)

We left the house at 4:15am on August 20, and found BWI was mobbed with long lines at security checkpoints. For a change, TSA personnel recognized our dive regulators/computers when our carry-on bags went through the x-ray and nothing had to be opened. Just after boarding the plane, the pilot announced that the TSA’s screening system for checked luggage had broken down, and there were NO bags on our plane. He said he had no idea when the problem would be resolved. Luckily, we waited only a few minutes before we could hear and feel luggage being loaded. The pilot announced that we’d depart about 20 minutes late. On previous diving trips, one or more of our checked bags has always been opened by TSA, but this time none were opened. Perhaps the checked bag screening process just went by the wayside at BWI when the equipment failed.

The plane was about 3/4 full. The flight is long enough that a meal is served – breakfast was either cereal or an omelette. There was a movie (“Fever Pitch”) but we'd seen it and opted to read and do crossword puzzles.

We arrived in San Juan a little late, walked around, and ate lunch. There’s a large sit-down restaurant (called Casa Caribe, maybe?) with very mediocre food, but the Little League World Series was on television and we killed some time in there. Then we settled in near our departure gate. This being our first time with AA traveling to Bonaire, we were reluctant to leave the San Juan airport. So we played cards, read and strolled. As it turned out, our flight boarded – and left – a bit early. This was a surprise, and during our flight back to SJU from BON, another passenger mentioned that by leaving early, we’d stranded over a dozen people in San Juan who had tight connections. I have no confirmation of this but I wouldn’t be surprised, based on recent reports.

So after a smooth flight we landed at Flamingo Airport at 7:30pm, a half-hour ahead of schedule. Kind of weird to arrive in darkness, but still felt like coming “home” to my favorite island. All our bags came with us, and the officials weren’t using the machine for checked luggage, so we made a quick exit. Our usual transfer to the Plaza Resort with Tropical Travel was pleasant. We didn’t rent a car this trip. We’d scheduled two-tank morning boat dives and planned to do some afternoon shore dives at 18 Palms. We walked into town a few times for eating and shopping.

So, we arrived at the hotel and checked in quickly, recognized as repeat guests. The Plaza comped us three tickets to their Tuesday beach barbeque as a “thank you” for returning. Our room was an oceanfront Grand Suite (# 003), with more than enough room for the three of us. This location is close to the Coconut Crash beach bar. We found it convenient for Happy Hour, although at first we were concerned that noise might be a problem. No need to worry… the Crash was just about empty after dark.

We tried to have dinner at the Tipsy Seagull restaurant; however, upon arriving we were told that all the tables had been reserved. There were far fewer tables than in the past, so it’s no wonder. On our prior visits, there were always several tables under the thatched roof portion of the Tipsy, but it was a vast, empty space. So we headed for Banana Tree, and enjoyed their excellent beef tenderloin with pepper sauce. Service was typically slow but pleasant. The Amstel wasn’t cold enough, and while it was nice that they brought a pitcher of water to the table, we would have appreciated having it (or our glasses) refilled a time or two.

After dinner we unpacked and were in bed by 10:30pm. I believe I was asleep sometime before that. :o)

More to come...