Here's part two of the trip report of our excellent adventure:

ACCOMODATIONS: We return year after year to Buddy Dive Resort because the facilities are a perfect match for us and because we are treated like family there. It is truly like coming home for us; Lourdes in the dive shop always gives us a hug and the traditional three kisses on the cheek, Corinna and Augusto run a great dive operation and always go way out of their way to take care of us, Magda the omelette lady whips up great eggs and omelettes for us and provides us with a smile and "Bon Dia" every morning, all the folks at the front desk and in housekeeping welcome us heartily and take care of our needs, TC the biker chick/bartender/waittress is always quick with a hug, smile and great stories, Lisa takes care of all our reservation needs, and Murphyn, Matt, Mark, Fredlyn, Sondra and all the rest of the divemasters are always there to point out the elusive frogfish and seahorse. The rooms are great, with adequate AC, microwave/toaster oven, stovetop and refrigerator. The beautiful beach bar is currently (and sadly)under re-construction but a temporary bar has been set up on the old Lion's Dive side of the dock. Our truck was adequate, dependable and relatively new, and much to our surprise had AC which we did not discover until the last day of the trip; driving down past the salt pier touring around after our last dive of the trip, I put on what I thought was the "vent", and lo and behold cold air was blasting out. Damn, all that sweat dripping down for the previous 7 days while driving to the shore diving sites could have been eliminated.

As always, the pets at Buddy Dive bring us great pleasure. Puck, the resident dog who is definitely getting on in age, ALWAYS joined me for a morning walk, always jumped up in glee and came running over for some loving pets and scratches behind the ears, and even came out onto the dock to personally great me after a boat dive. She even wandered into the restaurant when she saw me one morning, and appeared sad but accepting when she was escorted out. Coo, Screamer and Casper the cats were always hanging out on our porch, where Gale renewed her affectionate friendship with each of them. Probably has something to do with the fact that she buys wet and dry cat food in the Cultimara to put in their feeding station every year.

The dive operation is set up to make everything so convenient and easy, from the drive thru tank station to the 24/7 tank availability as well as the frequently changed rinsed tanks and gear room, which is now thankfully much more spacious since the merger with Lion's Dive. Boat diving was convenient, professional and loads of fun; they are now doing drift dives at Klein when the boats are not too full and there are no rookie newly-trained newbies on board.

DINING: This year, we purposely avoided some of our favorites (especially Crocantino's, Capriccio's and Mona Lisa) so that we would force ourselves to try some new places. And we were very glad that we did. Two standouts in this category are also some of the cheapest eats on the island (less than $25 for two): Antriole Catering (unbelievably scrumptious conch stew and great chicken stew with funchi, roasted potatoes, plaintains, and a small salad -- 18 bucks before tip!) and BobbeJans, outrageously great ribs, super chicken sate and chicken legs with sides, about 25 bucks before tip for two. Don't miss these spots.

We were able to grab an early dinner (they close at 6pm) one day at the Lost Penguin, fast service (we were the only ones there), great nachos, fish sandwich and burger. Raja was a delight as always at the Garden Cafe, and has new Coca-Cola ads on the wall by the restrooms; he has kept his gig as a Santa Claus model going strong. Two of his pizzas were great and provided lunch leftovers: a spinach/mushroom/mozzarella pie and one with egg, tomatoes and cheese that was surprisingly outstanding. His Lebanese mixed plates are also great.

Rum Runners was, as always, convenient and scenic, and their pizzas (in this case a Magherita with fresh basil and a white pizza with caremalized onions and fresh mushrooms) are also quite good. Both Rum Runners and the Garden Cafe have pizzas that are far superior to Pasa Bon Pizza, but, alas, this is just one humble ex-New Yorker's opinion.

Stifler's lived up to it's good reviews with large portions, low prices, and good food: nachos, burger, and very good chicken sate. Den Leman, while sporting good service and outstanding view, got mixed reviews, with outstanding appetizers and barely mediocre entrees and high prices (see my comments in the dining section).

And finally, dinner at Gibi's was a blast as always, great food and company including Linda, Bas and Yana Richter, Renee, Ed and Liz, Debbie Babcock and a few others including a father and teenage son (don't remember their names); the son was a pleasure to share stories with. Gibi's brother, after a few beers, repeatedly told me in broken English that I looked just like the guy on TV-11 who reads the paper in Papiamento every morning. We checked this out the next morning, and I think you'd need quite a few beers to find a resemblence....

And of course, Lover's Ice Cream provided more than a few treats, always mango sorbet for Gale and either peanut butter or banana ice cream for me. Pretty good stuff.

(More to come in Part 3)