Dive 5 Windsock, 73’ max., 40 minutes. The wall was a short swim out; there was not a current so I turned right. I swam down to the aviation pier and checked out the school of grunts. On the way back I found a friendly Golden Tailed Moray. Then a rather funny thing happened, I ran into a group of divers going in the other direction. At the end of the group there was a single diver who indicated to me that he wanted to join me. So off we went back towards Sue. After a bit I had to start up to do a safety stop on the coral flats. He starts pointing at the boat anchored there, I pointed at the shore. It finally all made sense to me (BSM) and him. He was the dive master off the Divi boat and he thought I was one of his lost sheep. I on the other hand just thought he was being friendly. After I climbed out and he collected all his divers he came over to the beach and we had a good laugh. After that there was only one choice for lunch, the Divi and Chibi Chibi’s. We beat the boat back by quite a bit. We had a great lunch, signed up for a Woodwind cruise and headed back to Eden Beach. A new tank, snorkel gear and some more cold drinking water and back to Windsock. This time we drove past where we were earlier. We set up camp and did some snorkeling, it a very good spot for snorkeling with lots of shallow coral. After a bit I grabbed the tank and dive gear. Dive 6 Windsock, 55’ max., 40 minutes. It was a very nice relaxing dive, where I did not pick up any stray DM’s. I saw some Spotted Moray, Fire Clams, and a big group of Brittle Stars out in the daytime. Back to Eden Beach for a quick rinse. At 4:30 Seb and Mare met up with us at Eden Beach and we went down to clean the cam. Dive 7 Eden’s Rubble, 78’ max., 63 minutes. This dive is an example of it’s important to have a plan, it is not important to follow it. The plan was to clean the cam and head down to the right to check out some moorings. Well after I showed them the cleaning station we never moved from that spot. It is a great spot, that afternoon we saw a Flaming Reef Lobster, several Rough and Sailfin Blennies, Orange Sided Gobies, Green and Spotted Morays. Another gear rinse, shower, drinks, music and awesome sunset. Then off to Gibi’s. At Gibi’s we meet Gibi, his wife, brother and daughter, Lisa, Seb and Mare, Liz, Ed and Renee and a nice family from Virginia. The meal was wonderful, I had some grilled chops, and Sue had some grouper. I think there was some butter in the GARLIC butter, but I’m not sure, but boy was it good. The company was great and a good time was had by all. The next morning after breakfast with my buddies, we loaded up the truck and drove to the Divi. After finding the Woodwind (now docked far left/south) we met up with Ulf and Dee, ditched the shoes and boarded the boat. It was pleasure to see them again and hear how their boys were doing. We motored/sailed out to the klein and got the mooring at (I think) Joanne’s Sunchi. This was new spot that Dee wanted to try. It was a nice spot, a bit deep for good snorkeling and it was a bit rough that day. Everyone survived and Sue did very well in marginal conditions. Back on the boat and we cruised over to Andrea I. Andrea is got to be the best snorkel spot on the island. I put my face underwater and there was a squadron of squid. A few minutes later a Blue Tang raiding party came by, those poor damsel fish went crazy. Towards the end I got to show Sue some wrasse love over a coral head. If you watched carefully, you tell when it was going to happen, their movements would get more rapid, and there would be a quick movement up and a small white cloud. Then they would go to the bottom and have a cigarette. We had a great lunch during the slow ride back. It was a nice group of people on the boat that day, with a nice Dutch family and a couple from Missouri. Back to Eden Beach for a rinse. Sue wanted some beach time, so I strapped a tank on and waddled into the water. Dive 8 Eden’s Rubble, 77’ max., 42 minutes. I spend some time near the mooring block and then went over to the cleaning station where there was a tiny Spotted Drum hovering inches from a Spotted Moray. Good thing morays are pretty blind. At some point I met up with Dutch divers and we cruised down to a large mooring north of Eden Beach. A nice feature but the better stuff in near Willie. Another rinse, shower, music and drinks. Then off to Casablanca’s for dinner with Jake, Linda, Yana, Bas, Seb and Mare. What’s not to love about dinner at Casablanca’s with that company. A great meal and great conversation and got the plant signed, then back to Eden Beach. I heard tell at dinner that there was wireless LAN at Eden Beach so this night I tried the laptop outside the room. I had tried it in the room the first day, but no signal. This night when I tried it outside the room, I had a signal. It turns out there is wi-fi at the office at Eden Beach and all those nights I drove to chat & browse was just silly (BSM again). The next morning I went out to have breakfast with my buddies when I found the three Dutch divers waiting for me. I had mentioned diving early but I did not think they would take me up on the offer. There they were ready to go, so off we went. Dive 9 Eden’s Rubble, 77’ max., 51 minutes. It was a nice morning dive with some interesting stuff including a Chocolate Chip Sea Cucumber, some open cup coral, Spotted and Sharptail Moray and a cooperative Peacock Flounder. I pretty much just threw the wet gear in the truck and off to the Divi to dive with Ed and Lisa. Dive 10 Calabasas Reef, 67’ max., 56 minutes. After suiting up Lisa tried but was not comfortable and turned back. After we made sure Lisa was safe over the wall we went. We started near the jetty for the ship harbor and turned right towards the Divi. When we got to the Divi we went up into the shallows to find the frog fish on the sunken boat. Then back north to the exit, and back to Eden Beach. A quick rinse and Sue and I headed in to the Lost Penguin for lunch. While eating and talking to Renada, the Missouri couple (from the Woodwind) walked by and we talked them into eating at the Lost Penguin. After lunch we did some shopping and then started south to do some sightseeing. On the way we see the Mo. couple walking towards the Divi so we give them a ride. After we dropped them off, it occurred to me to invite them along sightseeing. So I ran and caught up with them and off we went. The plan was to go around the south end, so the first stop was the donkey sanctuary. It turns out John and Linda were farmers and fostered wild ponies, so they really enjoyed meeting Marina and seeing the donkeys. We then drove around the south and stopped at Jib City for drinks and watched the wind surfers for a bit. Then over to Lac Cai but the flamingos were not home. Then back into town and dropped off Linda and John and off we went to Capt Dons for dinner. This is the second time we have eaten at Capt Dons and both times it was exceptional. This time Sue had the filet mignon and I had wasbi shrimp. One thing that is a lot of fun at Capt Dons is to throw your leftovers to the tarpon/fish. After diner we went back to Eden Beach and Sue got her snorkel gear and I got my dive gear. Sue met up with Dee for a night snorkel at the Divi and I met up with Ellen for a night dive. Dive 11 Night Dive Something Special, 49’ max., 67 minutes. For this dive Ellen and I snorkeled to the jetty by the boat harbor and dove back. I forget how spectacular the reef is at night, this dive was a great reminder. All the coral seemed to be open and were displaying some wondrous colors. Ellen started out by leading me to two Frog Fish and then we cruised back along the wall. I saw all kinds of sleeping Parrot Fish, another Flaming Reef Lobster, and one huge spiny lobster up on a coral head, Later in the dive I happen to notice these two eyes sticking up above a coral head. I watched for a second and there were tentacles, it was a smallish octopus, playing hide and seek with me. I watched and photographed a bit and he disappeared down into the coral. On way back there were numerous anemone sticking up out of the sand/rubble. There was also the cutest little Spotted Moray that lived in a couch shell. Back to Eden Beach to rinse. Sue had taken a cab home from her night snorkel. She enjoyed it and saw a number of new things including Frog Fish, Octopus, Barracuda, many squid, various shrimp, flounder, and lots of sleeping parrots. Sue was not always comfortable and being under the pier was scary. We slept late the following morning and after breakfast, I asked Bart if there was a boat dive that morning. He said yes, in 10 minutes, so a few minutes later I find myself zipping across the bay heading for the Klein in the Wanna Dive boat. After checking mooring Bart hooked up to Joanne’s Sunchi, of all the spots. This is where we had just snorkeled on the Woodwind. Dive 12 Joanne’s Sunchi, 90’ max. 66 minutes. Diving a spot is very different than snorkeling there. I was the only single so that made Bart my buddy. Bart gave us a briefing and said the pool was open. So I back rolled in and dropped down to the coral flats and hung out while everyone else was getting in. Once we all joined up we followed the wall. It was a great wall with lots of soft coral and sponges. I pretty much stayed in the back with Bart staying down on the reef poking my head into all the holes. After a bit Bart and I saw a Bonairian anchor across the reef. We both had the same thought, remove it. I swam to where it went from monofilament to nylon and cut it with my shears, just as it cut the line the shears broke in half. The rivet had rusted. I have had those shears for a few years and they have served me well. I gathered up the monofilament while Bart headed down to get the anchor. This turned out to be a bunch of large steel nuts and were at 130’. Bart also had to put quite a bit of air in his BCD to make up for the anchor weight. Now those that remember the last time I was on Bonaire I retrieved another anchor in front of the Divi on my last dive. Here I was again on my almost last dive finding another one, just too weird. By the time we had finished the rest of the group had turned around and were heading back. Once we got back I sat on the bottom while everyone got back in the boat. Once they were finished I swam up to the ladder. Back to Eden Beach. While I was diving, Sue was getting a massage. She was not back yet, so I strapped on a new tank and dropped down to Willie for my last dive. Dive 13 Eden’s Rubble, 77’ max., 43 minutes. This was a great dive with some of the best UW pictures. For some reason all the good stuff was out that morning including a Creole Wrasse with isopod, a tiny Sharp Nosed Puffer, many Arrow Crabs, Pederson Shrimp, Red Lipped Blennies, Rough Blennies and a cute French Angel. One strange thing was running into a professional photographer (I think). He had two huge rigs, one for video and a DSLR for stills. He would leave one somewhere while using the other. Once out of the water, Sue was back and after a good rinse, off we went to the Lost Penguin for lunch. Now one minor disappointment for this trip has been Eggs Benedict at the Lost Penguin, they only serve before 11:00 AM or after 3:00 PM due to how long it takes to prepare. We only seemed to get there for lunch on this trip. There were not many customers so I asked Ton nicely and I got my Eggs Benedict. Life is good. After lunch we did some shopping downtown and at Chat and Browse. We then headed back to Eden Beach for some beach time and to get the packing done. That night was barbeque night at Bongos and seemed half the island was there. The Dutch family from the Woodwind and John and Linda were there. It was also one of the best sunsets of the week. I got some great shots some including a couple of local fishing on the reef with hand lines. The barbeque was very good and I should have held it up to the cam for all to see, next time. After dinner we cruised down to Ellen’s fish camp to have her sign the plant and drop off some unused booze, sodas and stuff. The following morning I was up early and had breakfast with my buddies and did the last signs. Eventually it was time and we loaded all the stuff, said goodbye to everyone and off we went to the airport. I dropped the truck off at Budget without any issues. It was an old POS truck but it served us well for the week with no complaints. The lack of power steering made for some tough turns at low speed. I did provide some quality entertainment for one group that watched me struggle to get that dog out of the Chat and Browse parking lot. We were scheduled on the BE flight to Aruba by way of Curacao. The flight left on time and we arrived in Aruba on time. After waiting in another ridiculous line at immigration we check in at US Air, we were scheduled on a flight that getting ready to leave for Charlotte and then connecting to Boston arriving there at 11:00 PM. I sweet talked the agent and asked if we could fly the direct flight to Boston. She played with her computer a bit and we were booked on the direct that was leaving in 5 hours and gets into Boston at 10:00 PM. Yes, we have a winner. We knew what to do, drop the luggage and get a cab to Manchebo Beach. The only issue was no swim suits, well I looked into the top of one of the checked bags and there was a suit for both of us. We had another great lunch at Manchebo Beach and hung out at the bar for a bit. Once again we had the same cab pick us up to go back to the airport. The flight to Boston was full but uneventful and we were back in New Hampshire before the other plane got to Boston. Conclusion An absolutely fabulous trip on all levels. Our travels there and back was without hassle and was actually quite enjoyable. The weather was perfect, the diving phenomenal (especially the east side), no bugs, and no crime. Eden Beach was very nice, very convenient and reasonable and we both agree that we could go back there. The Wanna Dive crew were a blast and a lot of fun to hang out with. We loved the Lost Penguin, Capt Don’s and Gibi’s. We also had great meals at Chibi Chibi’s, the Rib Factory and Bongos. We were not satisfied with the Banana Tree. When all is said and done it was the people that made this trip so much fun. I especially would like to thank Jake and Linda, Seb and Mare, Bas, Ellen and Liz and Ed for their time, you guys are the best. This trip was to short but we did manage to cram a lot into seven days. L'shanah haba'ah Kralendijk, Next Year in Kralendijk (with apologies to our Jewish brethren).
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