Trip Report April 6 – 12, 2002

Diving
I should say upfront that my wife and I are casual divers. We have been on 15 dives together since we were certified in ’94. That said you will probably find better and more qualified opinions elsewhere on the board. We did 5 dives on Bonaire, 4 boat dives and 1 guided shore dive. All of our boat dives were off Klein Bonaire. We were impressed, if not blown away, by our dives. The reefs were healthy with abundant fish life and colorful sponges. Unfortunately, the 2 best sites we went to, Forest and Rock Pile, were also infested with “sea wasps” from 0 – 20 ft. I was only wearing a shortie so I got stung quite badly and have 30-dime size welts to show for it (an antihistamine and ice were useful remedies).
We dove with PhotoTours and were very happy with their service. Their staff is friendly and knowledgeable. They made us feel very comfortable, even though we are not serious divers.
My personal goal was that my wife and I could do some shore diving. But in the end we simply felt more comfortable doing boat dives with a dive master.

Snorkeling
The Snorkeling was a disappointment for us on Bonaire. Lenny wiped out a lot of reef from 0 – 25 ft. We only went to two sites; Windsock and Andrea 1, so visitors may have better luck elsewhere. Perhaps a guided snorkel would be a good idea.

Restaurants
Most of our restaurant experiences on the island were very good. Below you can find our opinions on the restaurants we visited:
Capriccio’s – Definitely was the best food experience we had on the island. The restaurant is run by two native Italians who reportedly fell in love with Bonaire and opened a restaurant. We are glad they did. On our first visit we enjoyed their Carpaccio, Mahi-Mahi, and veal scaloppini. Our 2nd visit was not quite as enjoyable, but it was still very good. Their smoked fish appetizer was excellent.
Richards – A bit disappointing, both our fish dinners were overdone. Great atmosphere though. Visitors may want to give this restaurant a try – may have just been an off night.
Rendez-Vous – Pleasant staff. Menu was a bit strange … “Mushrooms on Toast”? Both of our meals were very good.
Donna and Giorgio – Definitely a fun and funky place to eat. We had the calamari for an appetizer and the mixed seafood grill and pasta & shrimp for main courses, all were very good. In the middle of our meal a couple quietly (or were my ears just clogged?) pulled up within 6 inches of their outside table on their Harley, they got off their bike and appeared to have a pleasant meal.
Rum Runners at Captain Don’s – It has to be some of the best pizza on the island (although I have heard that the pizza at Donna and Giorgio’s is very good also). The pie crust could not be thinner. Excellent atmosphere.

Birding and Nature
There are a lot of birds to see on Bonaire. We saw many species of shore birds, migrating warblers and swallows, parrots, flycatchers, etc. etc. If visitors have an interest in birds and nature I would highly recommend that you contact Jerry Ligon (jcligon@bonairelive.com) for a tour.
Our tour started at about 7:45am and we headed towards the northern part of the island. Like any good guide Jerry showed us places we never would have found on our own. Two highlights were Peaceful Canyon (Jerry's name for it) and Dos Pos. The canyon was a special treat ... where we saw the uncommon yellow-shouldered parrots and the crested caracara.
Jerry has been on the island for about 8 years and I think you would have a hard time finding someone more knowledgeable about flora and fauna on the island. The tour lasted until 12:30 and cost $40.00 per person.

Car Rental – We rented with AB Car Rental. We rented a double cab Toyota Hilux (preferred vehicle of the Taliban and shore divers). We were happy with the vehicle, but would have loved to have power stearing. Don’t forget the A/C.

Accommodations – We stayed at Port Bonaire, which are the condo units affiliated with the Plaza Resort. The good: spacious living room area, lovely landscaping, well equipped kitchen (no microwave though), nice smallish pool, very quiet. The bad: very hard bed (I think this is a common complaint of hotels and condos on Bonaire), sparse decorations, no radio.
All in all it was a pretty good place to stay. We probably did not get our money’s worth out of the affiliation with the Plaza Resort. We only had breakfast at the resort a couple of times and we walked around their well landscaped grounds a bit. We mistakenly thought that Port Bonaire was located next to the Plaza – it’s not, we had to drive there. We enjoyed condo life, in that it allowed us the option of eating at home or at a restaurant.

Other Fun Things to Do:
*We had a great time going out to Lac Bay Cai on Sunday afternoon. Cheap cold beer, good food and authentic Caribbean music. This spot will put you in the island spirit.
*It is definitely worth a drive to see Gotomeer Lake. In addition to the Flamingos you will see other interesting bird life.

Resources we found useful:
1)This Web site.
2)Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao Alive! by Susan Brushaber and Arnold Greenberg. 2nd edition. Hunter Travel Guides. 2002.
3)Bonaire Diving Made Easy: practical guide to the shore dives of Bonaire by Jessie Armacost. 2001.
4)Our Birds: Curacao | Bonaire | Aruba by Dr. Bart A. De Boer. 1993.

Thank you for the trip report.
I read somewhere that Sea Wasps like to congregate in masses about 10 to 12 days after a full moon.

Great trip report!

Why did you not feel comfortable shore diving on your own? Nina

Great to hear your report on your stay in Bonaire. I was there for my first visit the week before. We loved Capriccio's also. It has class. The chocolate dessert is to die for. Also liked Rendez-Vous. Very personable and good food. Like the A/C. I tried the Fish Gumbo which was very tasty although the portions are smaller than here in the states. We found Richards not worth the price. Yes it has the atmosphere but the service was rude and the food OK. It is a very nice experience to sit out on the water though. Did not try Donna & Girogio but saw many eaters when we passed on our way home from town. We did City Cafe twice. Good food and value. We also made sure we were there for the happy hour (2 for 1). Would have liked to make it out to the Lac Bay Cai on Sunday but just ran out of time.
Surprised to hear about your run in with the Sea Wasps. Are you sure that is what they were? I have heard the Sea Wasp off Australia is the most deadly animal in the sea. Death happens in 3 minutes after being stung. We ran into hundreds of Comb Jellies snorkeling at 1000 steps. All was afe for us. Thanks for your report. Interesting to see you opinion also.

There are different kinds of cnidarians referred to as "Sea Wasps". I've been stung by the ones that come up from the Cayman Trench at night while diving Bloody Bay Wall in Little Cayman, and outside of some annoying stings and welts which went away in 10-15 minutes, they weren't more than a nuisance. These were maybe 4-6 inches in length including the four stinging tentacles.

The ones on Bonaire apparently have much stronger stinging cells, and can cause severe allergic reactions (I believe mostly among people who are also prone to bee sting reactions, but not entirely sure of that. The few Sea Wasps I've seen in Bonaire's waters have been 6-10 inches in length - quite a bit bigger than the ones further north.

Comb jellies are non-stinging jellyfish, by the way.

Jake