Here comes CHAPTER 2 of the Mid-June Dive Report from Michelle and Leif.
In this installment: People, Places, Miscellania…
The Pocket Money Plan.
I am a penny-pincher by nature, so I am always looking for ways to scrimp and save. For our trip to Bonaire, I had been gathering current intelligence reports via BT, and noticed the topic of “anyone needing anything…” In short order I realized that anyone travelling to Bonaire does their hosts (innkeeper, dive shop operator, etc.) a great service – as a form of, or in addition to, deserved gratuity for the “above and beyond” level of service that is customary on Bonaire – by packing along something needed that can’t be found on the island normally. This presented an opportunity. Knowing that the banks charge a fee for currency exchange (a modest one, but to me practically nothing is deemed de minimus), and also knowing that transactions with U.S. dollars or credit cards would be subject to less-than-favorable exchange rate of 1.75 instead of 1.77 or 1.78 (see also “Making Change” below), I solved for two issues with one solution. I inquired with hosts and checked the BT forums to discover what might be needed, and arranged to purchase the same for the best possible local prices (a little extra effort on my part saved the intended recipient some cash versus full retail) and then deliver these items upon arrival in Bonaire for straight-across reimbursement in guilder at the agreed, published exchange rate. Thus, we traveled with no risk of loss of cash or travelers checks, and had a few hundred guilder of “pocket money” soon after landing on the island. Everyone was happy. Our hosts saved on international freight charges, I saved on exchange fees, and everyone got what they wanted. I recommend this practice to anyone, as long as it doesn't involve stuff that would have to clear customs or fall outside of routine duties exemptions. Most BT’ers are real people with reputations to uphold, so I see little risk of being stiffed if you volunteer to bring an item worth even a few hundred dollars for someone in need.
The “Upper Small Wall” Project.
No matter what anyone else might ever say about Jake (refer to the recently closed Mimi debacle), he and Linda are “givers”. One of the exchanges I worked out was to supply Jake with some replacement aquarium parts. My only expectation was to get to see his tank and understand why someone with a thriving marine reef as a backyard would want an aquarium in his living room. I conclude that the “Upper Small Wall” demonstrates a point of integration between a man and his environment. And it looks really cool, too. In appreciation for the delivery of the parts, Jake offered to let Michelle and I enjoy the most convenient path to the Small Wall site – down his driveway and through the back gate.
Hooking Up with Frank and Ana.
I am typically shy around unfamiliar people and in public places – but Michelle is certainly not. Thus, it was no surprise to me that within minutes of sitting down at the shady patio of Raja’s Garden Café, Michelle was talking to Frank and Ana from New Jersey, who to me, at first, just appeared to be total strangers sitting at the table next to us. As Michelle went on about how I had spent all this time on the Internet preparing for the trip, the subject of BT came up and we all realized that we shared this link – Ana being Ana C here on BT. Soon thereafter we saw Frank and Ana again at the Taste of Bonaire (See “Brush with Dive Fest” below), and learned that they too had been invited by Jake and Linda to take “the shortcut”. We conspired to make it a double-date dive to reduce the foot traffic frequency for Linda, who would be at home during the day we were both coming over. In minutes we confirmed with Jake and Linda, also mingling at the eat-fest, and the dive was set. Pictures can be found under the webcam/reefcam topic under the title “Cam photo series - Mid June w/ Leif and Michelle”
Hooking Up with Bas.
A simple proposition to swap for a genuine Bonaire license plate resulted in two of the best dives that Michelle and I have logged to date. As an attorney, I tend to live by the mantra of “trust only some of your clients, and nobody else,” and thus in my day-to-day existence I often come across as slow to engage in new friendships. It was truly refreshing to be able to simply spend some time enjoying good diving with Bas. He has a simple, genuine and sincere attitude that lets you feel as though you have just spent time with an age-old friend, even though it may be the first day you have ever met him face-to-face. Either before or after joining up with him for a dive, there is no pressure to make witty conversation, although he can certainly talk as much as you like. Michelle wants to encourage Bas to “go pro” because of his knowledge of the diving around Bonaire and his natural aptitude for getting along with others. I think he enjoys the freedom of doing what he likes, when he likes, and knows that he would give up some of that if the people he chooses to buddy-up with are paying him for the privilege. Bas has a habit of bringing fresh fruit to divy up post-dive, but do buy him lunch if he lets you – he is quite skinny, and it is in all of our best interest to keep him well fed and healthy! Best wishes for his ailing dog, Jack. A more recent picture of Jack will be in another portion of this multi-part report.
Our Brush with the Dive Fest Crowd.
I am glad to see that Bonaire is trying to find new ways of maintaining the island economy, including events like the Dive Festival to try to shore up occupancy rates during the off-season. Still, part of the draw of Bonaire is exemplified by the motto “home of diving freedom.” Personally, joining a group for a scheduled agenda of seminars and dives planned by others seems just a bit like taking a cruise and signing up for the cruiseline’s canned event and excursion plan. That may be just the ticket for some – leave all the decision making to someone else – but that is not true to the backpacker way that Michelle and I adhere to. We saw a plethora of Dive Fest logo T-shirts at the Taste of Bonaire night. It seemed these folks tended to cluster together amongst themselves, though. I hope they did not miss out on the chance to interact with the “regular” heartbeat of the island. Our innkeeper intimated, near our departure date, that the smaller proprietors and larger resorts alike seasonally struggle to make ends meet, and thus must constantly seek new ways to bring in fresh business. It seems the Dive Fest is, in part, the answer arrived at by the hosting resort hotels. During our vacation, other than noticing the T-shirts, we would not have known that there was a festival going on. Hopefully the Dive Fest will grow and thrive, filling in during the annual low tide of tourist traffic on Bonaire. I hope that it does not become an event that benefits the host hotels to the exclusion of smaller establishments. I also hope that at some point a balance can be achieved and a market equilibrium can exist for a time before the inevitable date in the hopefully distant future when Bonaire is “discovered” by the tourism industry and flooded with massive resort trade like one sees today in places like Jamaica and Cozumel.
Making Change with Bonaire Math
Have you ever noticed that if you are not native to or at least living on Bonaire, the process – or art, perhaps – of the calculating of change at any given store is like an encounter with multidimensional differential calculus? I can understand how it may be customary to use a slightly rounded-down exchange rate to handle a counter transaction where dollars are given and the official currency is guilder. However, being pennywise, I figured that on this trip I would rely on the official currency and save a few bucks over the course of the week. This did not work out as I had planned. Here is why: If I bought something that cost 23,5 NAFl – tax included, and handed the clerk a crisp, new 25 NAFl note, the clerk would promptly click away at the separate calculator next to the register – converting the price to dollars, then converting my payment into something else, then netting the two figures, times an exchange ratio, converting back to NAFl, and finally handing me not the expected 1,5 NAFl in change, but instead the following coins: 1G, one 25c coin, three 5c coins and three 1c coins (two of which promptly fall to the floor because of their tiny dimensions and light weight). And I can’t even fathom what happened when I tried to satisfy an amount with a U.S. credit card that was perfectly capable of paying exactly the right amount whether the system being used counted in U.S. dollars or NAFl. At home, the clerk simply swipes, keys in the figure, and that’s it. Anywhere on Bonaire I spent money, it seemed that extra steps were inevitable and they always took an extra 30 seconds of complex quick-fingered figuring, resulting in an average net shortage to me of about 3 cents. Let’s see – that works out to about (click-click-click) $.32 of additional revenue per hour per cash register, assuming a continuous flow of business, but netting out the normal time it takes to tally up the initial tickets. Rather than ever make a fuss about this perceived skimming, I have simply filed it under “miscellaneous local taxes of unknown origin.” I hope I am not the only one that has observed this curious phenomenon. Does anyone have an explanation?
The Ever-Jovial Raja
Whether you like Lebanese food or not, I encourage anyone who has not yet done so to experience the Garden Café. Raja is a hoot, ‘Nuff said. Go meet him yourself. Really. I think he actually is Santa Claus, and is just using his identity on Bonaire as his alias during the other 364 days of the year. And he makes mean (really good) baba ganoush.
The Kleys and Marion - Good Sleep.
Nothing makes us feel more at ease than being treated like old friends coming to visit, rather than tourists just passing through. CoCo Palm Garden / Casa Oleander is the right kind of place to stay if you want to feel right at home, instead of at just a hotel. The lavish gardening makes up for the lack of a beachfront vista - the rooms are nestled in Belnam. Bachelor's beach is just a 5 minute walk away. We enjoyed having what amounted to a private retreat, away from clusters of folks who might be intent on one-upping each other with their latest underwater sightings. Not that there is anything wrong with swapping dive stories - we enjoy that now and then, too. I highly recommend CoCo Palm to (a) honeymooners, (b) families with one or two kids that they want to keep a close eye on, (c) older couples, and (d) people who like to conserve their money with low rates and the ability to dine in by using the included kitchens. CoCo Palm might not be so good for the late 40-something, just divorced, mid-life-crisis type trying to impress a new young honey by blowing all his extra cash in the casino at a prestige resort that has rooms with seaside balconies. That's OK though, because those types would never come to Bonaire anyway. Hedonism Resorts are found on Jamaica, I think...
Two Playas for Staying, Stopping, and/or Stargazing...
Don't take the above the wrong way - I am not by any means "down" on the Bonaire resorts. For example, we love the Plaza for their nice beach, for which they don't charge - even if you are not a guest. However, after about an hour laying out on nice deck chairs at the Plaza's beach, Michelle suggested that we pick up and relocate to Pink Beach, which we literally had all to ourselves right as the sun set. The last of the local crab gathering father-son pairs was just packing up to go home with their evening pail-full. We watched as the stars came out one by one. Can't say any more about that evening here, other than we did not do anything illegal, as far as we know... (wink, wink). If you want to meet more people from different places and have more "aprés-dive" activity going on about you, the Plaza looks like one of Bonaire's state-of-the art facilities. But when you want to get away from "it all", you don't have to go very far.
Coming soon: Surface pics, "What Went Wrong", the Dive Log itself, and - later still, if any turn out OK - underwater pics...
-LS |
By Leif S on Saturday, June 29, 2002 - 8:44 pm: 
. Anyway, we bought some souvenirs, and I tried to charge it, but they said it had to be over $15 (the total was only Naf 18.01). I gave 2 Naf 10 bills, and you can imagine my chagrin when the clerk gave me a Naf 1 coin, plus an additional 99 cents in coins. I already wasn't too thrilled about the credit card minimum, and then getting back all those coins certainly didn't endear me to that particular retailer. :-)