Ron & Ellen’s dive report part 2

With the first day and two dives under my weight belt my second day (Weds.) of diving was easier and I felt more comfortable than I was on my first day.
Met up with Bas N. at the same time and place but got off to a quicker start due to no paperwork to fill out (next time I will fill it out the day before). Loaded up the tanks and we were off. Ellen decided to stay back and catch some sun at the beach instead of tagging along; boy was she going to be disappointed (read on).
First dive was La Dania’s Leap. Took the gear out of the truck and I drove the truck down to Karpata and took the walk back in my wetsuit (more like sweat suit). Put our gear on by the roadside and made the walk down the path. Waited for the wave and giant stride entry in. Bas handed me the camera and jumped in. Got away from the rocks and descended. Awesome dive as the current gods were smiling on us making the dive a nice and easy drift.
On the way to Karpata along the slope we saw a lot of nice hard and soft coral formations. Had the usual species of fish but in large numbers here for some reason. Lots of juvi. Creole Wrasses here too. I know they are all over the place but I really like their color. Bas spotted out a Spiny Lobster hiding in the rocks that I would have never spotted if not for him. Of course by that time I was out of film! He later told me that you don’t see many Lobsters anymore like you used to, bummer.






Saw the anchor and the study tiles at Karpata where we exited after 55 minutes and it was back to the truck.
Time for lunch so I asked Bas if he minded going back to Maiky Snack again and he was like “Are you kidding me? I love Maiky Snack and could eat there everyday!” So it was back to the snack. This time for goat stew, which was to die for. I was expecting it to taste like beef stew but was I in for a wonderful surprise. The meat was spiced just the right way that it tasted more like BBQ than stew. It was absolutely delicious and I am so glad that Bas hooked me up with the Maiky Snack.

After a great lunch we were off to the south end for our last dive. This is where I experienced the most incredible part of the entire vacation. As we were driving down the road looking to see how crowded the dive sites were Bas said, I’m going to watch for Dolphins while you drive. Somewhere north of White Slave Bas starts yelling “Dolphins, Dolphins!” and there they were, a pod of them swimming in the shallows heading south. We parked the truck at White Slave but did not have time to get or dive gear on so we just snorkeled out. Two minutes later the whole pod swan right past us, I mean RIGHT PAST US! They were grouped out in 3’s and bigger. Some to our left some to our right, around 30 of them total. After they past us Bas just starts screaming he was so excited, I think I was in shock. It was just too awesome words cannot describe it. We got out of the water and back into the truck and headed south watching for the pod. When we saw where they were at we motored south to get enough time ahead of us to get our dive gear on and into the water. We ended up at Soft Coral Gardens and parked the truck. We had to hurry to get into the water but Bas mentioned to hurry but be safe setting up. We got into the water out about as deep as we saw them at White Slave and waited for them to come. The wind had picked up a little and the waves were bobbing us up and down to the point that you could only look for them when a wave lifted to up high enough. We waited about 20 minutes (I may have been driving a little fast to get ahead) and there they were. Got under the water but this time they stayed a little bit away from us than they did before, I hear they are afraid of the bubbles. We were still less than 25 feet away from them and this time the pod had split up a little more. After they passed we surfaced for a little bit to talk a about the Dolphins and then the rest of our dive plan.
Soft Coral Gardens was also a great dive. Not as many fish, but the soft coral and sponges make up for it (actually the Dolphins made up for it). This is a great place to look for juvi. Filefish in the Gorgonians and Sea Fans.





50 minutes later it was time to get out of the water and head back to the dive shop to drop off tanks and gear.
PADI was there on the same day and were testing several guys at Tropical Divers for I think instructor certification. Bas said I had to stop for at least one beer at Old Inn because they would all be celebrating. Had a beer and met some of the guys who were all very friendly to me being the stranger. It was funny because they would speak Dutch to each other at first and then when they found out I spoke only English they would apologize and speak English, great group of people there.
When I got back to our room I had to break the bad news to Ellen. I did not see 1 Dolphin….or 2 Dolphins….or 3,4,or 5 or even 10 Dolphins. I saw a whole pod of at least 30 Dolphins!! While she was disappointed she did not see them she was happy for me (she would get here day later on in the week. More on that in our trip report).

In closing I would like to say that for being the first time I dove in Bonaire (back in ’05 although I was certified I only snorkeled with my wife) I think it would be hard to top what I all saw in those two days. I also am so glad that I met Bas N. and would hire him again in a heartbeat the next time we are there. He showed me just what I wanted to see and dive the kind of sites that I would describe to him (wall, etc.). He also was a huge help to me to regain my confidence in the water, extend my total dive time and get my buoyancy in check (something I was not very good at before). I highly recommend him if you are looking for a guide. Thanks to him I had a very memorable time that I will never forget.
Till next time……. THAT JUST HAPPENED!


(Message edited by limpit on April 18, 2008)

Ron, Great report! The dolphin experience makes me jealous. I can tell how much fun you had by your descriptions. Look forward to more installments and pictures.

LOL.....THAT JUST HAPPENED :-)

Yeah man....I was sure screaming after the dolphins passed. Unique experience! I have retold and relived the story many times (in my memory....no more live Dolphin dives so far).

Till next time....SHAKE 'N BAKE!

Whew, that was way cool. Dang beginner's luck and you know the only trip I even saw dolphins in the distance was my first trip. Also great job, Bas getting ahead of them.

Gee, you got me all excited reading that, I can tell how excited yall were!!! That was great!!!
More...please...

Photos of the dolphins are great ! We were lucky to experience seeing them last time in Bonaire also. Great photos

Thanks Ron! Great report. Sounds like you may have caught the same Bonaire fever that so many of the rest of us have a case of.

Ron, great report, and great pics of the dolphins...wow...

Bas...shake n' bake...good movie Hope you are doing well, and that Ramon is getting some diving in these days

Yeah.....RESTECP (wink to Ali G who was also in Taladega nights) to all who contributed to Ramon's dive gear. Especially John 'Smack' and Cynde Lee for their generous donations!!!

I might have to post another 'gear request' since someone stole Ramons fins recently...so I'm looking for a pair of fins and booties (Size 8).

I have a pair of 'pool fins' that he uses in the meantime so at least he can dive still!!!

Once I get our new UW camera working I will post some pics (but I am a lazy bugger so it might take a few years).

Ayooooooooooooo

Hey Bas,
You looking for full size open heel fins?

Don't know what you mean with full size but it is indeed open heel fins including booties (size 8 shoesize) he needs.

Wow! What a wonderful experience! My dive buddy learned that "DOLPHIN" actually means stop let me out of the truck! I still have not been in the water with them, but I am happy just stopping and watching them go by on the surface. What an amazing event for you!

Bas, I have some paddle fins I don't use anymore, they are either a small or medium (bootie kind). Such a shame his got stolen I say post again for Ramon, and maybe with a picture of him and his story?

SHAKE N' BAKE...lol!

Bas is a terrific guy. We just got back today, will post a trip report soon. WE SAW DOLPHINS TOO!

Just to prevent confusion....there are 2 Diveguides named Bas. Even though I obviously do not refer to myself as 'the other Bas' I am kinda 'Other Bas' in the BT community since Bas Tol has been here longer. Yana started to call me OB1 (Other Bas 1) some time ago and many people now refer to me as such. I dive westcoast mostly....Bas T dives eastcoast mainly. So westcoast Bas and eastcoast Bas, Bas N and Bas T, 'Bas' and 'OB1'.....it all works for me.

Ayoooooooooooooo

Bas 'OB1' Noij

Oops, sorry! I'm sure you're just as nice!

Awesome report!!! I dream of your dolphin encounter!!!! You are very lucky to have had sucH and incredible experience.

Bas...you finally got your dolphins encounter! congrats!

Yeah Scott....I sure did :-)

Bos N or OB1 loved looking at Ron's pictures of the dolphins, my husband and I will be there for our first trip starting June 7th. We are going to be staying for the week at Buddy Dive. Wondering how do we hook up with you for a guided dive? We are looking for a simpler find other then dolphins (although nobody in there right mind would turn that down), LOL, but who said divers were in there right mind anyway? We are actually looking for some good picture opportunities of Seahorses.

i want to dive with dolphins tooooooo. have only seen them from boat and only about 5 or 6.
es

u were sooooooooooooo luuuuucccccckkkyyyyyyyyy.