This was our first trip to Bonaire and I'd like to thank all the people who have posted good advice on this site in the past to make our trip more enjoyable.
We drove the 6 hours from Thunder Bay to Minneapolis on Thursday and did the park & fly at the Homewood Suites in Bloomington, across from the Mall Of America. Flew Continental to Houston then the red-eye. No problems with flights or luggage there or on the return leg. I can recommend Pappadeux in IAH if you have enough time very unlike most airport food. Of note with the new baggage charges people are carrying on more luggage, even sizes that are too large so overhead bin space is getting more limited.
Used AB Carrental arranged by Al at Black Durgon. We got a Mazda truck with a/c. The truck was pretty beat up & had some rust. These trucks have a lousy turning radius and are pretty gutless. But it was functional and in good working order for the entire time.
Stayed at the Black Durgon Inn and was there at the same time as Brad & Sheldon Ford who already posted a trip report. The BDI rooms are well worn but we weren't there except to sleep. Of note there is no blanket if one of you is prone to chill. They supply 1 towel & facecloth per person & soap.Better bring/buy your own shampoo. Some rooms are better than others, we had to move for the last 2 nights and the second room needs curtains on the 2 windows facing the bed to block some of the morning sunlight.
Doris is great,she does the housekeeping & breakfast. She chased the annoying rooster next door all the way down the street one day.Al the owner is softspoken and very helpful.He even broke out a couple of bottles of bubbly to sip on the dock while watching the July 4 fireworks at Captain Dons.
The open air kitchen was nice for breakfast & we made ourselves lunch most days. Ate out for supper most nights,except when everyone made a BBQ one night. It was also nice to sit around and talk in the evening with a couple of beers.I must say I tried both Polar & Amstel Brights and they are very similiar but personally I give a slight edge to the Brights.
I found the mosquitos really liked me.
Bobbejan's takeout was good especially the Sate.
Bambu,Patagonia,Papaya Moon,ChibiChibi were also good
Cactus Blue I was not impressed
Italian I preferred Donna & Giorgio chicken parmesean/lasagne was hearty to Capriccio's elegance
Casablanca mixed grill & eat for 2 days
City Cafe not bad
La Guerinca tapas were good
Lions Den was the most expensive meal we ate,lobster
Wils Tropical was the best meal we ate
Maiky Snack I can't recommend Iguana Soup or Goat Stew but the Wahoo was good & preferred tutu to funchi
Drove around the southern end & up through Rincon(not the park-next trip) nice drives.Did the Donkey Sanctuary got bitten but they are still cute.Did the Butterfly Farm,wife liked it.
Diving
What can I say, it is unbelievable.Turtles,rays,eels,squid,octopus,tarpon,cuda,scorpionfish etc.Susan Porters book is a must. We dove most of the Easy sites from 1000 steps to Margate Bay. Al normally allows only 1 tank on the road at a time but because it was slower he allowed us to take 2 when going to the southern sites. Really liked the 3 wrecked boats of Eden Beach & will try & dive the Hooker next trip.Did 3 night dives all at Small Wall.Really enjoyed Cliff & the ROck and got to watch an eagle ray feeding at Margate Bay.A plane flew overhead when we were at Windsock the noise was deafening underwater.Visibility was highly variable but always pretty good. I can't wait to go back.
A thanks to Bruce's staff at Caribe Inn who repaired my wife's inflator hose & replaced her second stage hose(pinhole leak) 2 separate instances when we were diving Calabas.Also the photo staff at Buddy's who helped with a bad O-ring.
No pictures my Sealife DC600 flooded a couple of weeks before the trip.Should get the refurbished replacement soon $160.
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By Rolf Kurzhals (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 8:08 am: 
BDI is sparce, but you can't beat the reef