Hello my BT buddies! I was contemplating posting or not, since I posted a lot while on island. I decided that since I did not post much while Wes was with me, I would start there. I am currently downloading Picasa in hopes of salvaging my underwater pics. I will include two untouched. They are not as good as my land shots. I will post more underwater shots later.

Here is our dive shop:
This is a great place to eat!
And I had to post this of Tiki. She loves the new house Bette and fam moved into, especially the windows.

Wes and I took off exploring on his off gas day. We finally made it to Seru largu. It only took 5 trips to Bonaire. LOL!

Then we got to spend the afternoon with Ann. We headed to the caves and Spelunk.

Here are three sunsets that I don't believe I posted already.

And finally, two untouched photos. Yes, I do like these guys - a lot!

But this is the very special encounter we had at Sweet Dreams. It was our first time diving the site and as we entered there was this huge turtle. She took one look at us and off she went into the deep. I sighed and waved. About 15 minutes into the dive I hear Wes yell "JEANINE!!!" I turn to the blue and there she was. She had come up behind us and checked Wes out and was going off into the blue again. She heard Wes too and turned to look. I'm guessing she liked the look of my very yellow camera as she swam right to me. Wes said we were barely inches apart. She was as long as I am tall (5 feet) and was about 3 times as wide as me. She was amazing!!!! Then she opened her mouth like she was going to taste my camera and I pulled it back. She jumped, I jumped, Wes laughed is $%# off and she swam away. I am always going to treasure that encounter. She was beautiful!

Here are some underwater photos. I touched up some, but not all. I am reposting the big turtle with some Picasa fixes. Not sure which I like better. Sorry these are not as good as what other people post. It was my first time out with a camera.



Sorry to those on dial up. I'm done though. So goodnight!

Tribs your pictures ROCK!!!! I love the turtle captures for sure AND the spotted drum...my fav!!!
You did a fantastic job and I miss your daily reports/

Thanks ALSO for the pic of the new stairs at Bachelor's; will love that when next I dive there.

Pretty good for your first shot out of the box Jeanine. Sounds like you and Wes had a blast.

Good report Tribs, thanks for sharing... Ron

Tribs, these are just GREAT photos!! They are like what I want to take...even your cropping is great!! I have canvas's that some will work on, just like you have them...not that I borrowed any...
That turtle is FANTASTIC!!!!
And the Eagle ray w/ the shadow, I love that!!

Fantastic Tribs,
Always when in doubt whether to post or not, always post.
We with PBD or PBS need all the input we can get.
Thank you, skip

Thanks for adding new photos! You live a great life!

Tribs, great report and pics. I agree with Seb, good shots. I love the turtle encounter...how cool is that? Something to hold you over till your next trip.

The caves are cool aren't they, but getting there is half the experience...lol...

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the kind comments everyone! I want to thank Kathy for the cameras. Without her kindness I wouldn't have any underwater pics.

I also want to thank Ann for being such a good friend! I cannot wait to hang out again! She is amazing!!!! Both Wes and I love her to pieces.

Then there is Bette and Fam who took pitty on me and spent their family time hanging out. If anyone meets their little Marein, give him a big hug for me!

Lots of you know I spent time at the Animal Shelter. It is therapeutic for me. I loved cleaning the puppy cage and working with the animals. I am so grateful to Jane for letting me come out and volunteer. I am very saddened because I did not get to bring home a kitten. Logistics and the size of our current pride just were not conducive. However, Wes and I have decided that once our pride shrinks in size, we will adopt a Bonairian kitty. Fluffy (over 25 years of age) must pass eventually and when she does, she will have a Bonairian successor.

I'm having a serious PBD day.

Hi Tribs,
Nice shots... especially for film and first time with a camera underwater. Sooo glad you had a cool turtle encounter, too. The one we had was with a much smaller girl, but just as special

Got more??

guess I should finally get around to posting my pics from March, eh??

Becky,
Yeah, pictures please.
Skip

Tribs, thanks for posting your report and pictures.
Very good for first time with camera.

tribs
loved readng your report. pictures are great. i can't wait to get there. will be down the same time as ra.
es

Great Final Report TRIBS, and all the on island ones too !! I've been watching and learning Kontiki has Free Wifi !!

gorgeous pictures Thanks for the Bonaire "fix"

Tribs, nice pics :-) Have you posted any from the BT get together ?

Tribs, great pics. Thanks so much for sharing.

good stuff Tribs - great first timer shots...

Hi Tribs,
Great shots and a fabulous trip report!

Underwater photo is so difficult - your subject is often moving, you are often moving (current, etc.), it is a wonder any photos turn out. You did very well, especially for a first timer.

I also have to confess that while you were in Bonaire, I was a "lurker" and really enjoyed your trip reports and comments. They actually helped my PBD! I hope I will get a chance to meet you in Bonaire someday!

Cindy

Tribs, great post and pics, thanks, help this morning. Great meeting you at the shelter, such a great place and it does help as Susan and I miss our kid/cat much when away.

Hope to see you again next year with more dive time and less condo work on the agenda.

Patrick

Beautiful trip report. We are trying to plan our first trip and you have been such an inspiration. Great pictures. Keep them coming.

GREAT pics Tribs - thank you so much for sharing and deciding to go ahead and share so much with us. We are blessed to have you as a virtual buddy!

Ms. Tribs, ya dun gud

Wonderful turtle encounter. Interacting with the 'dumb' animals is always the best part of the diving on Bonaire!!!

Love the topside shots! Good job.

Tribs, great report and pics. Glad you had a wonderful time!!

Great trip report!!! Amazing photos! Wow, Bonaire is gorgeous!

Just beautiful Tribs! Enjoyed every single one of them!

Tribs - are you going to do a trip report for "Wine Weekend"? Becky can do one too and then not feel so guilty about not doing her's from March...

Great report Jeanine! I'm soooooo jealous...90 or so days to go still....

Hey Mo... I did a trip report in March, just didn't do my pictures!!! :-P I'm working on them though... I took too many and they're tough to get through while answering a pager I know... poor me, poor me By the way... we still haven't seen a report from Boom (1 year now???) so I'm not the only Slacker (sorry Boom, you know I love ya right??)

Anyway... back to Trib's report... Nice work, BRAVO!!!

(Message edited by morgans4me on July 23, 2008)

Tribs. Great report and pictures. You did a fab job with your underwater shots. Your turtle encounter will be something that can never be taken away from you. It will be something to remember and make you smile a BIG smile. She was a big girl wasn't she?!

I will be taking my camera with this weekend, so hopefully we can do a wine weekend trip report.

So....I did a total of 120 dives. Not too shabby given all of the equipment issues. I found a few more photos that I had not yet posted (I think).







I put a bunch out on Facebook. I just didn't want to duplicate pictures here that I had posted while on island.

Excellante!! Thanks for the pics Trib - and no, 120 dives isn't too shabby (she says as she is turning green, green, green).

Ok - we'll be expecting a wine trip report. Have fun you guys!!!

Good job, Tribs! Loved all the pics and the report.