Just got back from two weeks on Bonaire, and while I'm not really up for a full trip report just yet, I wanted to share a few kinda random thoughts about why this trip (our tenth) felt particularly special. Of course the diving and dining were great, but there seemed to be much more going on this time.

Tropical Depression #15, which become Hurricane Omar, spent almost two days forming directly over Bonaire. It was many things to us, and I suppose to most people who were there for it: powerful and beautiful, overwhelming and destructive, depressing yet fascinating, a bit frightening in the sense of the unknown potential of its fury and more than a bit amazing as a display of mother nature's power. Most of us felt many different things: it was fascinating, humbling and frightening at the same time; it created boredom, frustration and, for some, anger, as we could not dive and both the northern and southern routes were totally or partially impassable for much of the two days, yet I for one am somehow very glad I was there to witness it.

Seeing the march (or what I would call a vigil) for the young lady who was tragically killed was another unique and powerful event that gave me a deeper glimpse into the soul of this amazing community that lives in this special place. Seeing thousands of people gathered together was very, very, moving, and while I can only imagine the feelings and motivation of this gathering, to me it represented in a huge, visible manner, the kindness and spirit and concern of this community. It is difficult to imagine a substantial percentage of a country's population coming out for something like this any place else.

There were several displays of this island's ability to deal with things that I have never really seen before on Bonaire: the cleanup of the island after Omar, from fire department hosing down of streets, to an amazingly fast recovery by Buddy Dive in terms of rebuilding a dock and cleaning up the grounds; seeing search helicopters overhead the day the stormed cleared; witnessing the quick response, professionalism and skill of an ambulance crew that was called to the scene of a diving accident.

Yes, there were many ways that this was not, for us, an ordinary vacation on Bonaire.

There were many little things that were more about the people than the trappings of a vacation: daily Papiemento lessons from housekeeping and restaurant staff; a bond formed with a 2 year old little Dutch girl who, even though she spoke no English and I spoke no Dutch, built throughout the vacation into a wonderful friendship; showing a seahorse to a 12 year old newly certified diver, and getting an offer from him to carry my fins after the dive; and meeting and sharing meals, stories and good times with an unusually large number of new friends from Holland, Sweden, the UK and the US.

And oh, yeah, getting to dive Willenstoren Lighthouse (during the wind reversal) for the first time in ten years; finding a seahorse at the exact same spot as 12 months ago; celebrating my birthday at Mona Lisa and Gale's 10 days later at Capriccio's.......

A vacation on Bonaire is always fantastic and special. This one was even more so in some very special ways.

Well said Scott.

Nice Scott. Very well said.

Good report - quite detailed for a short message. I would like to hear more. I have always found Bonaire most special as a dive destination but more special to me is the people, culture, environment, and all things Bonaire. It is my retirement destination for which things are well in motion for 2009!

Excellent report Scott. There are really so many wonderful things about Bonaire which we've grown to love over the years. You've touched on some of them.

Very well said Scott. I was also very touched by the vigil. I can not imagine something like that happening in the US. It's a shame that our culture isn't as caring as the Bonaire culture has proven to be. The diving accident was another incident that opened both my daughter's, and my own eyes. Too often, it seems that we take the serious nature of diving for granted. That incident reminded us both how very lucky we are that we are able to dive, and that we have had many good dives together without incident.
The friendliness of the Bonaire people really stood out to us on this trip, more so than previous trips. For some reason, we both felt as though we were among friends. To be quite frank with you, the real highlight of our trip this year, was meeting you and Gale. Jess and I looked forward to the breakfast buffet every morning because we knew that you and Gale would probably be there at the same time we were. You are one great story teller my friend. I hope that our trips coincide again in the future.

Scott....I can only echo what the others have said with one additional comment. It seems that BT has a large number of people who look beyond the beautiful location, the excellent diving, and the good time of a vacation and see and experience more than the confines of their own resort, their own vacation, their own pleasures. Sounds like you are one of those. I'm coining a word....VACONNECTION....it's a good thing.

cheesit

joe

Nicely put Scott, it was great to meet you and Gale and I hope to see you here again some day!

Thanks for the thoughts Scott (and everybody). I'll be sharing them with my (new) wife to demonstrate why Bonaire is special to me. Bonaire is all that (and the proverbial bag o' chips)....unless you're Scott, of course. Cheers to all; love to those lost. Thanks again.

errr...sorry Scott. that should read "Bonaire is all that (plus the proverbial bag o' chips) and beyond words....unless....

Great trip report. You seem to know that a glass is always half full. We were sorry to hear about the girl on Bonaire. I guess happiness is a frame of mind. When you think you are away from all the crazy stuff in the world you have one bad apple spoiling everything. We have only been to Bonaire twice - once in May for a week then two weeks in September. It is truly diving at it's best. I have not heard any details on the diving accident. Is the diver okay?

Me and Missus - Missus you have to experience it to really appreciate it.

As far cleaning the island. We saw that in Cozumel. No FEMA trucks - Go Figure ;)

Rita, Gustav and Ike Survivor

Don--
It was indeed a pleasure hanging out with you and your daughter also. Send me a private mail via this board anytime if you'd like to keep in touch. Thanks for the kind words. Do have to apologize for one thing -- I think that one morning I referred to you as Long Islanders, not Pennsylvanians. Chalk that up to nitrogen- or sun-induced confusion, or perhaps just a senior moment or brain fart .

Babs--
Dinner with you and other BT'ers at Bobbe Jans was a lot of fun; honored to have met you all. And the ribs were yummy as always.....

Ron--
Word is that the diver was okay and did not need a chamber ride. Out of respect for his/her privacy I think I'll choose to not post any hearsay on the details. The response of EMS (or whatever they call it on Bonaire) appeared to be prompt, high tech (by my layman's observations anyway) and impressive. Response by guests and dive staff was also impressive. My guess is that if you need a liver transplant or advanced cancer treatment, I suspect that Bonaire may not be the most advanced country in the world, but it appeared to me that when it comes to diving injuries they are pretty damn good.

I'll try to post some photos of the storm. Here's the first one: Lion's Den looking north to Capt. Don's.

Buddy Dive Dock during storm:



Lion's Den looking South toward Sand Dollar:



Beach sinkhole at Buddy Dive:



Dock damage at Buddy Dive:

Ah, but there were also good views from the same vantage point:

Flamingo at Gotomeer:

Scott, great pics, thanks.