BONAIRE TRIP REPORT

OCTOBER 3-18, 2008

TRAVEL---I flew the Boston, Houston , Bonaire Continental Red eye for the first time and really enjoyed it. Getting to Bonaire at O Dark thirty in the morning was really nice. I had booked my room an extra night so that I could get settled in and rest and well worth doing so. The hardest part was staying awake in Houston for the connecting flight! J All flights were on time or ahead of schedule both ways. On the way home though, I found it a little tight. I had to go from terminal E to C and just made it there as Row 18 was boarding!

RESTAURANTS--- I still have not had a bad dinner in Bonaire!

BobbyJans-Always great food for a great price

Pasa Bon Pizza-Great fish pizza and the chocolate cake is to die for

Mi Banana- It is a wonderful local restaurant with good food and great prices. The Chicken Cordon blue is yummy

Sunset (I think that is the name)-The new restaurant that Kirk from Lion’s Den opened at Dan Leman. Wonderful food and nicely presented

It’s Raining Fishes- I always enjoy it there

Mona Lisa-There food is excellent and the bar hap specials are very reasonably priced.

Bistro De Paris- I had a delicious lunch there with friends.

Donna and Georgio’s- I didn’t get there for dinner, as my reservations were for the night that Omar was there.L But I did manage to have a few Pina Coladas and Tara me sue there which was awesome.

Unbelievable- a new restaurant that just had opened. It is located a block closer to town on the same road as the entrance to Divi. Robby that use to manage Richard’s owns it. It is simply Unbelievable!!! J The service is excellent and the decor is beautiful with a marine life theme. They had a fish ashtray that I really loved and I was telling Janice from JanArt about it and she is going to make me one and I will pick it up in March!!! The food melted in your mouth and the prices were not that bad. I love his plates!



Lodging- Carib Inn, It is my second stay there and I really love it there!! It is very quaint with a lot of regulars that go the at the same time of year so you know folks right away which is really nice when you travel solo. If I am not with friends or in the water, you can always find me in the Gazebo right on the water’s edge!

This was my 19th trip to Bonaire and when I go again in March with my husband it will be my 20th time and our 10 consecutive year!!! We were trying different islands every year but when we found Bonaire we knew we had found our paradise and we haven’t gone anywhere since.


The first night I was there I met up with Becky and her Mom at BobbyJans for dinner. We had several dinners together and a nice sail and snorkel on the Woodwind. It was fun spending time with the both of you!

It was Regatta the first week I was there. It was beautiful watching all the brightly colored sails in the water. One of the sails on the Woodwind, the racers were actually sailing right by us and it was awesome seeing them that close! Ulf organized the working boat parade and invited me along. All the dive boats decorate and go up and down the shoreline at sunset. It is really nice.

The scheduled dinner with BT folks was a fun time. I got to see Ron and Diane who I knew from staying at Dive Inn and I met Kristi, Ken, Cindy and the other Ken. Well actually I had already met the other Ken as he was staying at the Carib Inn. When we met we were chatting and I was telling him how I was using my new camera for the first time and I had no idea how I was doing with it so he offered to let me see my first day’s pictures on his laptop! How cool was that! Thanks Ken!!! By the way, your pictures are professional quality!!!!




I was disappointed that the BT sail was cancelled due to Omar. I was looking forward to sailing with new friends and old. Sorry I missed you Gail and Scott! I did see you waving from the truck though!

I don’t know how to explain being on island during Omar. It was exciting and exhilarating yet depressing at the same time to know the destruction it was doing on land and to the reef. The power and force of the waves were incredible! Mother Nature does have a way of showing you respect for what she is capable of! When the BT sail was cancelled, Ken was going to take a ride to the east side to check out how the coastline was doing and he offered to take me along. We rode all along the coast checking out the wave action. The east side was flat as a board! We went all the way to the Spelonk lighthouse. Off the subject, but the roads out that way aren’t really roads and now I know what four wheeling is like! What a fun time navigating through mud puddles was!! Thanks again Ken!! Renee picked me up the following morning when the rain was going sideways. She wanted me to take some pictures of the storm so I put my camera in the housing and off we went. Sometimes the wind would blow me backwards. We saw some really powerful wave action and I got lots of pictures that I will post in a separate section.

I saw some birds that I have never seen before and one isn’t in my bird book of Bonaire so I don’t know the name. If anyone knows it, please let me know.



I had a first siting of a Green Heron.

I got to see Pelican’s up close and personal!!








And then there were the usual Bananaquit

and Rudy Turnstone
I also saw Lora’s, Humming birds, Trupials, and mockingbirds.

As most of you know, I split up my morning time with Renee’s guided snorkels www.reneeguidedsnorkels.com and sailing on the Woodwind. www.woodwindbonaire.com They both know what I have seen, what I want to see and what I haven’t seen and both make sure if it is there that I see it!!!! Both are great times and well worth it!!!





The Woodwind is a trimaran that serves snacks, lunch and drinks with several snorkel stops. Dee is changing things up a bit and going to different sites at Kline and they are awesome!!! Tons of turtles, schools of fish and beautiful gorgonians and fans that are in shallow water. We did drifts from Monks Haven to South West Corner, Just a Nice Dive to Jerrys, Ebos to No Name, Nearest Point . I think I have the names right and of course over to the Andrea snorkel sites. We saw a Coronet fish at Monks haven and I haven’t seen one in Bonaire in a few years!

We also saw a huge Loggerhead turtle. I think it was at South West Corner. It was a little deep for me so I have a memory shot to give you an idea of the size.
I had several awesome encounters and one of them was with Woodwind at Andrea and I was looking in the wrong direction and Dee made sure I saw it! I got to watch a turtle eating a jelly up close and personal for at least twenty minutes!!! I thought I had died and went to heaven!







When doing guided snorkels with Renee we went to the following sites. Yellow Submarine,Yellow Hut, Small Wall, Lac Bay, and the fisherman’s pier on the edge of the mangroves. They all had great stuff to see and Renee knew where to find it!
My very first snorkel with Renee was to Yellow Submarine and I got out of the water saying, “It couldn’t get any better than that!” I could have packed up right then and there and went home a happy camper!!! Remember I had the new camera and wasn’t even use to it yet and as soon as we were in the water there was a Spotted Eagle Ray!!!! I didn’t even know what button to push but I managed to get these pictures!!!








Then as soon as the ray left we saw an octopus out in the open with a bar jack feeding off of it. They amused us for quite a while.














Then there was a Permit fish.



We saw six or seven tarpon.
A Balloon fish,

Squid, a Sharp tail eel, White spotted eel, Purple moray and a lot of the regulars. It was just an incredible snorkel!

We saw some beautiful Rainbow Parrotfish at Lac Bay

and lots of other fish life wherever you looked.

When we went to the fisherman’s pier it was a lot of fun. Not only is the fish life great, but that is where I got to see the Pelican’s up close. All along the pier there are tons of baby fish life and even a baby lobster! They are sooooo cute!!!!











Between the pier and the mangrove there are tons of Upside down Jelly fish! You need to know what to look for as they really blend in on the bottom. They are really cool to watch.











I also went to Lac Cai with friends from the Inn while the divers dove. I saw the usual characters and some beautiful fans. On one of my afternoon snorkels out in front of the Inn and Divi, I saw an octopus all nestled in his home, A Blue crab, and another Permit fish. And on my last snorkel, which was after Omar, I went in not expecting to see much and a lone Ocean Triggerfish came to say good-bye to me!!



Well, folks this was going to be short but I guess I just don’t know the meaning of the word short when it comes to Bonaire!!! There is just too much to tell and I know I have forgotten a ton!! So till next time!!! Happy diving and snorkeling!!!!!

.

Great report ! thanks

nice pics, nice colors ! nice trip...! come back to Bonaire soon !

Darlene, nice trip report, but the pic's just rock!

Sorry I double posted a few.

Darlene - great pics, great report. You are right, once on BON, where else can you go!!!

Nice D

more pictures

more pics

Excellent Darlene.. Till the next trip

here are some of the pictures of Omar

Darlene, as always, I am impressed by your written report and photos

My husband informed me that I did the math wrong. It was my 17th trip and in March it will be my 18th and our 10th year going to Bonaire.

The picture with the gate is where one of Divi's dock was.Just the posts remained.
Also, I think that the sharptail eel posted is a gold spotted eel.

Thanks for the nice comments.

Simply Awesome, Darlene! You did good with your new camera. Loved the report and pics.

Darlene, what a great report!! AND YOUR PICS!!!!!!! I love the color!! Just beautiful!!!

Great report and photos! What type is your new camera?

Great photos and report, Darlene! Makes me look forward even more to my next trip in March

Darlene

Many thanks for your great trip report and pictures.

Very good Darlene - thank you for sharing :-) I am waiting for somebody to identify the bird!

Darlene -- great report.

May I ask what kind of camera you are using? You took some incredible photos ...

Awesome Darlene! We loved spending time with you as well.

I think the bird might be a frigate bird or some kind of albatross looking at the beak. I can't remember if frigate's have the hooked beak, I know albatross do. Sorry, it's the best I can do
Awesome photos, Girl!!!

now to get working on my report... BAD Becky!!!

We just got the Olympus 1010 camera and I love it!!!

Excellent report and pictures, Darlene.

I am very happy you like the new camera. I just love the deep blues, especially in the turtle shots. That is something the Sony's never seemed to get.

I also like the depth of field in the macro shots, that was a concern with this camera. Being totally automatic I was afraid that it would leave the lens open when close to the subject. No it seems to stop the lens down. I tried a macro shot at the party and noticed the lens was at F10, very nice.

You sure can not beat the size and a 7x zoom.

I got all excited about your new camera, only to find out the housing is discontinued. These are great shots! Maybe I'm just not destined to have an underwater camera!

Nice job Darlene. Please send me your snapfish invatation... Ron

Gail look on E-bay, the housing is not available in the US but it is still available in Japan and last time I looked there was several people with them in stock.

hey Darlene!!
Wonderful report! I loved your photos. The turtle is amazing eating the jelly.

I love upside down jelly fish. So cool you got shots of them, They are beautiful!

Was wonderful to meet you and hopefully we will meet again!!

Gail, We just got a Canon G9. Still learning to use all the settings but it is an amazing camera!

housing available!!

Great pictures Darlene. They get better with each trip. I think your mystery bird may be a magnificent frigate bird. We're used to seeing them high overhead rather than perched. Looking forward to being on island with you in March.

Amazing photos! Thanks for taking the time to post them.

Darlene----as always, wonderful trip report & photo's The turtle eating the jelly is very cool & so is the spotted eagleray
We feel the same way about Bonaire....have no desire to go anywhere else!
Thanks for sharing

Great report and great pics.

It was really nice meeting you. Maybe again next october!

The bird you weren't sure of is the magnificent frigate bird. The males have a bright red breast which they puff up.

Darlene, wonderful pictures and report. My husband is coming to Bonaire with me in March--his first time, my 4th. He doesn't dive, barely snorkels, but I want to take him places he will like. How do you get to the mangrove/fisherman's pier? Do you freedive for most of your pix?

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

Becky, Nathalie and ED, Thanks for helping me ID the bird!! I agree that it is a Magnificent Frigate. Boy do they look different when perched.I thought he had some bad feathers on his back end but now I realize it is his forked tail.

Deborah,The fisherman's pier is over by Lac Bay. I do it with Renee Guided snorkels so I am not good at directions. You might want to do a guided where he is new to snorkeling. Renee will show him where to look for fish life. I have learned a lot from her! And don't forget she is in the water all the time and she knows where everything is!
I can't hold my breath long and I can only free dive 10 or 15 feet with 8lbs of weight on.Even at that, as soon as I stop finning I am bobbing back up!! That makes taking pitchers quite a challenge for me.

Gail T.--Ditto what Cecil says about EBAY. The housing was discontinued when I bought it.

Ken- The East side tour rocked!!!!!

Hey D....so bummed I had to cancel this trip with you. But I almost feel like I was there with your pics! Your new camera ROCKS!! Wow! Best pics you have ever taken!!

Thanks for the trip report--and photos! I particularly love the turtle shots--tremendous clarity and those deep blues are awesome!

BTW, I don't think the bar jack is feeding off the octopus; I believe he is shadow hunting--hoping he gets the octopus' prize before the octopus does!

On one particular dive in Bonaire, I was "shadowing" a tilefish, trying to observe it more closely and perhaps get a good shot; I didn't realize that a trumpetfish was shadowing ME! It jumped out from behind me at one point and very nearly got the tilefish. I resolved to keep my distance in future...

Thanks for the nice report & pictures. The turtles are interesting. I'm glad you saw the coronet fish. I was wondering were he was. It was nice to see you again. Time on Bonaire goes so fast.

Love the report and pics Darlene, alas we were a day off again...hope to see you on the island soon!

WOW.. beautiful pics.. :-)