By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1575) on Monday, December 15, 2008 - 10:54 pm: |
Trip Report, Bonaire, Dec. 6-13, 2008
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By Jerry (BonaireTalk Deity - Post #14498) on Monday, December 15, 2008 - 11:04 pm: |
Well done Niki, thank you for taking the time to post.
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1576) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 12:17 am: |
LOL! Bob says I made it look like I dumped him and took up with a girl-friend. I am still married! I just needed to go for a focussed diving refresher after a dicey experience in April in the BVI. He was under a lot of pressure at work so I invited my old college buddy Elizabeth to join me. We've been friends for 34 years. She had heard of our going to Bonaire all these years and was excited to see it first hand. She loved it too. Unfortunately she lost her camera with all the pictures on the way home yesterday in the ladies room at San Juan airport. :-( That's two cameras down.
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By R J (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #111) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 12:19 am: |
Thank you for posting about your trip.
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By Carole B. (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6999) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 12:50 am: |
Hi, Niki!! How wonderful to see you on BT again. It's been a long time, my friend. So glad you were able to get back to our little piece of paradise in the world. Doesn't it feel great when you get off that plane...feels like home.
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1577) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 1:15 am: |
Hi Carole! Yes, it's been a long time. I thought of you often last week. And you're doing a first December/winter trip too! You'll love it. Greener than ever, milder heat and wind than May/June. It was just perfect. Minus the bug bites on my legs, though; Rains have brought water everywhere. You'll be amazed.
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By Pegi Sue, PegiPie******************* (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #7819) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 7:03 am: |
Great report Niki!
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By Skip C (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #154) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 8:08 am: |
Way to go Pegi Sue. There are great people on BT!
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By Cecil* (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #7102) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 8:08 am: |
Great report and you are right about verifying, I've been burned by that a few times now and still have not learned a thing. You know the definition of crazy...
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By Jim McPeak (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1780) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 9:47 am: |
Niki, the first time we ever went to Bonaire, 16 trips ago, we had the exact same problem with the Divi. I did a Popeye with the "That's all I can stand, I can't stands no more." I went down to the front desk at 2:00 in the morning, as we came in on American very late. I got very Philadelphian on them. They thought this guy is a lunatic, and gave us the oceanfront room, 206 if I remember correctly. Life was all good after that.
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By Kelly (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #5895) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 11:46 am: |
Jim, maybe they knew of your malaria symptoms and thought it better to keep you quarantined?
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1578) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 4:59 pm: |
Thanks PegiSue, you rock!
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By ****Tink**** (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #7993) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 6:47 pm: |
Niki, glad you got back to Bon, and had a good time.
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1579) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 8:02 pm: |
I'll write something that makes it educational, and post it in a bit.
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By Timmmy (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6246) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 10:46 pm: |
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1580) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 11:28 pm: |
Subject: "Dicey in the BVI's"
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1581) on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 11:31 pm: |
TimmmmmY, thanks! My arms got so tired! But I didn't have a watch and thought the captures were 4 minutes apart. Did Larry show up with me that afternoon?
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By Carole B. (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #7002) on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 6:27 am: |
So glad you are OK, Niki. Bonaire tends to make everyone feel "better", doesn't it! It's just Bonaire's "way". Hope to see you next spring. Hugs. cb
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By Jim McPeak (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1785) on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 11:18 am: |
Have you ever seen a jack a$$ who has had malaria? He is a very dangerous animal when you don't throw him a carrot. LOL
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By pat murphy (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1676) on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 11:39 am: |
niki, which liveaboard did you do in the bvi? we did the cuan law 10 1/2 years ago. it was only our fourth dive vacation after two on bonaire and one on a cattle boat in the keys. i know we had to do a checkout dive and perform various evolutions but because we were still fairly new i don't remember if we were told about that in advance or not. it wasn't a bad trip but definitely not the "diving freedom" you have on bonaire.
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By ****Tink**** (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #8004) on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 11:40 am: |
Nikki, thanks for sharing. Did you talk with the company that runs the live aboard about the fact that they gave you no information about the skills test? Finding that out on the fly would make me a tad uncomfortable as well. I'm glad you went to Bonaire and got comfortable in the water again.
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1582) on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 2:58 pm: |
Pat, that's the very boat we were on. The crew is not the same as 10 years ago, and the diving crew were quite young. I did give them all the feedback I could. It seemed like an unfortunate circumstance, because the trip is really top-notch in all aspects. Other passengers who were frequent users of liveaboards world-wide said that they had never been asked to perform skills first thing, by surprise, and were also dismayed by a few other details, such as towing divers, when they were being swept away on a current, through swells, on a thin line (no gloves), instead of letting them get in the zodiak. They yelled at the driver before three divers' tanks clonked into the fourth, like emptying a skewer of meat!
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By Bud Gillan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #317) on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 3:43 pm: |
Hey Niki (and Bob),
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1583) on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 5:18 pm: |
Hi Bud! :-)
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1584) on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 5:55 pm: |
You know what, Cynde? When I asked the crew in BVI, 'why don't you tell divers in advance about the requirements on the orientation dive?' they said something like, 'you should at all times be ready to pass mask and air tests.' It had a kind of "gotcha" feel to me, like they accomplished something by causing surprise discomfort. OK, maybe so. But really, isn't it better to have the most informed guests possible? What if I did get hurt? Not worth it one bit. The tests were standard procedure on the yacht; so why not a standard part of the advance information? I learned ahead of time all about how to get beverages on board. and many other trivial things.
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By ****Tink**** (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #8019) on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 6:43 pm: |
Niki, that is a beautiful yacht! I think that you are correct, in that it should be part of the prepartion (telling you where the drinks are, and that you will be required to pass as skills test). I admit, that the mask removal thing for me has always been an issue, so at least twice a year, I sit at the bottom of the pool and take it off, put it on, take it off, put it on, take it off, put it on, until I am 100% comfortable and it's second nature. I do this because if my mask ever does come off, or get kicked off, I don't want to panic.
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1585) on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 8:05 pm: |
Right, it's extremely beautiful on board. I would recommend it to anyone. Best thing for me was the gourmet meals! Oh my! did we eat well!
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By ****Tink**** (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #8028) on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 12:02 am: |
Niki, based on your experience, would you do it again?
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1587) on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 2:22 am: |
I would do it again, yes! I could also see chartering one's own. We have thought seriously of doing that after seeing how nice the islands are. Then you have your freedom again!
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By pat murphy (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1683) on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 8:23 pm: |
i have an old plastic underwater slate...haven't used it in years and years...it's in our house on bonaire now. last year i was looking for something and found the slate. on it was written "can we go and play now?" that's what i had written underwater after our skills review on the cuan law.
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By pat murphy (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1684) on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 8:30 pm: |
also, on the cuan law we did our skills checkout right off the boat, not off a zodiac. and they told us beforehand what we would have to do. they also said that it wasn't a test, just a checkout to see how comfortable each of us was underwater and how closely we would have to be watched. that took a lot of pressure off us.
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1591) on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 8:58 pm: |
The week before we were on cuan law the crew had experienced the worst ocean conditions in decades. 30-40ft waves and such! They had to hole up in a harbor much of the week. Then our week came, with a load of very experienced divers plus me. The ocean was starting to calm down, and the crew were excited to go to some challenging sites they hadn't been to in a long time. Also to do an open ocean reach in full sail and full speed. It was a great week. I just didn't quite fit in. But I enjoyed every aspect of it when I finally let go of diving at my own level. I skipped many of the dives. Bob had a blast on the last dive using a personal underwater scooter!
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1592) on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 9:04 pm: |
Speaking of slates, as a result of the DM on the cuan law having an etch-a-sketch slate and being able to discuss details of the skills, I passed. I used one in Bonaire last week, and I really like getting to say more than the usual signs allow. Really useful.
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By Glen Reem (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2899) on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 10:04 pm: |
Niki is back on BT!!! Hi.
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1595) on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 10:29 pm: |
Hi Glen!! I thought of you last week too. Remember we met in person at Divi for the first time. :-)
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By ****Tink**** (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #8043) on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 12:39 am: |
I used to use a slate, but you can't erase. I now use one of those kids slates, like an etch a sketch, you write, swipe the thingie, and write again. Michael had fun last Jan drawing pictures of underwater monkey's he saw while diving (he gets VERY bored after 30 minutes) so I threw (ok, not threw) gave him the slate and told him to draw pictures of things he liked seeing.
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By Dara Walter (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #723) on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 12:42 am: |
Nice report, Nik! Sounds like it wasn't the best trip you've had to BON, but I'm glad you were able to make the best of the sub-optimal situations. Also really happy you have recovered from BVItis!
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1597) on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 3:14 pm: |
Yay, here's Dara!
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By r. scott nielsen (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #151) on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 9:21 pm: |
Troy and I had fun diving with you....Great time. Scott
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1606) on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 9:38 pm: |
Hi Scott and Hi Troy! I enjoyed it tremendously, topmost the octopus!
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By r. scott nielsen (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #152) on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 10:01 pm: |
yes, the octo was amazing! Couldn't believe how he stayed out for us for over 30 minutes that we watched him. Wow... what fun! Did you happen to get the email from the brit boy? If you would like some underwater photos from bonaire trip, just let me know. scott
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1608) on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 10:44 pm: |
I sent brit boy email, but no reply yet.
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1618) on Saturday, December 27, 2008 - 8:35 pm: |
Scott, I notice now that you said, Did I happen to get "the" email from Martin [that's his name BTW]--- Was there an email you got? He hasn't written me directly.
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1625) on Friday, January 2, 2009 - 1:15 pm: |
Just heard from Martin. I'll post one of his photos after I resize it.
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1626) on Friday, January 2, 2009 - 1:29 pm: |
These were taken by Martin Bruce at the new sculpture:
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1627) on Friday, January 2, 2009 - 1:34 pm: |
If my fins (and snorkel) were black, I'd be a total stealth diver!
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By r. scott nielsen (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #162) on Friday, January 2, 2009 - 1:41 pm: |
cool, can you send me his email address to scott nielsen at charter dot net. Scott
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By Niki Harris (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1628) on Friday, January 2, 2009 - 2:14 pm: |
Right!
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