BONAIRE August 7-14 2002.

August 6 & 7

We flew out of Tallahassee the night before to catch our flight out of Atlanta. We arrived in Atlanta at 8:45. We took the shuttle bus to our motel, called for our wake up call and got settled in for the night. Then the fire alarm went off at 4:00 A.M. We all got about five hours of sleep.
Our departing flight from Atlanta to Montego Bay was on time. When we took off from Montego Bay, at 12:40 the pilot announced that the hydraulic system was showing a low pressure warning. We had to do an emergency landing in Kingston. At 3:50 we were finally in the air again. We arrived on Bonaire at 5:45, walked to the Abcarrental and picked up our hilox and drove to the Divi Flamingo Beach Resort. Both rooms at the Divi Flamingo were very nice. Kenny was in one of the time share unit, number 710 and we were in a Deluxe Oceanfront room, number 209. The dive shop was closed so we could not do our check out dives. We decided to have dinner at Chibi Chibi and after all we had been through the wait a Chibi Chibi was so long. Welcome to island time.

August 8

We did our check out dives at the Calabas Reef in front of the Divi. Our package included a two-tank morning and one tank afternoon boat dive. For lunch we went to Gooby’s down town in Kralendijk the food was good. That afternoon we did the one tank boat dive at the Rock Pile off Klein. The seas were rough and I became nervous, when Tim and I jumped in I could not equalize, and was not able to do the dive. Later we went to happy hours at Captain Don’s Rum Runners, drank and ate pizza - very good pizza, a younger crowd at Captain Don’s. We like the layout of the resort. The drinks at Rum Runners had tropical fishes in the drinks, so we had a verity, Kenny was on a roll I think he got all of the tropical fish, a parrot and a turtle.

August 9

Breakfast, at the Divi, this is part of our package. We arrived at the dive dock and set up our gear. Our first dive was the Salt Pier, very nice dive, we saw several trumpets, tarpan, eels, spotted eels. Our second dive was the Cliff. Both dives were great. I finally got the nerve up to call the Bonaire Talkers, Bas and Michael Gaynor, I wonder now why I was so nervous about calling them. I took Michael Gaynor the New York Times newspaper, which I promised him, and we sat around, and talked. We were all very amazed by him and of his heritage. That night Kenny, Bas and Tim did a night dive at Small Wall. Kenny left his regulator in the room, but Bas was nice enough to lend him one.

August 10

Our first dive was the Forest and the second dive was the Barrel both great but I really like the Forest the best. Lutie showed Tim two sea horses at the Barrel. For lunch we swapped our breakfast coupons for lunch and I had the fried shrimp which was excellent. We later got up with Bas, and they decided to do a drift dive from Diana’s leap, to Karparta, they saw five turtles, ten squid and bragged this was the best dive ever and of course I didn’t do this dive.

Michael Gaynor had invited us to his house for dinner. Annie Phelan, Marilyn, Bas, Max was also there. We had steak, mushrooms, green beans, potatoes, salad, and desert. The food, and atmosphere were the best. Michael Gaynor opened his home to us and by the end of the evening we felt like old friends.

August 11

Breakfast was at the Divi. We tried City Café for breakfast one morning and decided not to do that again, Divi’s had them beat, and paying $1.50 US for one small cup of coffee, with no refills just isn’t for me. That morning Bas took us on a guided drift dive from Angel City to the Hilmer Hooker, where we saw several large tarpons this was a very nice dive. After the dive we drove by the slave huts, salt fields, the south lighthouse and had lunch at Jibe City. We then went to Andrea I, this was a very easy shore dive, saw very large coral formations. For our post dive snack bas feeds us mangos’ and juice.

That afternoon we drove back down to Lac Bay for the Sunday party, what a trip, the bar is right on the ocean, waves washing against the wall of the bar, the location is beautiful! We all had too much fun, afterwards we went to Kon Tiki’s but everyone was all dressed up and we were still in our swimsuits I told the guys we had to go. So we decided we needed to go eat and that is when Bas said “I know a great place to eat with great music and a cool video” and we were like where? And he said my place, and he fixed us a meal for a king! Lobster Linguini and the works. Yummy. He played the Bonaire Dive video and turned on the CD player. Bas is a really great guy. He is the kind of person you would want as a best friend, and to put up with the three musketeers from the south. The way he meets Bonaire talkers and shows them the Bonaireen way - he should start his own business.

August 12

Morning boat dives Ole Blue and Small Wall several of the divers went to the reef cam Tim got on the cam. I did not do the Small wall. I need a two or three-mil suit. I was freezing. Ole Blue was nice, I saw the biggest parrot fish, had to be at least 12 pounds, and a large grouper hiding under some coral.

That afternoon we hit the stores to buy our gifts. Tonight Tim, Kenny, Bas and Robert Deal are getting together to do a night dive at Calabas Reef. During the dive, Tim found an octopus and Kenny and Bas had a great time with a very large tarpon. Kenny and Bas were taking their lights and shining on the smaller fish, and the tarpon would grab the fish, they had a blast. For our late night dinner, Bas took us to China Noba, Where we played pool, and drank beer, while our food was being prepared. The food at China Noba is excellent and the food portions are large. If you go to Bonaire, you have to try China Noba.


August 13

We got up with Bas at 8:30 a.m. and headed out to the Washington-Slagbaai National Park we drove by Lake Goto where we saw several flamingos’ we drove the long route and saw Boca Bartol and Boca Slagbaii where we snorkeled and had lunch in the cave. The roads in the park are very bumpy and cactuses are everywhere, we took so many pictures. We feed the iguana’s and birds. Bas, had told us to take tomatoes to feed the iguanas, we must have been the first feeding of the day, because they were very active. One jumped on Tim. We drove toward the northeast coast toward the lagoon, Bas took us to a divi divi tree that was just huge. We then went to the Lagoon, wow what blow holes, this was a real treat for me I thought it was so beautiful there. We then drove through a mud slick that I thought we were going to get stuck in and then the dust bowl, the dirt was rolling off the windows, where it wasn’t sticking. We were all laughing so hard. You should have seen our rental. We then went to the caves and saw Indian inscriptions, this was a very unique place. We then drove to the Cavest lighthouse at Spelonk. Bas I hope I’m getting this all correct? The lighthouse was great, and we were able to go up to the top. That evening we went to Captain Don’s. Tim and Kenny had the ribs which they said were great. Bas and I had pizza and calazone. That evening we said bye to Bas, hope we meet again someday soon.

August 14

Had breakfast, packed our bags and went to the airport at 9:30 and checked in for our flight leaving at 3:20. We went to Lisa’s and filled up the rental at $5.30 US per gallon. Ouch. Dinner was at City Café I had the fried fish sandwich and the guys had shrimp wraps. We recognized Marilyn, very sweet person, from Michael Gaynor’s house and invited her to visit with us while dining. We then went to Bongos Beach Bar and wasted time while looking out at the beautiful blue water, for the last time.

Our flight leaving Bonaire was on time. The flight leaving Montego Bay was another story. Air Jamaica 6:15, boarded around 6:45, they told us the delay was due to connecting flight’s well we sat on the plane and was pushed out onto the runway twice, the pilot announced a computer light as the problem. For at least an hour of the wait was without air, if you could imagine that. We finally arrived in Atlanta around 12:30 missing our connecting flight. We received vouchers for the Marriot and breakfast. But then to top things off Kenny could not find his ticket for his flight home. So he had to get in line and wait forty-five minutes at the Delta counter, by then the people for Air Jamaica had packed up. So he had to pay for a room.

The next morning we had to get up by 4:30. When we got to the waiting area, Kenny was already there. Our Flight home was on time. We were finally in Tallahassee. Jill was there to pick Kenny up. When we got home our dog Max and our thirteen-year-old dog Sheba were definitely glad to see us and we were glad to be home.

Summary:

Other than Air Jamaica this was one of my best vacations. Meeting the Bonaire Talkers made it special. We did not have anything stolen from our vehicle. Our vehicle did have an alarm that would go off if you opened any door and did not turn the key in the ignition. This became a big joke. We did get a catus needle in the tire but it never went flat. I’m now ready to plan my next vacation to Bonaire.

Glad you had a great time. Nice trip report. The extra take off and landing must have made the trip more exciting!

Sorry we didn't meet you. We over lapped by a few days, see our trip report Sand Dollar August 2002. We brought Michael the paper on Saturday, Aug 10 and our friend brought it on Aug. 14, it seems he was getting regular delivery of the paper I refer to as "Brand X"

Ida, great trip report.. I agree, Bas is a great guy, he took care of us too this past trip. I must go see those blow holes..

ps: got any pics?

Yes, I have pictures. But we have a new Dell computer and haven't figured out how to do the pictures yet. I've scaned them but there too large. I'm tempted to take the negatives to eckards and get them put on a cd.

Ida,

Great report. I still have PBD - I think it will last for quite some time.

We were going to do salt pier but never got to it. Oh well, another excuse to return!

Hope to catch up with you sometime in the future on Bonaire!

Tom

Actually, I believe Seb had a number for you but it was the wrong one and we couldn't remember where you were staying. We'll have to get better at getting together! Tom

Tom,
That sounds good to me. Getting better at getting together.... I too had a place where one of you guys were staying. But, we really never had a chance to find it. Not sure if I would have had the nerve to walk up to the place. LOL :-)
Ida

Ida, I called the Divi and they gave me some other Christie, not you, said that was all they had. Sorry we never got together. Someone left the front section of a NYTimes under a coral rock on our gate, thought it might have been you, if not it remains a mystery.
Ida, you should have some image software on you computer, if you make the picture smaller on the image it should take up less room and if you right click on the image it should allow you to look at the properties option on the menu and see if it is less than 500k. Trial and error, but the only way I knoe to do it, though generally after doing one the rest are the same size change. Hope this helps!

Seb,
No, I didn't leave the NYTimes. Bas told me that when he called they said they had two Christie's and that they had several calls. When we asked them about it, they said they only had us listed. Glad to hear you tried.
Ida

Hi Ida - great trip report! I'm curious how you think Bonaire diving compares to Cozumel - remember all the questions you had when you first began planning your Bonaire trip...

Well, I liked both. Cozumel is a little more intense, due to drift diving. Carity was good and bigger fish. Caymen is good due to the fingers and shoots but, a little too pricy for us. The viz. is also pretty good. But Bonaire had them bet by the fish and the ease of diving. I really enjoyed the coral. I couldn't imagine what it must have been like prior to Lenny. It was like swimming in a aquarium. So many fish. I didn't get to do any of the dive sites, which I had planed on doing. Maybe next time.
P.S. The visibility on Bonaire was mostly around 70-80' which was good to me.
Bye.

Great trip report Ida! Bas and Michael were also very generous to me with their time and hospitality in July, my first time on Bon. They made going there alone much more fun!

And it is true what they say, the best cure for PBD...plan your next trip! I can't believe I'm going back already for 3 wks at the end of Nov!

Ida, sounds like the only bad thing about your whole trip was that it was too short! I knew you would fall in love with Bonaire and her people...it would almost be impossible not to. How did your "hair" make out??!! I know you were concerned about not having a hair dryer at the Divi....you didn't need it at all, right? Just let it go "ala naturale"! My hair loves the water in Bonaire..makes it sooo soft and fluffy! Can't wait to see some of your pics when you figure it out on your new PC. Thanks for the report. Carole

The paper was from me..I stopped half dozen times but guess you were out having fun...my cell phone with your number was misplaced (by a dog no less) and it had your numer on it. Next time, for sure.

Hi Ida,
Thanks for the trip report. Glad you got to spend some time with a few of Bonaire's nicest people. I'm always amazed at how willing Mike and Bas are to show people a good time. Great ambassadors for Bonaire.

So...when is your next trip?

Scott

Well thanks for clearing up the mystery NYTs Michael, and sorry we never connected. I never got in touch with Ellen about her floss threaders either. They rode around in the carry van for five weeks. I am an abashed unreliable dental cleaning tool delivery guy. We left out a notepad under a coral rock on the gatepost with a pen, but we got no messages. Sounds like you were NYT full, however. I hope Ellen has gotten some cleaners.
The cell phone rental was a big pain, and my phone was blocked from being used there, I might look for a cheap tmda phone and carry it down next time for cellular one to program and number.
We did do a wee bit of diving while we were there too. Having the reef in the backyard was pretty awesome.

ida, great trip report. sounds like you had a very relaxing and wonderful time. we never made it to the sunday party at lac bay, we will next time for sure (in june!)

bas, sounds like you need to get a web page going and offer tours, etc. don't spill the beans on the good places, so that you can keep your market

Hi Everyone, Carole you were right about the hair, no need for a blow dryer.
Cynde Lee I'm sure you will have a great time at lac bay.
Talk to you later.
Ida

Cynde, a separate Web page for Bas may no longer be necessary, as he started a real job on Saturday which may involve that sort of work at some point, but that's all I'm gonna say about that! Wouldn't want to spoil Bas' surprise :-)

Jake

Jake,
I'm so glad to hear that.
Ida

Bas...a little info for us?

Scott

hmmm...thanks jake...oh, and contratulations bas

A ha... I was wondering where Bas had got to.. didn't have any late night chit chats with him over the w/end.. guess he must have been catching up with sleep..
Congrats Bas...

Now I’m curious…Bas???

The end of an era!

I am boiling with ambivalence!

On the one hand, employment means he can keep up with routine bills and stay on Bonaire for who-knows-how-long, which is great.

On the other hand, he might not have nearly as much free time to "dive at will" with all of the rest of us.

I eagerly await some confirmation from the source...

By the way, great report; good, straightforward data. However, ALL trips to Bonaire seem to suffer from premature termination (too short).

-LS

Not sure if anyone will look at this since the date is old. But this is me, Tim, Kenny and Bas on the salt flats. We got this crazy idea to lay on the salt flats and take this picture. We were all laughing so hard. Maybe you just had to be there?


Rusty, Thanks for helping me get the picture small enough to post. Maybe one day I'll figure it out and post some really old Bonaire Vacation Pictures. LOL.

Left to Right. Tim,Ida, Kenny & Bas.