By Kathleen Antona on Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 7:28 pm: |
This Board is the greatest idea since Jacques created SCUBA! I have been lurking here all day and have learned so much about island life - above and below water - it's almost info overload. I'm now really excited about leading our group of 7 divers and 2 non-divers (all first timers to Bonaire) for a 10-day trip, late May. We've rented 2 condos/vans at Buddy's, and plan to indulge in everything we can. Looking forward [Thanks to all your suggestions :)] to kayaking, sunset sushi dinner cruise on Oscarina, and visiting Klein, too.
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By Niki Harris on Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 7:56 pm: |
Hear, Hear, Kathleen.
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By Jake Richter - NetTech on Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 8:00 pm: |
Zero - Get Jessie Armacost's book on shore diving on Bonaire (see http://www.BonaireReporter.com to order a copy), and you won't go wrong - it's brand new and runs you through the entries and details for each shore dive site.
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By Kathleen Antona on Sunday, April 29, 2001 - 12:38 pm: |
Thanks for the prompt replies = somehow I knew I'd have answers already when I checked in this morning. Niki, I empathize with your ;) in thinking about diving with 7 - sounds frightening, but believe it or not, we've all travelled together many times and generally get along quite well. [Maybe 'cause we're a wee bit older and all work in "life safety" professions - hence our name, SeaSleuths.]
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By herman mowery on Monday, April 30, 2001 - 8:24 am: |
Hi Kathleen,
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By JoAnn Green on Monday, April 30, 2001 - 10:43 am: |
Good Morning Kathleen, 2 of my dive buddies & I made our first trip to Bonaire in October 2000 & will most likely return this year. We made all shore dives and every dive was incredible. Of course, my idea of shore diving was a little different than what we found. Even with 600+ dives under my belt, I just figured we would walk right into the water from gentle, sloping, sandy beaches. I must admit, some of our entries & exits were pretty hilarious & I only wish we had it on video! Herman's suggestion about the hard sole booties is an excellent one and I too am ordering the book Jake suggested. I am not the most graceful person and do have a "balance" problem, but all in all, came out with only a few bruises from the entries & exits. Believe me, it was all worth it!!! I hope you have a great trip!
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By Kathleen Antona on Tuesday, May 1, 2001 - 7:53 am: |
OK everyone - suggestions WELL TAKEN!
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By sherry baker on Tuesday, May 1, 2001 - 10:20 am: |
kathleen, hope you have a fun trip. i get so excited when we go to bonaire i start packing 2 months in advance, i know it is crazy but since we go in the winter, the summer things i pack we are not using here in colorado anyway. barry just puts up with my over zealous packing tendencies. but i do not pack very much stuff. that is why i plan so carefully.
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By Jake Richter - NetTech on Tuesday, May 1, 2001 - 1:01 pm: |
Kathleen,
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By Virginia L. Stokes on Tuesday, May 1, 2001 - 11:12 pm: |
Kathleen, on our recent trip to Bonaire (3/01), one of our couples did the afternoon of bonefishing in the salt flats with Robert. He provided all of the fishing tackle for a party of 2 (his limit for this type of trip). So if you are going to do the walking/fishing in the salt flats with the flamingoes, you don't really need to pack fishing gear. Robert recommends dive booties as footwear: You might want to pack a pair of old dive booties and/or sandals that you don't care about ruining. You are wading in muck that must be primarily composed of flamingo poop.
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By Linda Richter - NetTech on Wednesday, May 2, 2001 - 9:33 am: |
Bring a long sleeve shirt for the bonefishing. Sunscreen is just not going to last long enough. They all laughed at me but I wore a large brimmed hat, long sleeve shirt and a bathing suit plus lots of 45 sunscreen. Only the backs of my hands got sunburned.
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By Kathleen Antona on Wednesday, May 2, 2001 - 10:23 pm: |
You guys are incredible - inviting total strangers to a BBQ! For a jaded old cop, it tickles the jollies in my heart to know that there are still good people out there -- but I should have known this, divers being what they are. Are you really sure you want 9 more bodies, Jake and Linda - even if we do bring k00l trinkets and food? We arrive Wed., 5/23 and leave Sat. 6/2 - so it sounds like we'll be there when you're contemplating the extravaganza.
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By Jake Richter - NetTech on Thursday, May 3, 2001 - 2:32 pm: |
We figure it's a nice way to meet new folks :-)
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By Tori Williams on Thursday, May 3, 2001 - 5:34 pm: |
Kathleen, I see I am not the only one. Since we are in Louisiana, it is hockey for 6 months and scuba diving the other six. A perfect world for me would be both all of the time!
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By Julie Wilcox on Sunday, May 6, 2001 - 11:29 pm: |
Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all the valuable information! I am also one of the Sea Sleuths gang and I have a really horrible question:
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By Jake Richter - NetTech on Monday, May 7, 2001 - 8:16 am: |
Yes it is. It is usually available at at least:
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By Julie Wilcox on Monday, May 7, 2001 - 9:46 am: |
Thanks, Jake. I only need one a day.....
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By Virginia L. Stokes on Monday, May 7, 2001 - 9:37 pm: |
Julie, when you are grocery shopping, if you see Diet Coke be sure to buy it right then, even if you still have some on hand "at home." We frequently had to "settle" for Diet Pepsi on our 2 week trip in March. The Bonaire warehouse usually has it, Cultimara downtown hardly ever.
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By Leigh Ann on Tuesday, May 8, 2001 - 8:54 am: |
What about Diet Dr. Pepper? If not, I'll settle for Diet Pepsi I guess!
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By Linda Richter - NetTech on Tuesday, May 8, 2001 - 8:57 am: |
No Dr. Pepper at all.
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By David Fox on Tuesday, May 8, 2001 - 2:45 pm: |
Julie,
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By Julie Wilcox on Friday, May 11, 2001 - 12:29 pm: |
David -
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By Kathleen Antona on Friday, May 11, 2001 - 8:52 pm: |
Getting closer now ... and I haven't been breathing all week 'cause I'm so excited.
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By Jake Richter - NetTech on Saturday, May 12, 2001 - 2:51 pm: |
Kids:
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By Steven Springer on Sunday, May 13, 2001 - 1:02 am: |
Hi Jake,
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By michael gaynor on Sunday, May 13, 2001 - 2:51 pm: |
Plenty of places to buy chips...also salsa, but not the kind jake wants. I have a friend coming from texas..he may be able to help jake out.
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By Virginia L. Stokes on Monday, May 14, 2001 - 3:10 pm: |
We have found that Pringles survive reasonably well when going to places that are grocery-store-challenged. (Packed in a hard-sided suitcase, tho.) We don't bother taking much in the way of snacks to Bonaire since shopping is really quite good there.
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By Jake Richter - NetTech on Monday, May 14, 2001 - 4:05 pm: |
We cheat in terms of tortilla chips - we order from NetGrocer.com - 8-12 bags of Restaurant Style Tostito tortilla chips at a time (about a 2 month supply for us) and have them shipped to Bonaire :-)
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By Julie Wilcox on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 9:38 pm: |
As the time draws near for our trip (4 days til the start of my travels!), I was wondering if there is anything like a "web cafe" on Bonaire, or any type of business/place/library where I can access the internet for e-mail purposes.
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By Josie on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 9:56 pm: |
Yes, the deTuin et-cafe, and also BonaireLive.
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By Julie Wilcox on Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 9:52 am: |
Thanks so much to everyone for answering all of our questions! We hope to meet a lot of you soon.
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By Kathleen Antona on Sunday, May 20, 2001 - 11:42 am: |
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By Jake Richter - NetTech on Sunday, May 20, 2001 - 4:33 pm: |
Kathleen - look over in http://www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/626/5171.html for details.
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By Linda Richter - NetTech on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 9:57 am: |
Bonaire has a lot of REEF Fish Survey fans.
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By Kathleen Antona on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 7:18 pm: |
DUH ..... found it, Jake. Sorry - Haven't had much time to read elsewhere on this site - too busy packing!
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By Barry Gassert on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 8:08 pm: |
Best way to brush up on turtle identification is to catch the STCB slide presentation. Last I heard, Saskia was still presenting at Capt Don's, but don't know what night.
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