Trip report for the dates February 26th - March 4th. Sorry it's kind of long, but we tried to do as much as possible and I wanted to let everyone know about the good time we had….
THE FLIGHT
We were delayed over 5 hours out of Miami, arrived in Bonaire at 2:30am - just try to get a taxi! The worst part was having to spend 2 ½ hours Friday night to get the flight out arranged. We arrived on Saturday morning at 5:30 to check our bags for the 7:00am flight. By 5:45 there must have been 100 people in line behind us to do the same. The stopover in Curacao was a non-event, delayed waiting for another flight from Bonaire to arrive. But in the end we arrived in Atlanta 10 minutes too late to catch our connecting flight.
THE DIVI FLAMINGO
I thought the Club Flamingo side (by the Dive shop) wasn't too bad at all. This is where we stayed and the pool was fine, grass needed some trimming, but the room was cleaned everyday, nothing was stolen, and our neighbors where great. We backed up to the house just outside the gates and I really liked the dog alarm clock and screeching parrots everyday at 3:00am, but what can you do.
I can't say I would want to stay on the hotel side, looked really 'tough' right now. But in their defense, we did see the renovations occurring (at a slow pace) while we were there.
Only went to the restaurant on site the first morning for breakfast. Seemed very expensive. We hit the Cultimart supermarket for all of our breakfast/lunch supplies after that. Great pastries!
RESTURANTS
Ate dinner at KonTiki, De Tuin eetcafe/CyberCafe, Richards, Capriccio Ristorante, and the Sandwich factory for Pizza. By far KonTiki and De Tuin where the best restaurants. We seemed to head back to De Tuin for beer and the pool table.
At KonTiki, the best meal was the catch of the day with a sweet/sour chili dipping sauce. Shrimp wigwam was a close second. They were having a baked chicken with cheese special that night that went over very well, but I'm not sure of baked lettuce! But I would avoid the Cajun spiced chicken - just kind of bland - not enough Cajun! Dinner for 4 people (with tip) came out to around $100. We found a coupon for a free round of drinks in some literature at the airport.
As for De Tuin, the beef tenderloin with pesto sauce was incredible! The fillet mignon strips with sautéed' vegetables was well received also. Was around $100 for dinner (4 people).
After eating at Richards ($80 for 2 people), I would have to say the beef at De Tuin was better. Just make sure you use the bug spray they have at the bar. Was raining so no sunset to view.
Went on a sail cruise/supper on the Mistress, from Karel's Bar on the waterfront. Captain Mike and Jules were great hosts. We got to sail by Renee and the Windward during their Monday night - clothing optional sail. Now that was a sight! The meal after the cruise was at ZeeZicht, and the pasta was good. This was $40 per person.
Karel's Bar on the pier has a great Mango Rum punch drinks, beer, and people watching - a nice stopping point in the afternoon.
A pleasant surprise was the LeMaSe Grocery and Soda Fountain shop in Rincon. We stopped there on Thursday after our trip through Washington-Slagbaai National Park, and the vanilla shake was one of the best ever! Mango was a close second. We wanted to visit Prisca's in Rincon, but she is closed on Thursday.
My brother and I also ate lunch one day in Rincon, don't know the name of the place but it is the first Amstel sign you see as you arrive into town from Grotomeer. Ordering the beer was easy, the meal a little more difficult. But I ended up with pork and my brother the conch. The meals were the meat covered in a curry-spiced sauce with onion and peppers. With french fries and spiced apples on the side. Very interesting and not that bad. Lunch with 4 beers and a candy bar was 35 guilders - it was really tough to pay in dollars here.
SNORKELING
Since none of our group were divers, we were on a quest to experience as many of the snorkel sites as possible. Went to Klein Bonaire to snorkel twice, toured the national park, snorkeled at Playa Funci, went off the Divi, and took a drive up the coast to snorkel.
The best reefs were of course the ones not affected by Lenny. We enjoyed the area right off the Divi - we saw Morey Eels, lobster, and more fish than you could imagine between the Dive pier and the concrete pier. The second dive pier that was destroyed didn't have much interesting around it.
Klien Bonaire was great. We took a guided snorkel and went out on a water taxi. We snorkeled from 'No Name' down to 'Nearest Point'. We really enjoyed 'Nearest Point' - saw squid going down in depth, and a gigantic parrot fish on the inside of the reef. Wonderful variety - this must have been how everything looked before Lenny. Just hanging out on the beach was great - just make sure you don't go out to Klien if a cruise ship is in port, way to crowded then.
One day we rented a car and drove up hitting snorkel sites up the coast. Started the day at Buddy's Reef at Buddy Dive. This was just okay - we did see an octopus (the only one I saw). But the entry off of the stairway was more difficult than a beach entry for the novices to get used to.
We continued up the coast to Weber's Joy/Witches Hut and this site was awesome. The entry is on the difficult side - coral beach with wave action. Narrow passage way through the coral but well worth it. The reef was really varied - this was one of our favorite sites.
Went on to 1000 steps next - also very good. Ended this leg of the drive at Karpata - very good, but Weber's Joy/1000 steps better.
Snorkeled in the National Park at Playa Funchi - this was incredible. There is a sheltered area protected from the waves by a coral rubble jetty. Entry here was very easy, but when you swim out of the protected area the wave action starts. This wouldn't be quite bad except you are in very shallow water, swimming though channels in the coral - wild! There is a small sheltered beach that is reachable either by swimming, or driving past Play Funchi 50 yards, and climbing down to the beach. Just enough room to hang out and enjoy the sun.
Did Margrate Bay/Red Beyrl - someone on the newsgroup said it survived - but wasn't all that good. But I did see the only sea urchins of the trip here - where the waves hit the shore.
ANYTHING ELSE
Cost of taxi from the airport to the Divi Flamingo was $11 (4 people - including tip).
We rented a Rav4 from Highway rental for one day. Might have gotten a better price if we would have planned ahead.
Drove around Grotomeer and up to the National Park. Make sure you bring water and bread. The water is for you, and the bread is to feed the lizards at Playa Makoshi. It was wild to have these lizards swarming out from the brush to get a snippet of bread - sometimes up your arm/leg in order to get a piece. Kind of reminded us of Jurassic Park.
Was not able to visit Boka Slagbaai in the Park. Closed because of Lenny and washed out roads.
US Coast Guard cutter Gallatin in port for a couple of days. Took a tour of the boat - good to see our tax dollars at work.
In Bonaire for the start of Carnival - saw the kids' parade - fun to see the kids dressed up in their costumes.
We rented bikes thinking there would be trails to ride on the island, but we ended up just on the roads. I would say avoid that. We rode from Kralendijk to Cai up on Lac Bay, and then up the coast to Grotomeer and on to Rincon. It was a long day that we repeated the next day in the car. Was much more enjoyable in the car.
The night we ate at KonTiki, we drove back to the Divi via the southern tip of the Island. Stopped at the Willemstoren Lighthouse and the stars were incredible. It was pitch black and we saw more stars then we could have imagined. It was wild to see the big dipper so low in the sky (compared to Minnesota).
Visited the salt works and what was left of Pink beach - slave huts were intact and sobering.
Ran into 4 guys cooking igwana up at Sorobon, even though I was offered, did not partake in the meal. They said it tasted like chicken - but we have all heard that one before.
Feel free to contact me with any questions/concerns. I believe this newsgroup really prepared us for our trip and we were able to avoid some of the pitfalls of any vacation. |
By Craig Santelman on Monday, March 13, 2000 - 11:29 am: 
