I’m writing this amidst the noise and chaos of the Montego Bay, Jamaica airport, waiting for the second of three flights that will get me back home to the San Francisco Bay Area. Because of Air Jamaica’s quirky schedule, I had to spend 24 hours in “Mo’bay.” And my experience here has served to re-enforce all my positive feelings about Bonaire. I spent last night and most of today at the Holiday Inn. It’s the kind of place that makes you wear a plastic hospital-style bracelet as long as you’re registered. Security guards are everywhere. This morning, I availed myself of their snorkel boat and with my first glimpse of the silted-over, algae-choked, underpopulated coral, I understood how privileged I’d been to spend three weeks diving Bonaire’s rich and healthy reefs. I heard a lot of talk in Bonaire about the storm damage, but for someone like me who was making his first trip, the impact was slight. Of course I couldn’t ignore the coral rubble in the shallows of some of the southern sites, but the difference between that experience and snorkeling in Montego bay is the difference between walking through a magnificent forest that’s had a bit of natural fire damage and one that’s been entirely clear-cut.

I could write pages and pages about my time in the divers’ paradise, and I may do just that—elsewhere. If so, I’ll post a pointer. In the meantime, I want to simply note some of the experiences that made my trip so wonderful. First of all, this newsgroup itself and the entire Infobonaire.com site. Profound thanks to Jake and Linda Richter and all involved. It was through the site that I found the wonderful Coco Palm Gardens. A three minute walk from Bachelors’ Beach, my huuuuge room had airco, hot water, kitchenette, private patio with lounge chairs and hammock, all at about one fourth the cost of the large resorts. The absence of telephone and television added to the peace and quiet. The owners, Brigitte, Richard and Marion were incredibly helpful at all times. (Brigitte and Richard also own the best restaurant I ate at: the Beefeater. Try the banana curry.)

And it was through the newsgroup that I made contact with Michael Gaynor, who, if supplied with enough fresh bagels and copies of the New York Times, will reveal an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Bonairian. He introduced me to local eateries like Antriol Catering and the Great China, put me in touch with diving buddies and kindred spirits John and Judith White, and hooked me up with Jerry Ligon, resident naturalist at Sand Dollar Dive and Photo.

I did a number of amazing dives, snorkels and even one land excursion with Jerry. I learned more about fish watching than I would have thought possible in such a short time. All my previous diving had been in Hawaii and California and I couldn’t tell a French Grunt from a Spanish Hogfish, yet, after a three day course with Jerry, I was able to identify 86 species in one dive. More importantly, I learned a good deal about the principles of fish identification and its relation to the broader reef ecology He offers guided snorkels and dives, bird, butterfly, lizard and plant-watching, as well as the three day fish ID course. The trip would not have been the same without him.

The entire staff at Sand Dollar was wonderful. They may have lost their dock and restaurant, but that hasn’t stopped them from providing friendly, knowledgeable and generous service. Since I wasn’t staying there, the fact that the boats left from another dock a few yards down the road, made no difference.

I did 31 dives. The only one that was not completely wonderful was Town Pier. Just too crowded. Too many clueless divers shining high-powered lights into the eyes of fishes and other divers.

The best snorkeling was at Karpata, 1000 steps, and Sorobon (following the reef along the inside of the mouth of the bay. Very shallow and tricky if there’s a lot of surge, but incredibly rewarding in terms of abundant healthy coral and hordes of juveniles of almost every species as well has some giant porcupine fish, rainbow, blue and midnight parrotfish. All in four or five feet of water.) Margate Bay was the only southern site that seemed to have any coral to speak of in the shallows, and I had a very enjoyable last snorkel there yesterday morning.

As predicted, my solo status was no problem. I met many shore-dive “buddies” on dive boats, hanging around the Sand Dollar Dive Shop and participating in Green Submarine’s once-a-month underwater cleanup.

The cleanup, in fact, was one of the highlights of the trip. On the first Saturday of every month at ten in the morning, people gather at Green Submarine, a family-run dive shop on the waterfront at Playa Lechi near the center of town. Eric and Danielle, the owners, select a site, organize people into teams (one holds the collecting bag, the other picks up stuff) and give clear and careful instructions. (Don’t take out anything that has live coral growing on it, for example). It turns out to be great practice in buoyancy control what with frequently changing depth and the gradually increasing weight of the collection bag. Green Sub hosts a pot-luck barbecue afterwards and a count of all the debris is taken. The only thing I don’t understand is why all the other dive shops don’t pick up on Green Sub’s idea and start doing clean-ups on the three other Saturdays of the month. The impact, camaraderie and good will would be enormous.

Aside from the pristine reef, what made the trip so different from other dive and snorkel adventures (in Israel, Australia, Hawaii and St Croix) was that I hardly ever felt like a tourist. The connections between people on this small piece of the planet are numerous and dense. I left knowing that I had made real friends. For example, in planning my trip I had inquired about accommodations at the Bonaire Town Homes. Though, I didn’t wind up staying there (I had my heart set on being no more than a block from the sea), I struck up a delightful email friendship with proprietor Benny Robles and his family and spent a couple of lovely evenings with them hearing family histories that spanned Portugal, Israel, Surinam, Holland, Aruba and Bonaire. (The Town Homes, by the way, are beautifully landscaped and would have been a great place to stay)

Wishing all new and old visitors to Bonaire the joy I’m sure you’ll find there.

Corey

LOVED your report! Cory. Masha Danke:-)