A week is not enough.....but it was fun while it lasted. We have never posted here, but wanted to give our two cents worth from our recent trip! We frequent Bonaire annually, at least for the past 8 years, and this year was just as memorable as the last 7!

We caught Air Jamaica from Baltimore to Montego Bay to Boniare. Great flights going and only a 1 hour delay leaving the island on the return end. American Eagle started their first "real" flights from San Juan June 2nd as we were departing. Good luck to them & thank God they are finally there

My husband and I took my younger sister(25)with us this year to let her enjoy the thrill of diving and the beauty of Bonaire. She got ill part of the time with some stomach bugagoo so she really didn't get to see all our favorite dive spots; the lake, alice, karpata, etc. Being the animal lover she is she thought it neat to feed the donkeys on one of our outings. Well, the donkeys thought it neat to eat some white meat and gave her a little nibble on the hand. This, she will never forget, as it did leave a little mark! On top of feeling bad, she had to go and get bit. Those silly jackass' LOL!

Anyway, the islanders are continually trying to beautify Bonaire. During our visit they erected, with drivit material, a large statue of a lizard. It lies right as you are leaving the airport and is quite a piece of art! Along with the statue is a new motorized sign that also adds life to the place!

The past three years we have stayed at Buddy's, which we love, since the demise of SandDollar. I had never really wanted to return, since 1999, to see the true damage that occured to the Green Parrot and Sanddollar Dive & Photo, but this year I couldn't stand it any longer! We walked over to the desolate resort (4 cars in the parking lot one late evening) and stood where we once ate the best burgers known on Bonaire We knew both Jim and Sarah from the resraurant and miss the old days, but life goes on. Jim has since gone to a better place & Sarah still lingers on the island.

There is a new restaurant at SandDollar called the Terrace. We ate there one evening and, sadly enough, were the only ones there. The food was decent, but I don't know how long it will survive. Most other restaurantuers on the island resent the Terrace for opening and trying to play like the Green Parrot. Guess there are "poltics" everywhere. Lion's Dive has a new restaurant owned by Kirk, of Green Parrot fame, and his wife. We did obtained a menu & everything sounded wonderful, but never took the time to go over and eat. They have good Key Lime pie we heard...saving that for next year! Ate wonderful pizza at Pasa Bon Pizza just south of Buddy's on the left. Awesome food and neat atmosphere. The owner is a transplant from Buffalo and, of course, would rather be in Bonaire than shoveling snow!

We went digital underwater this year and just got our photos on discs, prints, etc. and am impressed so far. Husband got photos of the Windjammer wreck there, which he loves to dive every year. We are currently looking into buying a place on Bonaire to make our annual returns that much easier! Just found this posting area and will frequent occasionally to get updates!

Guess I have bored you all enough. Thanks for allowing me to post and safe diving to all!

Ayorkiemom in Virginia

Nice report! Thanks for posting.

Thanks for the report Kobi. You mentioned going digital underwater-----what kind of camera did you use? Will you post some pictures for us to see? Thanks.

I am wanting to go back after reading all these posts!

Thanks for the post - you missed a great meal by missing Kirk's new restaurant. We dined there 3 of our last 4 days (only missed the one because they were closed). Although we love to try different restaurants we found the food at Kirk's to be outstanding.

Rosemary....we used a Sony Mavica MD90 with an Ikelite UW housing. Most photos came out well. I will gladly share some of the ones we took once all uploading, etc. is done. Dumby us needed a little bit more powerful light at 200' on one wreck, but luckily those were the only real disappointing pix we got. Photos forthcoming

Gail....I am kicking myself daily for not giving Kirk's joint a try earlier in our week. I could just taste that Key Lime pie. Too bad the menu wasn't scratch N sniff LOL! Once we firm up the buying of a place or even before then Kirk's will be one of my first stops! YUMMY

Enjoyed your report. Looking forward to your pictures. Anybody who knows that Buffalo is the home of great pizza,is obviously a connoisseur of life's finest.(Spent many a college class on the road to Buffalo for that pizza.Thanks for the memory.) (lol)

Kobi,
Your report was anything but boring. I really enjoy hearing a bit of people's personal histories with Bonaire -- like Green Parrot stories and such. Love the updates on new restaurants. Gladly, since we were new to Bonaire this year, we missed the political hoo ha about the new Terrace Restaurant. We enjoyed it, especailly since we stayed at Sand $. Will look forward to dining at Kirk's place at Lion's Dive next time. If anyone has reports on dining there, would love to hear them.

Nancy if you can find my trip report (it would have been around May 14th or so). I reported about the fantastic, delicious, generous food at the Lion's Den Restaurant. The only problem was that Kirk didn't have his Key Lime Pie because he uses a special Digestive Biscuit for the crust and his shipment didn't come in. However we teased him unmercifully because Cultimara had their shelves full of these biscuits! Oh well something to look forward to on our next trip to Bonaire. P.S. the coconut shrimp were to die for.

That's right, Gail, now I remember having read your report...also went to their website, which was fun -- not as good as being there, though ;-}

we stayed at Lion's Dive, and ate there twice. One time I had a seafood grill (fantastic!!), I can't remember the other time but it was very very good. The new restaurant is a FAR cry above the one that was wiped out by Lenny.

Are the prices reasonable at the Lion's Dive restaurant?

Hi Rob & Kobi, how's the weather in Virginia? My partner was born there, lives here with me now

Anyho, I remember seeing the damage to the Green Parrot the year it was smashed. Sad, I know. But we do have our t-shirts and memories

We too have considered buying a house on the island. We will be travelling to Bonaire in about 6 months. Will keep you posted on the market if you like? Sounds like you had a great trip. All the best, Sarah

OK Gail, guess I lied -- inadvertently; I just went back to 'review" your trip report and realized I had NOT read it before. Hmmm...must have missed it when catching up after my return from the Czech Republic. Was sick for a couple weeks after returning, so guess I'm still catching up.... Great report, though, and nice to hear more about Joan and Alan's place at Sand $, esp. since we stayed in a regualr condo unit there. There were a few more people diving with Sand $ the week we were there, but, my husband did get a one-on-one introduction to diving course the day he went. Great restaurant details -- thanks for the Lion's Den tip. If/When we return, we will surely have to eat there.

Hi all..we ate at Lion's Den twice last week and really enjoyed both times. Although we were disappointed that It Rains Fishes was closed for holiday the Lions Den was a wonderful surprise. The fish grill with shrimp termador sauce was one of the best meals we had on the island. The night the American Eagle made its maiden flight to Bonaire we sat at a table at Lions Den and watched fireworks off in the distance..made for a fun evening. Remember to order the "Travis Tumbleweed" for a tasty after dinner drink.

Leigh Ann - yes the prices are very reasonable. And the setting just adds to everything. You are sitting above the water and can watch the divers and snorkelers AND throw bread to the fishes.
Nancy - what can you tell me about your trip to the Czech Republic - my sister's S.I. wants to go this summer and she's questioning him.

Nancy, would be interested in hearing more about your trip to Czech Republic, my mother is from a small city outside Prague and has not been back in over 65 years! If you are ever interested in Sand$ let us know. regards.

Jake and I are heading to Prague for a week this summer as well. His parents have returned to the Czech Rep. to live. They left in 1963 although have visited yearly for about the last 10 years.

Hi Alan & Joan, my partner and I travelled to the Czech Rep about 3 years ago, will be happy to post some shots for you?? We stayed at the "Hoffmeister" (if I can remember rightly). There is a "Leading Hotel" a Kempinski, I think.. We couldn't get a room there, they were fully booked!! The food was wonderful too..

Well,
I had no idea there would be so much interest in Prague, and Czesky Republicky, here on BonaireTalk. I was just going to reply to Gail's e-mail, but I'll say a bit here. (Sorry it's taken me a few days to get back to y'all, but I took a break from my computer for most of the weekend).

Well, I went to Prague for 11 days on a poetry writing program with my poetry teacher from home. We were 7 Americans, and we stayed in 3 flats in a building on Wenceslas Square (more of a long wide boulevard), so there was plenty of action into the wee hours of the night, going on down on the street below our windows. The weather was mostly gorgeous since it was mid-May. Not sure how hot it gets in the summer....Already, there were tons of tourists, more our 2nd week than our 1st. Still, Prague is one very beautiful city that has made a valiant comeback since the Velvet Revolution, in that they have managed quite a lot of renovation to buildings whose faces were really fallen down. (I was there for 24 hours in Jan. '90, and it really looks much much better, and we were told by our personal friend/tour guide - an American who lived in Prague for 5 of the last 6 years - that there's been big improvement over just the last 5 years.) We were so fortunate to have her showing us the lesser known places of interest. In the city, past the Loretto Church area, check out the Romantik Hotel U Raka for tea in their enclosed garden. This is a haven of flowers, quiet and good service! A splurge of a hotel if you decide to try to stay there -- very romantic looking place, though! Just beautiful and deelish apple strudel!

Expenses are really pretty good for Americans. Food of most nationalities can be found there, and the Czech food we ate I liked -- mostly... skip the ham with whipped cream and pickles (I'm serious *LOL*). Czech wine is nothing to write home about.
I found the Czech people not so friendly -- Bonaire was still fresh in my mind and cells, and there is just no comparison between the two places. That was in Prague, tho', and I think that could be different outside the big city....

The cultural experience was incredibly rich, tho'! If you want to see the Charles Bridge without 50 million people on it, go at sunrise, or just at and after sunset. Go during the day, too, when the musicians and aritists line the edges, for that experience. If you can find one particular guidebook for Prague, I highly recommend it: it is CADOGAN's guide to Prague, 3rd edition. I know they have it on > www.amazon.com <. The author knows great stories and walking tours! Good sense of humor, too. Don't miss Vysehrad! A lovely part of Prague with the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen in my life! It is a cemetery just for Czech artists, and there are sculpted figures and flowers galore. It's at the St. Peter and Paul Church/ Cathedral.

I didn't get outside Prague, this trip, but in '90 went to Marienbad, which was lovely, even in January! Others I know went to Bohemia and also checked out the Bone Church (I'll let you know where that was later), this trip, and they spoke highly of their experiences in those places. the Bone Church has all these objects made of human bones (NOT from the Holocaust, but from earlier centuries), like a chandelier that has every bone from the human body!

Jewish cemetery in Prague in Jewish Quarter is very interesting -- a big difference between those 2 burial grounds! Says a lot about Europeans' historical treatment of the people of The Old Testament, just to compare where they were allowed to have their final resting places with the place in Vysehrad (pronounced Vyshehrad).

Linda - I forgot that Jake told us his parents had lived in the Czech Republic. I knew they are native German speakers - is that right? Well, now I know that there has been a German speaking population in the Czech Rep. for centuries upon centuries. Close proximity and all, and once part of the Hapsburg realms. Where do Jake's parents live? Having a home base with family will be great!

For those looking for accomodation in Prague: the rooms may be pretty small, and the beds are pretty hard - which I liked. Definitely go for someplace in a historical buidling, I would say. You might try someplace other than Wenceslas Sq. depending on how quiet you like a hotel to be. The area just below the castle complex is lovely! (Cheap Sleeps in Prague/Vienna/Budapest should also be a good guide -- she has great recommendations!)

I will be scanning in some photos from Prague, hopefully this week, and will let you all know the site address, by e-mailing those who expressed interest here.

Jake's parents are native Czech speakers. (Jake understands a little Czech.) His father was born and raised in Prague, his mother in Brno. Both attended university in Prague and were quite involved in the artist community. I'm counting on them to drag me (whisk me off) to every museum, bridge, cemetary and cafe that might be interesting. They live downtown within walking distance to just about everything. Jake was there for a few days last year at the end of a business trip.

They lived in Munich, Germany from 1969 to 1976 which is where the German language comes in.

Nancy, if you're posting pics this week, I'll hold off on ours. We stayed in the area just below the Castle, you're right, it is lovely and the rooms were actually very comfortable indeed. I must double check the name, seems like such a long time ago since our trip Sorry to hear you didn't find the local people to be very friendly, we sure did

I know my mother would love to see them. Please let me know when you post them. Thanks.

Linda, Joan (and Alan), Sarah --
Will let you all know when pics are posted. I wish I could scan in a few from other people in my group -- we all had such different foci when aiming our cameras, so got some really different images.

Sarah -- your images may be very different than mine, so if you see that they are, go ahead and post yours, too. I'd love to see Prague through your eyes. I think the fact that I was so often with a group (small) of Americans may have meant that locals weren't as friendly as they might have been had there been fewer of us. We were an interesting crew...maybe a bit motley, at times....

Linda -- sorry about my misinformation. My brain holds few facts these days, so I guess I need to listen more closely. I just remember Jake saying something about speaking German, or so I thought.
You all have the premier "in" to Prague, it sounds like, what with Jake's parents being natives of that area and artists. I would love to hear about what your trip is like after you return.

The Bone Chapel is in Kutna Hora and is called the All Saints Chapel.

I too would love to see the pictures. I forwarded this link to my sister, as I will do with the pictures. It sounds like a lovely, interesting place to visit.

Sarah,
I just saw again when you said you and your partner were in Prague -- 3 years ago. You know, many Praguers may have been friendlier then, before the real onslaught of tourists. When I was there in 1990, people were generally warmer and more open to us than this year. I think tourism has just about doubled there in the last year or 2 from what people who have been living there told us.

Nancy, you're right. I'm so glad we got to go before all of that It's funny, it seems we did a fair bit of our travelling in "good" times. Shortly after we left Russia, there was trouble!!!

Rob and Kolbi,
We were down in Bonaire around the same time...and also come twice a year it was upsetting to eat at the terrace...and were also remembering and expecting the excellent food and service that the Green Parrot had..The Terrace was average...and the sports bar had no Tv..cause of vandels...(not that you need a Tv on Bonaire during Basketball playoff season ). Hopefully the Terrace will get better with age...You should check out the Lions Den...cause Kirk is carrying the torch as far as restaurants go....he looks very secure in his new position...and the meal we had was excellent ,,,from soup to nuts .....service was great...(alot of old faces.from the Parrot..and Kirks wife Rose is a wonderful asset to the business...she has alot of charm. The place has an oceanfront view..and is also charming... Unfortunatly the Green Parrot may be gone forever....but we are the lucky ones to have experienced it at all....Another growing experience in Bonaire.... hope you find an enjoyable resort....how can you miss?