I thought the cure for PBD might have been the work related trip we took to San Francisco two days after getting home from Bonaire and while we had a great trip and the chance to see our oldest daughter I was, and still am, missing Bonaire! So now for the things I did not include in the first part of the report:

Diving: Bonaire is one of the main reasons we learned to dive, having been twice before as avid snorkelers. When we arrived this time Mark had logged 15 dives and I had logged 16, all with an instructor or a divemaster. Our only shore dives had been in Lake Champlain and all others had been boat dives. So there was some apprehension about our first "solo" dives! After a little over a week in Bonaire and having done shore dives only I can honestly say that we feel so much more comfortable. We had gotten good advice on Bonaire navigation from Diver Debbie and Adam before our trip and they were so on target. Not only was the navigation easy, the entries and exits were easy and the abundance of fish life gave us so much to look at.

We developed our own routine for setting up our gear and liked being able to take our time, something we did experience on a boat in Provo but not at all in the Florida Keys. Being on our own allowed us to work out our own routines for entry, descending, etc, all of which added to our comfort. Mark's goal for the week was to improve his air consumption and I am happy to report that he succeeded.

We used WannaDive as our dive shop and as in the past really enjoyed the folks there. They are always willing to take time to answer questions and give you help if needed and I appreciated the friendly ribbing I took when I lost some weights. Mark became an expert at backing the truck out of the narrow driveway after tank exchanges!

Our check out dive was done at Front Porch/Eden's Rubble. Between the ripping current and first dive jitters I have no idea what I saw!

We dove Andrea II on three different occassions, Oil Slick Leap three times, Windsock twice and all others once: Angel City, Andrea I, Bari (Sanddollar), Weber's Joy and Small Wall (reef cam). My favorite? Whatever dive I was on was my favorite! Some however do bear mentioning for the special aspects.

One of our dives at Oil Slick was with Diver Debbie and Adam our neighbors from home who were tour guides that delivered. They knew just where to look for two seahorses and baby spotted drums. It was quite a thrill to see these!

A very special dive for us was with our Bonaire neighbor, Susan. She took us to Sanddollar for a great reef tour and our deepest dive of the trip. We saw more eels on this dive than any other but my favorites were the sharp nosed puffer and the juvenile french angel. Susan showed us life we had never seen before so we now have lots of new additions to our fish book and critter book. And one of the nicest parts was that she complimented us on our skills and bouyancy which meant a lot to newbies from a divemaster. Our only regret was we ran out of time to do more dives together!

Our last dive of the trip was at the BT barbecue to the reef cam. Thanks to all of you who sent us the images. And Annie B you were right that day -- it was us and the sign that could not be read was your birthday wish!

As on our past trips the fish life and coral remain wonderful and I never tire of seeing the "usuals."

Snorkeling: We had hoped to do some snorkeling each day between dives but somehow never got around to it! On our surface day before heading home we did do Bas's snorkel from LaDania to Karpata. Bas, if you read this, thanks for the very excellent instructions you gave us at the barbecue. We found the spot to jump in with no trouble at all! For anyone who has not done this you need to do it! We parked at Karpata, walked back to LaDania where we had fun jumping into the water from the cliff (only about a 2 foot drop). We then drifted to Karpata, seeing a ray and two turtles along the way as well as numerous other fish. Very fun snorkel!

Everything Else Bonaire: We got lucky in that our final day on the island was also the adult Carnival parade. We had been invited to a party at The Lost Penguin so had street side seats for the three trips around of the parade. Renata and Ton had outdone themselves with noisemakers, beads, ribbons, etc as well as food and beverages. It was fun to watch the parade with friends from the week: Susan and Lisa, the Richter family (Linda -- do the kids still have all the noisemakers??), Chet and Jean, Josie and her friends from Rochester.

Thanks also to Michael for his help solving a few problems like lost contact lenses. If you need internet and or lovely local art work be sure to go to Chat and Browse in the Sandollar "shopping plaza."

Bonaire is special and so are her people.

Susan,
What a lovely report! I truely enjoyed it.

Susan,
I have yet to try capturing pictures from the video camera, if they look OK, I'll post some of you and Mark at the ReefCam. It was a joy meeting you two; any chance you'll be back about the same time next year?
Chet

Chet ... we have two full weeks at Christmas so are leaning towards then. But if that does not work out it will be the same time late Feb. It was a pleasure meeting you and Jean and we hope to see you again.
Susan

Welcome home Sue & Mark...how do you NOT love this snow and ice?.....have some great underwater shots to show you ...lets get together for some fish pizza..call us when you get a chance for a get together..and we'll hope to see Josie this summer too...are you going ice diving ? Ha !

Great report - glad your trip was so enjoyable and successful. The snorkel sounds like fun - we may give it a try this year.

As promised, here are three shots of Susan and Mark at the ReefCam



and the ReefCam with a new "Stay of the Bottom" sign

Chet ... thanks so much! It was fun to open up BT this afternoon and find these! Hope all is well with you and Jean. We hit 50 degrees here today!
Susan

Susan,
All is well here in northern Illinois; and at an almost unbelievable 62 degrees. Got lots more video to edit (and capture pictures): the BBQ party, the Sunday parade, windsurfing, the wedding(s), dives, ect. Also, sent out the five rolls of film I shot (before the Sea&Sea flooded), am getting picture CD's with all five rolls to make it easier to post. Also, we send you a copy of an edited video with the ReefCam segment, the party, and the parade.

A big SIGH, I wish I was there! Great photos and trip!