Hi all,
I have been meaning to write this report for awhile but the PBD is just allowing me now.....

Travel
We flew AA from Logan through San Juan to Bonaire. Both flights went without a hitch. Check in was a breeze, had our carry ons checked in Logan, all dive gear. The guys who checked them were divers and told us their favorite dive places and were jealous of our trip. After a quick check they let us right through with a "have a great trip!" We each checked a suitcase and had 1 box of dry goods. We had taped the box shut and put a strap around it in case they opened it. It arrived unopened and intact. We had packed all our clothes etc. in Hefty ziploc bags in case our suitcases got opened and used zip ties instead of locks. The flights left on time with no problems. Even the food on the plane was good! The trip home was just as easy. The only hairy part was having to clear customs in San Juan. We had a very tight connection. Grabbed our luggage, ran through customs, rechecked the bags, walked/ran to gate just in time to hear that they were about to start boarding. Made it to Boston 1/2 hour early. All the luggage showed up, intact, then the 3 hour drive home. Again no problem.

Diving
We did our diving with Photo Tours at Carribean Court. These guys are AWESOME!! Everyone in the shop was friendly and helpful. Joe and I did our advanced open water with Emile. He was fantastic, made the course fun and educational. A lot of time spent laughing and learning. We did some fantastic dives with Bas, his night drift from La Dania to Karpata, an unbelievable birthday dive (unmarked site), and Lac Cai. Emile came along on the birthday dive and we saw a HUGE school of Barracuda, (he said it was the largest he had seen on the island). Other dives, Red Slave, Angel City, Salt Pier, Vista Blue, Alice in Wonderland, Pink Beach, Windsock, Cliff, Small Wall (THANKS JAKE!!!!), Andrea II, Oil Slick Leap, 1000 Steps, and a couple on Klein. They were all great, it is hard to pick favorites, different things to see at each place, all beautiful. A couple of things we were hoping to see, a seahorse and ray, we saw on the last 2 days of diving. The seahorse on Klein and a spotted eagle ray at Lac Cai. The other time we went to Bonaire we did all our own diving so to dive with a guide was different for us. We enjoyed it very much, Bas and Emile were so much fun to dive and hang out with. Friends we look forward to seeing again soon (March 2004)!!!

Truck
We rented a 4 door pick up from Netty. This is the second time we have rented from her and I hope to never have to rent from anyone else. She was right there when our plane landed 8:45pm, the truck was in great shape, everything was filled out and ready for us. We walked around the truck for a quick check and we were on our way. Only thing we had to do to the truck all week was put gas in it. Netty makes it very easy!!

Accomodations
We rented a house this trip and are very glad we did. We could go back and relax on the patio by the pool. We ate breakfast and lunch there pretty much everyday and dinner 5 times. We will rent again just for the peace and quiet.

Dining
As I said we ate most breakfasts and lunches at the house. We did eat breakfast at The Lost Penguin twice, lunch there once, late afternoon nachos once, very good. Dinner at City Cafe twice, both very good, Capriccios once,very good, Rib Factory once, this is the only one we wouldn't go back to. This is only because we found the meat too spicy for us. Garden Cafe, once, very good, Pasa Bon Pizza, twice, very good, and once Bas took us to a neighborhood restaurant, this was probably the best food we had out while we were there, absolutely delicious!! There were a lot of other restaurants I wanted to try and didn't get to, next time!!

I think I covered it all. The only thing that I didn't do that I am sorry about is that I didn't make it to the BT dinners. We got back late from diving the first Tuesday night and our kids had arrived the second one. Next year, I will be there, no excuses!! I did get to meet Jake and pat Grendel and Blikje, that was great!!
This trip was our best ever!! Bonaire is our type of place, sunshine, very friendly people, great diving.........all the things we want :-).

Mary Lou

P.S. Yikes! Almost forgot!! Thanks to Mike Gaynor at Chat And Browse!!! We rented a phone from him (he was very patient with me, I am cell phone inept!) and bought some artwork. What a great place, excellent addition to the island. The phone worked out perfectly, kept me in touch with home very nicely. Thanks, Mike!!

Mary Lou ... great report! Sounds like it was all perfect! Glad that the house worked out for you!
Susan

Mary Lou,
Thanks for the great report, glad you had a great trip!! Sorry we didn't get a chance to
meet you and your family, maybe next year.


ScottJ