What a Trip!

We started planning in December 1999 with our group of 17 divers to stay at Capt'n Dons; some of whom had been there before. This was our first time, so this website has been a great resource for planning and building anticipation. The travel both ways was uneventful for us but some of our friends lost there luggage on the way. It arrived in a few days and since Habitat offers free rentals for lost luggage people, it was not a huge impact. BTW - it was American Airlines not ALM that messed up.

Our dive trips tend to be 'Dive Camps' and this was no exception. We logged 25 dives in 8 days, with up to 4 dives a day including 3 night dives. In addition we had a lot of parties to attend with the 'Bonaire Dive Festival'. Even though we didn't take part in the Dive Fest, there were many events to participate in. It seemed like everyone ended up at Rum Runners at 11pm for a night cap.

Some of the memorable dives were 'Something Special', 'Bon Bini Cas', 'La Machaca', 'Town Pier', 'Hilma Hooker', 'Carl's Hill' and 'Sampler' to name a few. All of us in our group are avid photographers and I was shooting video for the first time on this trip. I got 6 hours of raw digital video and have been editing it ever since we got back. Hence the late post. I just completed the video on Saturday and had my first showing at our post trip party Sat night. Everyone thought it was 'Discovery Channel' quality! I plan on bringing a copy down to Jack Chalk and Ernst Schilling at the Habitat Photo Shop.

On land we also had such a great experience that its a tough call where to spend your time. We toured some of the island with Giovanie Soliano a local and on the Dive Staff of Habitat. We enjoyed eating at Capriccio, it rivals the restaurants in Chicago (where we're from), and the outstanding Den Laman. The moonlight cruise on the Samur was stunning! The 'Taste of Bonaire' party was great fun as was the Dive Fest closing ceremonies where we saw the photo contest winners.

The highlight of the trip was the Sea Horse I found at La Machaca. I showed it to our divemaster and it is now added to the other 2 at the site as must sees. We went back numerous times and found all three again (2 brown and 1 orange). Also the school of squid that I captured on video let me get within 2 feet of them to record them changing colors. Also saw 3 frog fish and 2 stingrays. The only thing we missed seeing were Turtles and Dolphins.

But since my wifes birthday is comming up, we have decided to GO BACK!!! We arrive this FRIDAY!!! Just for the weekend where we will be doing our Advanced Certification at Capt'n Dons.

Overall I found the quality and quantity of sea life the best I have ever seen. The numerous Juvenile fish indicates a healthy reef with a well developed and strong ecosystem. You could and should spend an entire dive watching just one coral head and the interactions between life that occur. It will give you a strong sense of how life occurs everywhere. The care and concern for diving in this fragile environment was displayed by everyone we met and helped us become better divers. Many times I opted not to get the 'best shot' on video because it might put me in a position that could damage the reef.

Thanks to everyone on Bonaire that made this trip unforgettable. We feel that we have made some friendships that will last a lifetime. We were welcomed into the homes and lives of those we met. Visted with husbands and wives and children of our divemasters.

I will be posting, in a few weeks, many of my stills and some videos on my website, so watch for the URL on my posts.

And for everyone on the island, we will see you in a few days..... :-)

Nice report Venson, we're all envious, Have a great return Trip!!! Happy Birthday to your wife too!

We just returned from a wonderful two-week vacation on Bonaire. We stayed at BelMar for the first time, and I want to publicly thank Jan and Wilma of BelMar and Irene of Toucan diving for making this one of the best trips we have had to Bonaire. Jan and Wilma were wonderful in dealing with the diverse needs of your group of 8 people in 3 units, ages ranging from 9 to over 50. Irene was most accommodating in helping us with boat reservations, suggesting dive sites (even trying to get us permission to dive Small Wall which must be accessed through Black Drogun, which was turned down by the owner) and helping with equipment problems. Having access to the dive shop and spare tanks 24 hours a day was a great help. No need to plan dives, except for the boat dives.

The package Jan and Wilma arranged for us included everything at a very reasonable cost. Unlike most dive/stay/fly/drive packages, there were no surprises. We were quoted a price, and got more than we asked for at that price.

I won’t go into detail about restaurants and site seeing, as we all have our personal preferences, but I will be glad to answer any specific questions or e-mails.

Security is excellent at BelMar. They have a security guard on duty every night and were installing security cameras to cover the dock and pool area while we were there. There are safes in each room, and never once did I have a concern for the safety of our group. In addition, the security guards were very friendly and would stop to chat with us while we were “out front” BBQing dinners. They entertained the younger girls in our group and took the time to teach them some Papimento (sp).

Sorry I don’t have any pictures to post, but I have many great images in my mind, to pull up anytime I want of wonderful dive sites, corals, a healing reef system, turtles, and at long last sea horses. We will have to return to find the elusive frogfish.

As I said before, anyone wishing more information about BelMar, Toucan Diving, or Bonaire in general is welcome to post a note, which I will answer, or e-mail directly at j.bressan@prodigy.net.

John Bressan