Hi Linda:
I had written the following in response to your original post of yesterday. That post apparently was one of those that got lost when the BT server crashed. I think it's still applicable.
As a cruise ship visitor who subsequently spent a week snorkeling on Bonaire, first of all let me say, WELCOME to Bonairetalk.
From the schedule for the Summit, It looks like you dock at 1:00 PM and leave at 6:00 PM. Allowing time for the ship to clear customs, set the gangplank and get passengers on and off that leaves you about four hours on shore. Car rentals could tie up another ½ hour at each end depending on how many people are in line ahead of you. That said, I recommend that you do NOT rent a car.
Now, if you had not already indicated that Renee could not take a group of eight, I would definitely have said to go with her. She knows where to find at least one seahorse, eels, octopuses, squid, etc.
Since that option is not available to you, I suggest contacting Dee and Ulf [Woodwind]
www.woodwindbonaire.com
and see if they could take your group over to Klein for a drift snorkel with a quick second stop on the mainland. Like Renee, Dee is a excellent guide. The Woodwind leaves from the southern most dock at the Divi which is no more than a five minute walk from the ship [assuming it is docked at the Southern pier and a little longer if docked at the Town Pier].
My third option would be to snorkel at the Plaza and Divi Flamingo resorts along with a short snorkel on the rocks at the north end of Cha-Cha beach. Like one of Renee's 3-stop snorkels. Specifics follow:
1. Begin at the Plaza Resort which is the furthest of the three locations from the ship. The southern end of the Plaza [just south of the Tipsy Seagull restaurant], offers excellent snorkeling
Once you leave the ships pier, The Plaza is a 15-20 minute walk to the South [right]. You need to make a jog to the left and one to the right to get you one street in from the beach.
Continue South past The Divi Flaming, Carib Inn, and Richards until you reach the resort. Enter through their parking lot at the north end of the property. There is a $5.00 entry fee for non-guests which includes usage of both pools, lounge chairs, etc. Proceed to the far end and enter the water from the Tipsy Seagull pier.
Entry is very easy. There are steps [slippery] off the pier. Just sit down and slide in -- face first. Once in the water, snorkel to the South. The Plaza has a very nice reef [Eighteenth Palm] with large corals and there is easy access to the reef, to the outside of the reef, and to the drop-off as well. Baracuda, Jacks, and if you are really lucky perhaps a ray will be hanging out or make an apperance at the top of the drop-off. You can snorkel all the way to the inlet if vtime permits. Just south of the Tipsy Seagull you'll see some really nice Brain and Staghorn corals and lots of reef fish. You should be able to spend an hour to an hour-and-a-half snorkeling before heading to the second spot -- the Divi Flamingo.
2. Leaving the Plaza retrace your steps back toward the ship past the Divi Flamingo to Cha Cha Beach. Cha-Cha is directly across from the former Dive Inn. Hopefully, the Dive Inn sign is still up? I would use Cha-Cha as the entry point to the Divi Flamingo. [[Instead, you could gain through the Divi Flamingo parking lot on your way back from the Plaza. You would then follow the path to the left of the lobby and enter at the South pier [left] . With eight of you however, and being your first visit, I recommend theCha-Cha entry.]]
At Cha-Cha hold on to the pier as you enter the water and once in put your fins on. Another easy entry. It is a short snorkel South around the pier [Divi Flamingo's Dive Shop]. Spend a few minutes exploring around and under that pier before continuing south to the Divi's Cement Pier. The Cement Pier [also known as the Tanning Pier] is close enough that Tiger Woods, at least, could hit a golf ball from the entry point at Cha-Cha beach and land it on the Divi Flamingo's Cement Pier. You won't see any cement, but you will know that you are at the pier by the massive boulders/rocks and the sound of people talking above you. It's a really great place to snorkel. Spend a fair amount of time searching in the rocks around that pier.
Then, time permitting, you might explore the rocks south of the Cement Pier that make up the shoreline below the rooms and below the Chibi-Chibi Restaurant. There are lobster, octopus, etc and at least one 5-foot or longer eel that reside/hide in the rocks immediately below the restaurant. The sand flats in front sometimes offer some unique sightings -- I've seen a star fish [unusual on Bonaire], strings of truncates there, as well as several large squid and the aforementioned eel. Unfortunately, other then the Truncates, those were all at night.
In the daytime, I recommend spending most of your time around the Cement Pier itself -- nice Orange Coral and a good variety of fish.
There is also a small sunken boat to the right of the Cement Pier in about 15 feet of water. Darlene can tell you more about that, as I forgot that it was there when I was there in May and now will have to return [perhaps next May] to see it.
On your snorkel back to Cha-Cha [time permiting] you should explore the rocks along the shore and especially those to the North of the Cha-Cha pier. Renee pointed out a couple of resident octopuses and eels within a few feet of the shoreline [just north of the pier] while we were exiting a night dive.
Anyhow, the logistics are pretty simple and the snorkeling should be quite good. Just keep track of time. You are only five minutes or so from the ship once you exit at Cha-Cha beach.
If any in your party do not want to snorkel that day, then I would recommend the ships island tour -- Salt flats, Slave Huts, The Lake, catus-fences, entrance to the park, monument,wild donkeys, etc. It is a very nice tour. Actually, that is what my wife and I did the day we were on Bonaire off a cruise ship.
Have a great time and again welcome to Bonairetalk. By the way, we look forward to a trip report and the BT family has a voracious appetite for photos. I hope thre is at least one digital underwater camera in the group. .
Click on the link below for photos from Bill's Bonaire Snorkel Trip -- May 2007
http://falls4sale.com/Bonaire/Home.html |
By Linda Bergrin (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - 8:44 pm: 
