We will be in Bonaire in May. I have been reading what pests the mosquitoes have been this year, we have experienced them the past 5 trips. I found mosquito nets that can be hung by the ceiling. I am thinking of using this in my son's room at Sand$ so I won't have to use all the sprays, etc. If there are no hooks in the ceiling, what has worked to position the net? Just a simple question, but when it comes to diving and planning trips...it's all in the details. Thanks.

We have been at the S$ since Sunday. Mosquitos have not been a problem for us. I put anothe post under Mosquitos and car rental stuff with more info. We did bring DEET, never used it at night, only once watching the sunset. We were upgraded to a 2-edroom since there were not one bedrooms available.

THE POOL IS CLOSED FOR REPAIRS.
MANGO'S RESTURANT IS CLOSED FOR REPAIRS.
THE WATERSIDE RESTUARANT HAS HOT DOGS BURGERS AND A LIMITED MENU.
WE DID NOT SEE ANY FISH (TO SPEAK OF) ON BARI REEF
Don't forget to set the timer on the water heater if you want to shower later.
Very nice faciltiy and we would stay here again...

pasa un bon dia .... abe and gail
Concord, NC
on-site in Bonaire

Dennis, it was posted a couple of weeks ago that the Mango's at the old platform of the Green Parrot on the ocean was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (couple hours each shift)...

No fish on Bari? That is my ultimate favorite reef...always see EVERYTHING there, including turtles...

The timer on the water heater...is this something new? Never heard of it, didn't have to do that when we stayed there, or from anyone else...maybe it is unique to the unit, or because of the power plant fire and the rolling blackouts...???

Cynde, wasn't Bari where we saw ALL those puffers?? I think it was on a twilight dive, but there must have been 8-10 of them !!

I think it was a past Scuba Diving Magazine article where I a read a claim that Bari was the most diverse reef in the Caribbean. Oh right, now I have to know so we're left with no other choice but to dive it for the lst time in April. We shall see.

Hi Barbara
We found that travel washing lines (kind of twisted rubber with a hook on each end which you should be able to get in most travel/outdoor shops) work really well..... One can almost always find two spots to fasten them - wall lamps, curtain rods, door handle even.... Single point hanging net is best for this "method" though.
Enjoy Bonaire,
Heike

Barbara

Our tip would be to nuke the room with Fly/Mosser killer when you go to dinner to kill any that are in the room. I have not stayed at Sand$ but were we stay this has solved the problem as there are mesh nets on the bathroom vents and we then keep doors and windows closed. The worst bites we have had was before we started this routine, the hotel may even provide the spray in a cupboard.

Re: Bari Reef - we "Snorked" out in front of S$ for at least an hour. Entered just to the North of the waterside resturant on the little pebble beach ... went against the tide to the north and drifted back past the S$ property - working from the ledge back to the inside of the ropes, around the boats and saw a few Sargent Majors, some Tangs and a few Grunts and that is it. My vision is fairly good, and Gail's vision is excellent. We both had the same results. We went with Renee on a private dive and was amazed at what she found. Today we "snorked" O'le Blue and were very satisfied with our day. I don't dispute that Bari is as reported to be super, just that we saw little to nothing. Perhaps we were in the wrong place?

Dennis, did you hug the wall when you went North? There is a ton of stuff near the wall (land area) heading up towards Buddy's. LOTS of babies (juvenile fish) are there for protection from predators and such. Also, just to the right of the pier (or straight out from it) there is a lot of orange cup coral and other stuff that is great to see at night as well.

Re: Bari Reef - in all fairness, last night we talked with several Snorkers that had just come out of the water and they had glowing reports of sightings. We also were able to see some parrots down in the water from the top of the wall.

Cynde - The day we were in, the breeze was "on-shore" from Klein, making (relative term) large waves and brekers against the wall so we did not venture too close. We were about 10 meters off the wall heading North. on the way back, we were on both sides of the rope out as far as the drop off and about 20 meters to the inshore side of the rope. We went all the way down past the S$ dive dock and worked back up to exit at the dive dock.

I yield to the those who have seen Bari more times than our one time and chalk it up to a "miss" day as in "hit or miss". Fair enough?

pasa un bon dia ... abe and gail
Concord, NC
Home of NASCAR

Dennis, too bad the winds were kicking up the waves. There is so much stuff along the wall...maybe next time!

Re: Bari Reef and H2O heater ....
Well, "next time" was earlier today between 1600 and 1700. We were able to get in about an hour on Bari and yes, I agree there is a LOT of life there. A lot in the rocks to the South of the little pebble coral rock beach just to the North of the waterfront eating place. We went North along the wall and drifted back down and saw a lot of stuff. Thanks for keeping up on us.

H2O heater - this unit has a timer on the heater that must be set to heat the water. If you want hot water, you set it to 15 - 90 minutes of running time. I understand the maid service turns the timer on when they service the room, but to ensure you have hot water, you may want to experiment and do it yourself. In this 2-BR unit, the heater was in a closet between the Kitchen and entrance hall.

On to Aruba for next week and then home to Concord, NC - near Charlotte, NC.
Trip report when I get a spare minute trying to catch up on phone calls and customer obligations - and I am "retired" --- haarrrruummppphhhh!!!

pasa un bon dia ... abe and gail
Concord, NC

Dennis, glad you had the chance to go back and see some good stuff...we rented the Zale's condo almost 3 years ago, and it didn't have the water heater issue, we had hot water whenever we wanted it! Sand$ is a nice place to stay, have some good memories there