Okay, this is where I want to hear the good, the bad, the ugly and the really, really funny. Where and what should we NOT do in Bonaire? We like homey clean accomodations that aren't too icky - we don't like anonymous resorts with front desk clerks in uniforms. We also like happy, relaxed diving with non technophobes. All in all we are pretty easy to please. Thanks again in advance for all your great ideas!

The worst? Having my appendix explode on me which meant emergency surgery and an unplanned stay at Hotel San Francisco.

People can be darn surpriseing at times and the kindnesses we were shown then surprised the heck out of me. So strangely enough, I suppose that was one of the best experiences I had on Bonaire as well.

p.s. 6 hours in the old transit lounge in Curacao waiting for the ALM (All Luggage Missing)connecting flight to Bonaire ranks pretty high on the bad experience meter as well.

Bad experience - Flying Air Jamaica both to and from the island.

(Message edited by scubaaaronh on October 18, 2006)

On our first ever diving trip as certified divers to Bonaire in 1994, ALM lost our suitcase with ALL of our clothes. (The bag with our dive gear arrived as well as the bag with our stowed winter coats!)
Lesson learned: pack essentials in your carry-on and include some emergency clothes! Thank you Farid Arubi for taking us to Tong Fong, the island store, where we bought some shorts and t-shirts on Bonaire.
One year and a day later, Louie from Air Aruba found our luggage!
Lesson learned: it pays to have an address label and phone number hidden on your luggage cinch strap.
Mare

(Message edited by mare on October 18, 2006)

Dean, I can totally relate. I broke my kneecap in NZ at the Bay of Islands. I met the kindest people there. But my knee still hurts today! Ah well, water therapy is GOOD! Memorable flight home on Qantas with a full leg PLASTER cast (to my hip) and trying to fit in an airplane bathroom. God Bless Percodan :-) Katie

trying to do shore entry with insufficient foot protection !!! Ouch ouch ouch ... AA lost one piece of luggage - yes the one with dive gear. Yes I should know enough to carry on essentials. Th dive shop let us use their gear but only had full foot fins. So we were barefoot trying to get in to put our fins on once in the water. My husband, bless him, quickly decided I would wear my sandels in and he put them away on shore when I got my fins on. But he only had leather docker shoes with him and made it in barefoot .. lots of painful cuts. Our dive gear showed up 3 days later.

Air Jamaica lost half our bags (all my stuff) for the whole trip. When we returned to Phili. Our bags were waiting for us...
The worst was finding underware and razor blades! But I lived in bathing suits and turtle tee's..so not that bad. They did reimburse us about a month later.
On our first trip (when Steve was still able to run) Steve was running through town on some back streets and a pack of dogs attacked him. He went to the hospital for a Tetnus shot, but he was back in the water in a few hours.

see http://www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/27/299264.html?1160994042

enjoy

Worst disasters

1 Amstel brewery on Curacao closed so no more Pure Brights :-{

2 KLM all of lost our luggage for 3 days last Christmas

3 Captain Don no longer doing his weekly Rings of Memories show

Actually I think #3 should be #1.

Flying Air Jamaica ..Luckily on the way home got stuck in Jamaica over night with no plane to take us home. Not one bad experience in Bonaire to complain about. Love it !

Oh and another having get to Bonaire via Curacao with long waits at that old airport. So near but so far - sat in that tatty transit lounge with everybody sniffing and coughing.

We get to try it again in January, I hear it is much much better now.

(Message edited by brianl on October 18, 2006)

My worse experience with Bonaire was 2 years ago, last Feb.. The trip home on the airline from hell; AKA Air Jamaica..I swore I would never fly A.J. home again! Lets leave it at that.. Not pleasant memories. And you know what they can do with Montego Bay.

I had a trip that included the good, the bad and it got ugly.

Rented a Scooter to tour the island. On the North end of the island a goat ran out from a cactus fence and I hit the goat and wrecked the Scooter. When I stood up I immediately fell down. Got an ambulance ride to the clinic, first time in an ambulance. After x-rays I was told that I did not break anything and I could leave. When I stood up I again fell down, my leg would not support my weight. I was told that I did not break anything, given a prescription and I was released. I requested crutches since I could not walk. I was told that the pharmacy in town would sell me crutches. A wonderful lady that rented me the Scooter at the Plaza came and picked me up at the clinic. She then took me to the pharmacy to fill my prescription and buy crutches. The prescription was for aspirin and I was directed to a medical supply store to buy crutches. The lady from the Scooter rental took me to the medical supply store and we arrived just before they closed. Went back to the Plaza and a couple of bellmen rode me to my room on a baggage cart. The good news is this was our last day of vacation. The Plaza brought a truck to our room in the morning to pick me up so I did not have to walk on crutches all the way to the lobby, again very nice. The trip back, Bonaire to San Juan to Miami to Washington DC was difficult, but I did get wheelchair services at each airport. Went to the emergency room on our return, they drained blood and fluid from my knee and sent me to an orthopedic surgeon. I tore my ACL, MCL and damaged the meniscus, required surgery and a lot of physical therapy. On the ceiling at therapy that had a little sign that said "go to your happy place", I went back to bonaire.

The hospital bill was only $350, less than the damage to the scooter. In the future I will pay the $5.00 for the scooter insurance. The nurse that saw the accident, stopped to help and called the ambulance, the lady from the Scooter rental and the people at the Plaza were all great, very nice and helpful. I was less than impressed with the medical assistance but everything turned out okay and we have been back since the accident. Diving was great too!

Don't know the status of the goat, it ran away so I hope it was okay.


(Message edited by Bobcaat on October 18, 2006)

WOW - about all I can say!!

Kate,

If you've been reading these boards, you probably know not to leave anything valuable in your truck while you are in the water. The worst thing that has happened to us was getting our truck ransacked by thieves while diving at Karpata. They stole some change, a pack of cigarettes, our jack, & my cheapie sunglasses. They didn't take Tim's $150 prescription sunglasses. My t-shirt ended up with suspicious stains on it too. We dove Karpata at sunset, normally there is someone manning the snack bar there (until 5 or 6 I think), which i suppose deters thieves.

Not so bad for a worst experience.

OK...I'm speaking for two of us here.

Wes had the plane ride from Hades on Air Jamaica. The seat cushion was so thin he felt like he was sitting on the bare metal. The flight attendants could not locate an "unused" pillow for him so I ended up begging a couple from a few people. It was the worst ride he has ever had in a plane and he has flown in some cargo holds while in the military!

Me...well, a hot day in Slagbaai, no fruit, only water, followed by a great bottle of red wine at sunset, did not make for a happy and healthy Tribs. Lesson: always take food and fruit with you into the park. (And no, I would not suggest avoiding the wine at sunset - just eat your fruit during the day.)

For both of us...the shock of finding out where the Plaza was located on our very first trip to Bon. We were greeted at the airport by our Dive Master to be (we were a dive group of 36) who said, when you pull out of the airport parking lot, just take that immediate first left and you are in the parking lot by your villas. Yikes...I'm a light sleeper! It was a great shortcut and I was glad he told us about it, but I wish the organizer of our dive group would have told us about being across the street from the airport.

My worst experience was when I got a sinus infection in 2002 and couldn't "dive" on our "dive vacation"! The other 9 years were great! Karen

We surfaced after a dive to the thought that we had drifted too far and that our truck had been stolen. Then we realised that they had moved the dive site of the Pink Bus when we were underwater

hmmmm....i can't say that i've had anything crush my grove coming, going, or during trips to Bonaire...the worst part is pre and post Bonaire depression...nothing can prepare you for that...and remember, everything is relative (as some of you know I've had the one of worst things that can ever happen to you on your vacation actually happen...)

That being said...as a good friend once said...

Life is too short to dwell on the sucky things in life, especially when they are of a transient nature

As Denise previously mentioned....trying to do shore dives with inadequate foot protection on our very first trip to Bonaire....
Ooh ouch! Ooh ouch! I'm accustomed to the soft sand and less than marble-sized rocks we have here on the shores of S. Florida. As such, I was totally unprepared for the hard, jagged and uneven terrain that I encountered at most of the shore diving sites in Bonaire.
My anxiety level soared, and my boyfriend had to help me in and out of the water like a feeble old woman! I did have a few near-falls, but fortunately nothing too serious.
Now, after doing 3 trips to Bonaire and a trip to Bali where the shore entries even MORE difficult, I can say that I'm far more adept at these relatively difficult entries.
To add insult to injury, I had major camera issues during my first trip to Bonaire, and then the camera that I rented FLOODED due to no fault of my own.
Oh well, I've made two trips to Bonaire after that, and I'm happy to say that things went a lot more smoothly! R

Meat patties in MoBay airport during my "lovely" 8 hour layover/delay in Feb05. I think it took my system 2 months to recover.

Arriving at the Rose Inn after a night dive at Ole Blue gasping for a cold one only to find it was shut ...

The worst: getting blown up somewhere in Central America. Yup, that one sucked.

The best: the threesome in New Jersey. Yup, that one was the best. No doubt about it.

The other worst: finding my neighbor dead after hurricane Elena. Yeah, that one sucked too.

Two trips so far and the worst things were and ear infection of the first trip and diving Eden Beach at night on the second. The ear infection happened because I had a sunburn on my ears and then went swimming in a cave. This last trip we went for a night dive at front porch and went south toward Eden Beach and basically did a dive on the surface of the moon. Aside from some tube anemones and one tarpon there was nothing there.

Oh yeah, finding out Last Bite Bakery was closed and wouldn't be open again until after we had left the island. Where we were really looking forward to trying it that was crushing.

As for accommodations that might meet your needs try www.deepblueview.com These people are great to stay with.

Ok, after not posting for years I am forced to reply.

Worst, Ate french fries with peanut sauce at one of the stands at the mall. Drove back to Buddy Dive. Wife and I made a mad dash for restroom, she won. I made made dash for public restroom across the Buddy Dive grounds. Too late. Then no toilet paper. The people at the pool bar wanted me to talk to me as I snuck back to my room. Bad, very bad. Lesson learned, Must learn to run faster then my wife.

Funniest, Standing behind a KLM DC-10 at takeoff(The ultimate dust storm). Blew dudes glasses off (He looked like a ratcoon), knocked my son over, peppered everyone with engine sludge and pebbles which caused minor bleeding. Luckily I was braced against a tree. Funniest and dumbest!

Best, diving at Ol Blue in about 30' of water and having a manta fly right over the top of me.

Dave

The Good: getting to visit the lovely island of Bonaire, the warmth of the people, the food,the natural beauty and oh yeah, the diving!
The Bad: Getting stranded in Haiti on my way to Bonaire when ALM use to fly from JFK.
The Ugly: The look on my face when it is time to leave the island and head back home!
The Funniest: losing my bathing suit top and having to dive topless.(Not a bad thing, I just wasn't prepared to do this and the darn straps on my BC rubbed me the wrong way!)

Thanks everyone, there are some great stories here, I can tell. I think we all know that life isn't simply roses and some of the best remembered and most treasured (especially as Party Stories!) are the ones we never intended. But hey, as divers we are a resilient group! Have a great winter! I wish I could gather all of us in one room as pour some margaritas.... :-)

Getting up one morning in the Divi and realizing that we had left the AC running high and the sliding patio door open when my feet hit the very wet ti8le and went down on my ass...HARD!! Not the best wake-up.

Rosanne, you dove topless? :-O lol...

OK, I have a worst...having to get up at 4:30AM to get ready to leave on the AA flight to go home that SUCKS!

My worst, other than having to leave Bonaire after living there for 7 years, was with a whale shark.

A few moments after the turn around (tired from a stiff unusual current), I was at about 60 feet when I spotted a small (6m) whale shark at about 30 feet.

I started to fin really hard to catch up because I had my video camera with me and this was my first whale shark. Aware that I had to ascend slowly I finned like crazy, but the guy was just going too fast. He started to move out past the reef, so did I. More hard finning - with the current just to keep up.

Well, finally he went out to sea. I was drifting quite fast now and thrilled with the sighting; I went into a lotus position and just reflected at the amazing experience I just had.

All of a sudden, I got 4 cramps - one in each thigh and calf muscle. I quickly clipped my camera and grabbed both fins to stretch out.

So, there I was, tumbling in the current, holding my fines, thinking after one of my most thrilling sights I was going to die, drifting along looking at my butt trying to get rid of the cramps.

Needless to say, I survived. It was my one of my best and one of my scariest.

GH, Oh Yeah! It was quite the experience. The divemaster I was diving with joked me for years about it!

Oh Man! How come I never get to go on THOSE kind of dives!

Seb, Michael always says the same kind of things

Seb try Barcadera, the nude snorkelers aka sea nymphs might be there again

Brian! Don't tempt him!
Mare

Mare

It is a good dive site though, we only did it once in September and no nymphs :-{

Good job really as I was using a macro lens.

That just meant you'd need to get closer Brian... I remember when Pink beach had sand, and often a number of bathing beauties in monokinis.

Oh wait this is the worst experience... how about two flat tires in two weeks?

worst...getting a hit of dcs and totally screwing up my plans for st. patricks day last march...spent 29 wonderful hours in the chamber over the next week.

the best...absolutely everything else.

Jon, Very funny....
Barry...nice to see ya!

my 13-yr old daughter says her worst was seeing a fat guy in a gold lame speedo on the beach at Plaza 3 years ago.

runner up was her exit at Hilma Hooker this year - she turtled.

Hey, my speedo was sierra gold, not gold lame!!!

Are you sure the 'lame' bit was about the colour

Worst moment.....

Returning from a dive at Ol' Blue and realizing someone had taken the cold beers from our cooler. Oh well we had to wait until Rincon.

Bob

Worst moment.....
Packing to go home.
Last diner on Bonaire.
Last dive.
Driving to the airport.
Checking in.
Boarding.

It just goes on, and on...............

thanks kate for the posting.
as my wife & i will b making our 1st. trip 2 bon.,these various accounts, good & bad will help in prep. for our journey.

Bob...it was Mare

Worst Experience. We were the victims of a hit and run on our Netty's van while dining across the street from Karl's. The van was parked across the street and just south of Karl's and, even though it was during the busiest part of the evening and witnesses called Netty, no one had a good description of the person or car that did the damage???. Netty was waiting there for us when, unaware of what had happened, we arrived back at the van. She called the police, who, as expected, were unsuccessful in solving the case. The good news is that the body shop Netty took us to for the required estimate for repairs only estimated the damage at $550. That was VERY reasonable considering the rear door and bumper were severly damaged. Netty was very helpful and did not charge for the "loss of rentals" for the expected time for repairs. Even better, Mastercard reimbursed me fully for the loss within two weeks of my return to the US.