Anyone interested in outstanding guided shore dives, should consider contacting Jessie. She can be reached thru Photo Tours or thru her e-mail address.
In addition to her guided dives , she is offering a one week program which includes classes on reef ecology, fish & coral identification and of course, shore & boat dives. Hotel & meals are also in the package.
For those unfamiliar with her name, she is the author of the Bonaire bible on shore dives.

Thanks for the information. I am interested because I will be in Bonaire for two weeks in September and am already signed up with Photo Tours for another dive course (rescue).

I would love to know more about the course Jessie offers. Can you share her email address?

karl - i don't have it anymore. Photo Tours will give it to you. They have a printed sheet with details of the program. It sounds wonderful. I plan to sign up as soon as the dates are finalized.

Karl, contact them via info@bonphototours.com

Jake

The two weeks scheduled so far are October 5-12 and December 7-14. PhotoTours dropped off the pages about the course yesterday and I haven't had the chance to get them into their website yet. I'll let you know when they are up.

I just got the pages added to the website.
http://www.bonphototours.com/eco_immersion.html

the dates on the flyer are not carved in stone. they are suggested open weeks. If there are enough people to form a group on other dates, she will reschedule. You don't have to organize your own group of divers.

Hi Mimi,

My fiancee and I will be in Bonaire on the 5 - 12 of October. We have already signed up with Phototours and are staying at the Caribbean court for the holiday. I am wondering if you would know if there is some other way of joining up with Jesse since our accomodations and dive package are already paid for. We dive with Phototours yearly, and with Jesse last year on a coral spawning dive in October, it was fabulous. It would be great to incorporate this into our vacation this year since we are not new to Bonaire and diving her waters.

Let me know what you think, or maybe I should just get with Pasal and Phototours directly.

Thanks,

John

The package lists both of them as contacts.
Either Jessie at mailto:armacost@bonairelive.com
or PhotoTours at info@bonphototours.com

hi john -
why not send an e-mail to both Jessie & Ronald, with your request? I believe they are using Caribbean Court for the package. I don't see why PhotoTours wouldn't be happy to honor your request. Ronald is now officially the manager. He's a very nice guy. If it is doable, he will take care of it.
Let me know what you find out. thanks. mimi

Does anyone know exactly when the coral spawns? It has to do with the moon somehow, correct? So we should be able to determine exactly when its going to happen?

I'm going to be down there Sep 13-29, and am hoping to see it.

Darryl

John, when you're on the Court next september, please say Hi to both Ronald and Bert (resp. Manager dive shop and manager Hotel). They are really nice guys.

Bert is even Angela's best man (or should I say maid of honor ) on our wedding next june.

Martin

Full moons are August 22 and September 21. So the branching corals should spawn 1-2 days after full moon. Other corals should spawn 5-7 days after full moon. After 8pm but before midnight.

I'll be sure to say hello and give them your warmest regards. I met Bert 3 years ago when we started going to the 'court', and Ronald last year while diving. We absolutely love it there, and return to the same room every year now. Being engaged myself, I am trying to convince my fiancee to get married in Bonaire next year, but do the reception in the US for the families. We'll have to see how that pans out, as we may be in Bonaire in June too!

Congratulations,

John

Thanx John. That's the way we'll do it, get married on Bonaire and have the reception back home...

Add my name to the CC fan club. Bert is great.
He took excellent care of me. I will definitely return there. Now i need to learn to read dutch so that i can work the stove, microwave, dishwasher, a/c, etc.
The only mechanical skill i have mastered is: how to set the alarm clock.

Mimi,

That is absolutely hilarious. We still haven't mastered that "dutch" oven. What do all those icons mean? The rolls we bought at the cultimara turned into charcoal in about 30 seconds flat, however, we did get the plates clean with soap and scrubbee sponge!

john,
glad to know it isn't just me. One night i asked my neighbor from Surinam to see if she could figure out the microwave & the top burners. She couldn't either, and she reads and speaks dutch.
Yet, she was able to run all the appliances in her own unit.
I wonder if we stay in the same unit. It's a small 1 bedroom on the first level in the fourth building. i think it was #34 but i'm not sure.
If this is the same unit, i think we need to 'fess up to Bert, so he can fix the appliances. Maybe no one has ever said anything!Did you figure out the a/c? I never did. Bert set it on the coldest level, at my request, and then i never touched it again.
Have you used a laptop computer on their phone system? If so, how did the prices run? I'm on AOL and used the Curacao access number to download e-mail, which i read off-line. I'm waiting with suspense to get the bill.
Also, have you eaten in the restaurant on the property? It's always closed when i see it.

Last time I was there, the manual of the microwave had the dutch version on one side of the paper and english on the other side...

I was certainly in a different unit, ours was in the yellow building (not sure what number the building is) and unit 6 (second floor center). We got the dishwasher and a/c to work just fine, it was the micro/convection oven thingy that was the pain. In microwave mode, it worked fine, but in convection mode...look out. I haven't taken a laptop down to Bonaire yet. Figuring I am dragging all this dive equipment, another bag full of computer stuff is crrraaaaazzzzzy. We tend to hop over to 'de tuin' for lunch a couple times a week and surf the email stuff there. I may change my tune though, as I would love to download my digital pictures while in bonaire. Let me know when you find out what the cost of dial up is.

Hmmm....i guess the appliances were indeed, broken. I remember being told that the unit had not been occupied for some time. And i was given a new coffee maker when i moved in.
will keep you posted on the laptop charges. it's such a convenience to use it in your own home. I usually go to DeTuin. But the first day I went, there was a power failure on the island and the computers were down. That's when i decided to use the data line in my own place.
Have you tried the restaurant on the CC premises?
How is it?

Mimi, in may the lunch room was open just occasionally. Last November we had breakfast, and it was good.

martin - thanks for the response. what are the breakfast hours? prices? cold & cooked food? would like to try it next time.

Mimi,

When we were there last October, it was just open but we didn't try it. Sorry but no info on the cafe.

Regards,

John

Mimi, Sorry, don't remember the prices. I do remember eating an "omlet", sorry don't know the english word, it's an egg with ham and cheese, fried in hot butter....

HELP...

martin, you got it exactly right....it's called a ham & cheese omlette. thanks.