We had a wonderful 3 wks in Bonaire!
Our stay a Divi timeshare was not marred by the construction on the hotel side. They are doing more work than I've ever seen done. I have photo's and will get them posted soon. To my delight the new Tanning pier was complete the week before we arrived. It's larger than the old one without that step down and now has a ladder instead of steps and the fish are still there looking for handouts. Took a photo of this too.The cement pier was also rebuilt and almost finished before we left and the work on the base of the Chibi Chibi was under way.The new hotel rooms were very nice All the rooms completely gutted and new everything inside. They took down the standard rooms by the hotel pool and I believe that's where the new front desk will be(see photo). I asked opinions of divers o the boat, and they said it was ver nice, altough the consrucion was going on, they tried to keep the inconvience to minimum.
A very high green fence was put up by the timeshare. Good Idea, they don't keep the gates locked, so you can get to your car easy enough,but it is a deterrant from someone running through and the security is still friendly and present.
We had absoulutly no problem with crime.Kept our valuables in safe and did't leave anything in car.
Felt perfectly safe no matter where we went.Left things on patio and nothing was disturbed.
We went diving mostly on Calabass Reef off our dock and did several boat dives.
At Andrea 1 up north we seen 2 golden seahorses and 2 small turtles! On our dives off of klien Lutty showed us 2 frog fish , a yellow and a purple pink, hidden in some coral. I love going on the boats with the DM's the know where the critters are! Met alot of nice people on the boats and shared opinions about the reef. If you were never to Bonaire you would not realize the effects of the surge on the reef,We as long time tourist had the pleasure of knowing it at it's best. The shallows were pretty banged up,but there are alot of fish, especially schools of juvinile around and newcomers are delighted with the clearty of the water and the pratically non-existance of current in most places. Some of the corals are growing back and the shallows infront of the Divi still have some corals around especialy deeper. The reef after 30 ft I would say was uneffected in most places ,still prolific in the many kinds of soft and hard corals lots of fish around. A pod of dolphin were around saw them from afar, someone was lucky enough to see them in the water!
Our favorite resturant is It's Raining Fishes on the prominade north in town wonderful food, eat there several times. Karl's Grill for a quick snack.Will get back with more later.

Thank you, Lorraine! I have been eagerly waiting for your report. It is nice to know that, in spite of the waves, things are still good, and we look forward to our holidays.

Lorraine,
Thanks for the great trip report. I really enjoyed hearing all the good news about the divi. I can't wait to go back!

Thanks for the report, Lorraine. It really psyches me up----not that I need psyching up! Glad you had such a wonderful time!

Cheryl

Great to hear your report Lorraine! It was sure an encouragement. 28 days and counting till we get there!!! Can't wait to see your pictures.
Kitty

Great report! Makes me want to be there...and for us its 7 months and counting!

Lorraine,

Thanks for the terrific report. Only 37 days left until we get to go underwater. I'm glad to hear the fish life is still doing well. I'm also excited to hear that the construction did not bother your stay at the Divi. Does that little brown and white dog still hang out at the Divi? He was a great pal last year. We called him Yoshi, but I'm sure he has many names. I can hardly wait!!! Let me know when the pics are ready.

Lisa S

Lisa,
Yes that corgy,we call him Sparky, is still around I have a photo I'll try to post of "our" dog in Bonaire. He is so funny,we run into him all over the place and he acts if he's ours. Makes me laugh every time.

By the way, were going back in3months 3wks and5days, who's counting(?)for my birthday, so I'm not going through my usual withdrawal. Still cann't wait to go back again!

Go ahead---Rub it in, Lorraine, rub it in!
By the way, the January crowd calls the dog "Dive Bud"...I will also try to find and post a picture.

Not rubbing it in Robert,Just trying to look fwd to that day with great antisipaton instead of dred.It's one of those milestones we all have to face.So I'll face mine in Bonaire that day with a big smile on my face ,with a few friends at dinner and a good bottle of champagne to celebrate! Sounds like a great way to start another decade to me.

We find it interesting that people have nothing better to do than rub it in people's faces when they are returning to "Diver's Paradise". Oh, by the way, we arrive in 44 days, not that we are counting!!!

It is 42 days for us! (Not counting, of course)

37 days! Just started counting today...

26days!!!!!

Boy you people have a long time to wait. We are down to 7 days 20 hrs and 32 minutes to take off (assuming AJ is on time leaving from LA, but as you say who is counting.

Lorraine, thanks for your trip report. Even after multiple trips to Bonaire, we always learn something from other's experiences. We will definately try "Raining Fishes" for dinner.

John

39 days for our move to Bonaire....(because today has started already so cannot be counted in :-)

But I AM counting :-)

18 days to Bonaire (June 10-18 at Buddy's). Won't count the 6 days that we have to spend in AUA before we get to BON though.

It Rains Fishes is north (a few blocks) of Zeezicht on the prominaide across from the pier.Their food,atmosphere, and presentation wonderful. My favorite this time. We also had delicious meals at Cappicino's, Blue Moon, Zeezetch and Mona Lisa as well as eating at a few local snacks. We tried the goat stew(stoba) it was delicious!Bon Appetite!

We only have 34 days left to wait. I'm so excited that I look at the webcams several times each day. We'll be sure to try some of those places to eat.

We had a great trip to Bonaire July 21-30. We stayed in the timeshare at Divi. Our accomodations were just fine for us. The staff at the Divi were very cordial. There is a lot of good stuff going on there. The renovations are coming along. The Chibi chibi will probably reopen next month. We met the new manager and he said the timeshare units will be getting new paint, appliances and redecorated by the first of the year. The Dive operation is now located at the timeshare dive dock.
While we were there, my three sons got their open water dive certifications. They had a great time and the dive staff were great.
We took a sail and snorkle with Renee on the woodwind and it was great. I would recommend that to anyone visiting bonaire. She is just sooo knowledgable and fun to be around. Janice was also on board with her video camera. She is sure a class act!! The video is a great keepsake of our trip.
We also hooked up with Renee for a guided night snorkle in front of the divi. We saw all kinds of critters. Really memorable. The only problem we ran into was that my husband, David, got bit by something on his elbow during the snorkle. about an hour later we were in the emergency department getting IV steriods. By that time it was obvious that he was stung by a jelly of some sort. You could make out the welts from 4 tenacles. We only saw one other jelly fish the whole time we were there. So I guess it was sort of a fluke. Anyway, the emergency staff were great!!(Being a nurse myself, I was watching everything like a hawk). I just hope our insurance company has people who can read Dutch when I send in the invoices!!!
The party at Lac Cai on Sunday was fun. We snorkled a lot. our favorite was andrea I and 1000 steps. We saw several turtles, a spotted eagle ray, but the highlight was a huge manta ray.
The boys got to dive "the cliff", 1000 steps and a site on klein. They also spent a lot of time in front of the divi.
We had memorable dinners at Den Lahman, and "it rains fishes". Evenings at Karel's were always special.
I guess the most special thing about Bonaire were the really nice people we met. There was a waiter at the Divi named Dorro who took my sons and a couple of friends they met to the disco and showed them around the island. I felt safe to let them explore independently. They had a great time.
Getting to and from bonaire was an ALM adventure. When we got to Curacao, with boarding passes and seat igmments in hand ( issued by United) I was told we were not in their computer, and could not get to bonaire for 9 more hours. The first to people I talked to were rude and uncaring. Then I was sent to another office when I inquired about my luggage and the woman we talked to spent a while on the phone, but eventually got us back on out originally scheduled flight. She also recomfirmed our reservations home. On our way home, the 7:30 flight to curacao was cancelled because of mechanical problems. The jet we were going to take from curacao to Miami, came to pick us up in Bonaire, and then flew us to Miami. The only problem was it was 3 hrs late!!! The only thing that saved us was that our connecting flight was also delayed because of bad weather. I keep telling myself that the traveling is part of the adventure. On the up side, luggage for five arrived and returned intact.
I could go on and on and on. I get a little sad when I look at the webcam since returning home. I know it will be at least a year before I return.
I appreciate all of the newsgroup folks who answered questions and shared their experiences. The knowledge we took with us just enhanced our Bonaire experience. Thanks to All.

Where did you see the manta ray? Happy to here that despite your trials going and returning you had a great time!

We were snorkleing at 1000 steps when we saw the manta ray. It had a span of about 6 feet. I think we surprised each other. It kind of scared me because of its size, But it was beautiful.

Sounds like a great trip, Kitty. Glad you had a "Bonairian" moment with the ray and your husband is ok. Now you know why so many of us return. Masha Danke for the info about Divi too!

Kitty:
Glad you had such a great trip. Thanks for the complete report. I second Lorraine's thanks for the info on happenings at Divi, too. Welcome to the gang that's hooked on Bonaire!