Sorry for the delay in getting the remainder of the trip report out - been quite busy lately. Doing this report just makes me want to go back to Bonaire!!!!
Day 5, October 11, 2003

Woke up around 6:00 in time to see the sky light up!!!
Chris and I planned on going to Wayaka for the day. This means a trip through Washington Slagbaai National Park to get to the snorkel site.
We packed a lunch of BBQ ribs and chicken that we bought the night before – plus some veggies and apples.
When we got to the park we decided to take the short route – since we had limited time and wanted to get in the water as soon as possible.
Well – the short route was quite an experience!!! You definitely need a truck or vehicle like that to get through the rusts and over the rocks. It took us a over an hour of rough riding (several times we had to stop to roll up the windows to go through hug puddles of water on the road – the slash would have drowned us) to get to Wayaka and we parked at Wayaka II.
On the way in had to stop and take a picture of this iguana!!!


To get to the water you need to go down a set of stairs that are on the side of the small cliff – a very easy descend and at the bottom there is a small beach and a cave.


Easiest place we went to as far as getting in to the water – just walk out the sandy beach and you are there!!!

What a place to go snorkel!!!! There is a lot of HUGE dead coral formations – bigger than have ever seen anywhere!!!! And so much new growth growing on the dead coral – you could tell that this was a place that is not visited that often – so much undisturbed new growth!!!!





As with any place in Bonaire the fish was abundant!!!

Female Stoplight Parrot!!

French Angel - always there to great me when I start snorkel any site!!

Golden Moray Eel!!

Juvenile Cocoa Damsel!!

Huge Parrot fish hiding from me!!!

The back of peacock flounder – wanted to get a goof picture of the detail on the back!!

HUGE Rainbow Parrots!!!


A Redband Parrot!!

Sharptail Eel!!

Spanish Hogfish!!

Spotted Trunkfish!!

Trumpet Fish!!!

And this is the first site that I saw a turtle!!!!!




We went in the water several times – since it was so beautiful and you saw something new every time you went in!!!!
We also paused to eat a bit and share some of the food with the lizards who came up to beg from us. I found out that they do not like green and read peppers.

While we were there a older Dutch couple who lived on the island joined us. They had friends visiting and always brought visitors to Wayaka – since it is so beautiful. They shared their watermelon with us – it was very good!!!!

After we decided that we had enough sun for the day we left to go back home. Well the ride out of the park was even more of adventure than the in!!!! At one place I scared Chris to death because she thought there was no road in front of us – just drop off!!!!

Excellent day and if you go – it is an all day trip – you need to plan accordingly!!!

On the way home we stopped by at the Divi to pay Dee for the night snorkel and sign up for the leisurely sail and snorkel on Sunday!!!

We got home late in the afternoon and cleaned up and rested - I downloaded pictures and got ready for dinner.

Sunset as always was breathtaking!!



Dinner was at Lion’s Den – Michael had suggested this and as always he was on target. The manager Kirk was very attentive as well as our waiter!!! It is also a wonderful. The restaurant is open air – overlooking the water and Buddy Dive and Lions Den docks.

Went home to rest up for our next day’s adventure!!!

Day 6, October 12, 2003
Woke up to the sunrise once again and ate breakfast waiting for Chris to get up.
It was nice to wake up eat breakfast at a leisurely and sit out side and read a book every morning. There was a group of small dogs that lived 2 doors down that would come and visit us whenever w were home and some would greet me in the morning when I opened the door!!!

We headed out to the Divi to meet up with Ulf for our sail and snorkel. There was only 2 other people going out that day a Dutch couple – Linda and Bas. Susan Porter was our guide – as Sunday is Dee’s day to spend with the kids!!!!

Off went sailing to Klein Bonaire – where Susan suggested that Ulf drop us off before anchoring an No Name beach – so we could do a drift snorkel back to the boat!!!

Susan was a wonderful guide – naming so many fish and explaining so many things to us – it was great!!!
We saw many turtles – several came up and swam with us for a bit – I could not get a good picture – as they were too far away over the shelf!!!!

There was a group of fish that decided to swim along side of Bas and Linda – it was quite funny – no matter where they went – they were surrounded by these fish!!!


As always – many fish and sea life was seen!!!
Anemone!!

Blue Tang – my favorite fish!!!

All of these fish seemed to be very interested in the same spot of coral – must have found some good tidbits in there!!!

Chris snorkeling over the coral!!!

As always plenty of parrot fish to see!!!

And one of my favorite pics of a stoplight parrot!!!

And the ever present trunk fish!!!

I saw a baby spotted trunk fish - so cute – looks like a spotted balloon!!! Pics are too blurry though – the waves were moving me around!!!!
On the way out to the boat we had several schools of palometa following us!!!


As well as Sargent Majors!!!

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And a Chub visiting with the Sargent Majors!!!


Back on the boat we headed to Small Wall – normally they do Andrea 1 and 2 – but we convinced them to go to Small Wall since we had already been to Andrea 1 and 2 – plus I wanted to the beach and reef cams!!!

We moored and swam over to the where the reef cam is located – all of us dove down tot he reef cam – however none of us timed it right to make it into a pic.
I did get a shot of the back of Jake and Linda’s house and the beach cams – excuse the water on the lens – forgot to wipe it off before taking the pic.

We did make an appearance on the north beach cam!!

Small Wall is a wonderful site to snorkel!!!
We saw more Blue Tangs!!!



Here is the tail end of a French Grunt!!!

More French Grunts!!!

This cute porcupine fish peaking out at me!!!

A red lipped benny trying to hide – don’t know if you can make him out in the pic!!!


This Midnight Parrot Fish was huge and kept trying to dodge my camera – at one time it was hiding with a school of blue tang – trying to blend in with the blue!!

And here is another Trunk Fish!!!


Back on the boat – Ulf had a table set up with lunch waiting !!!! Nice spead of fruits, meats and cheeses.

We sat around relaxing and talking while Ulf sailed around – very nice afternoon!!!!
Here is Susan and Ulf!!!

And just Ulf!!!


After the sail we headed back to the house to clean up and download pics.

We then headed out to the Chat and Browse – so I could read my e-mails and visit with Michael!!! Chris was sweet and treated Michael and myself to Lovers ice cream as I was looking at my e-mails. She was also very patient waiting for me to finish.
When we were heading out we saw this mama and baby donkey right outside the Lighthouse Beach fence – had to stop and take pictures – it wasn’t n the side of the road – they were in a field next to the parking lot!!!



Sunset again was spectacular!!!


We were going to eat at home that night – but decided to go into town to get dinner.
We ate at City Cafι – which was very good – I had Barracuda – something that I had never eaten before. We decided to got to Pasa Bon’s for the world’s best Chocolate cake for dessert – this time we did not split the cake – but had one a piece – what a splurge!!!!!

Went home to rest and relax so we would be ready for our last day on the island!!!
When we got home – the mama and baby donkey we saw on the other side the fence had made it around to the parking lot and greeted us when we parked the truck!!!

Day 7, October13, 2003
Same morning routine – woke with the sunrise, ate breakfast and read on the back porch enjoying the beautiful Bonaire morning with my doggy friends!!!
We planned on doing 2 snorkels - and headed off early to get the first one in.

We went to an unmarked place called Hidden Beach on the south end of the island – between the white and read slave huts. This site would be hard to snorkel if the wind was up – but we were in luck and the wind was calm.

On the way there we saw a person doing the “kiteboarding”!!! Don’t know if this is the correct name – but they are what looks like a snowboard and attached to a kite the pulls them along. They do flips in the air – pretty neat to watch!!!


There is a little patch of sand that you can start you entry into the water – you need to go out past the breaking waves before putting your fins on though.
I can’t say enough good things about this site – WOW!!!
We snorkeled against the current along the shelf looking down on the hard coral formations and them drifted back closer to the shore looking around the soft coral!!!
We did not realize how much effort we had put in go against the current – until after we started the drift part and Chris tried to turn around and go back some – and suddenly realized that it was hard work!!!!

We saw so much under water – that I took several shots of just the horizon!!


Coral was abundant!!!





And of course the fish!!!
Black Durgon – saw many of these but this was the only decent pic – they move too fast!!!

May favorite – Blue Tang!!

Damsel!!

Female Rainbow Parrot !!

File fish!!

Four eyed Butterfly!!

Honeycomb Cow Fish!!

Ocean Surgeon Fish!!

Octopus!!

Red Lipped Benny !!!

The ever present Trumpet Fish!!

And the ever present Trunk Fish!!


And a much bigger fish!!!! Me snorkeling!!!! Stole the idea of the shot from Cecil!!!


When we got out I noticed this painted rock that I had not seen before (pardon the water on the lens) - LOL


As we were going back home – we noticed a truck with painted sunflowers on it pulling up to a dive site – It was Susan Porter!!! We pulled in and chatted with her a bit as she was getting ready for a dive!!!

We went home and cleaned up and decided to go to Bongo’s for lunch!!!


Chris had been having a hard time coping with the sun and the heat and her skin started to revolt – it was getting a rash that concerned us – so she decided to take a Benadryl. Anyone who has taken them will know what happened next. By the time lunch was over her brain was so foggy – she could not see straight. Well it was back home for us – so Chris could go to bed – we never did get that second snorkel in!!!!

When Chris woke up – we went to town to do a bit of shopping – T-shirts for my guys and Chris wanted to find a sarong .

Caught the sunset on the way back home to drop off our packages!!!


Also took pictures of the rosy glow of the town as the sunset!!!



We were treating Michael to dinner at Gibby’s - so we headed off to meet him there.

Gibby’s is a wonderful place and the food is out of this world!!!
Gibby is very fascinating person who sat and talked with us until he closed up for the night. His stories of how he ended up with the restaurant is a good one!!!! If you go there you need to take the time to talk to him!!!!

Went home to pack – as our flight was at 6:00 the next morning!!!

RECOMMENDATIONS
Bonaire has many great places to go snorkeling!!!
Andrea 1 and 2
Tories Reef
Hidden Beach
Wayaka
Klein Boniare (No Name Beach)
Small Wall
Kayak and Snorkel in the Mangroves
Night Snorkel at Divi
Are all worth visiting!!!

Restaurants with good food are plentiful!!!
Crocantina
Gibby’s
Lion’s Den
Pasa Bon Pizza
City Cafι
All had very good food at reasonable prices!!!

The Woodwind Sail and Snorkel is a must do!!!

Go and explore the Park if you have time – it looked interesting – we just did not have the time!!!

The Lighthouse Beach Resort was a perfect place for – the house is fully furnished with all linens provided!!! The complex does also have a swimming pool.
Ed and Liz are selling their house – so I do not know of the availability of that property – however – there are others that are available for rent. Though if Ed and Liz’s is still available – I would pick that again!!!

OVERVIEW
Bonaire is a very good place to spend a vacation in the water and exploring above the water!!!
I was extremely impressed with how clean the island was and how friendly and helpful all of the people were!!!
There is so much to see and do both in the water and on the land - you need weeks to absorb it all!!!
I would definitely go back and bring the rest of my family as well!!! Though I loved the time I was able to spend with my kid sister - we never spent that much time together - just the 2 of us and it was nice!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mary and Chris, too! Wow...what a vacation you both had. I just LOVE your snorkel face pic! You can even see those blue eyes under water!! Great shots of all of the fishies and the corals, etc. You definitely have a lot to enjoy while you are awaiting your return trip to Bonaire.

Thank you soooo much again for taking the time to share your wonderful trip with all of us. Ayo. Carole

Carole - I am glad you enjoyed it - that is why I posted - I could not keep all of that island beauty to myself!!!

I am going to put this on a CD for Chris for a Christmas present - she has too slow of a connection to download pics!!!

When are you going back to Bon!!?!

Mary, I don't think I have seen so many good pictures from snorkeling! It will surley inspire more snorkelers to come to the island! I love the black durgeon....i love them, and the way they swim! But they are hard to capture!

Thank-you for the wonderful report and beautiful photos! Amazing!

Mary,
Great photos! Maybe the next time I am in Raleigh I can meet you for lunch and we can share our pics and stories in person.
Yanagirl

Cynde - they are my sisters favorite fish too - she says the same thing - she loves the way they swim and how that blue line glows on their fins!!

Yanagirl - sent you an e-mail - would love to get together sometime. Not too many BT'ers on this side of NC!!!

Mary, It is such a delight reading your report!! I can just envision myself there with all my fish friends that you captured so well!!! Thanks for taking the time for such a great report!

Hi, Mary...we return June 12 thru the 26th. Can't wait to be there. I am ready to move there, but my other half is not...needs to wait until they build a waste water treatment facility on Bonaire, first...he is a plant operator. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will happen some day, tho. A CD is a great idea for your sister...she will flip out! Does she partake in BT at all?? Thanks again for sharing your great photos and trip. Just marvelous! I don't think I have ever spotted a black durgeon....I will keep my eyes out for them now, tho. Thanks again...Carole

Hi Carole!!!
Do you normally go there is June? What is the normal temp and humidity at that time?
Chris doesn't do BT - because her connection is so slow - show could not download any of the threads!!! She is thinking about getting a satellite to help - but they have not made their mind up yet!!!
The black durgeon has a very cool way of swimming by fluttering its fins - its neat to watch - they seem to hang around the blue tangs!!!

I want buy a place in the caribbean - to eventually retire to - in the meantime - lease it out when I am not there - Bonaire is on top of my list along with St. John!!! My hubby thinks I'm nuts - but I don't think I will be happy anywhere else!!!

Hi, Mary! We have been going to Bonaire in late May/early June for the past few years and the weather has been wonderful. A terrific, steady breeze, temps in the high eighties with possibility of a ninety degree day here or there with warm waters. The waters are warmer later on in summer/early fall, but we have no problem with the water temps when we go.

Our first trip was in October and the winds were noticeably lower and the temps were higher and the water temps warmer, too. We do prefer the May/June climate the best, so far.

This year we are going a couple of weeks later than "normal" but I think it will not be much different than the bulk of our other trips.

The humidity doesn't seem to be a factor in May/June due to the higher winds. We are in the water so much we don't notice it much! If not in the water, we are cruising in the air conditioned RAV 4 SUV or in the air conditioned room.

Boy, what I would give right now to be in those beautiful waters!

Bonaire is our dream, too. Hopefully some day we will be able to realize it. Ayo. Carole

Brilliant report Mary, and exceptional pictures too. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. Annie B.

Wow, Mary! Finally got to your most recent report and it's great! Love the pics!

Mary,
WOW! great picture's I'll be there in January again I can't wait.Lea