THUR OCT 7

Up early in the morning taking in the view. Spotted at least 2 pairs of the small parrot with yellow head and green wings. Can't remember the proper name but I'm pretty sure its not the endangered Lora. We went into town for breakfast at the Lost Penguin. Prompt service,great people watching,food was good. Had the eggs benedict along with what would prove to be the best coffee we had on the island. Back to the villa (I never quite got over the sense of driving through old Mexico on my way up and down "the hill") to practice snorkeling in the pool. It was Jourdan's first time using the equipment and happily, she took to it right away. She's already an excellent swimmer so I wasn't surprised. Off to the reefs we went in our little pick-up. We went to Andrea I & II for our first stop. Entering at II we snorkeled well beyond I and back. Saw a turtle,large schools of tangs,huge trumpetfish among many others. Beautiful gorgonians,good visibility.Next we drove on to 1000 steps,marveling at the scenery along the shore road.More excellent snorkeling here. Lots to see, including another turtle.

After some down time poolside at the villa we headed out to have dinner at Chibi Chibi. Great location by the sea,food was good (I had shrimp), service not very friendly.We did enjoy the harbor boat parade while eating.It was part of the regatta festival,but we were later told it was a pretty weak turn out.The best part was feeding the fish right from our table after dinner!

Found the villa after dark first try. Think we got it now.

FRI OCT 8

After spending the morning at the villa we loaded up our gear and headed down the south end to try and find Hidden Beach and the Soft Coral Gardens. Using both Jesse Armacoast's guidebook and directions I got from BT we managed to find and snorkel both areas. This was the best snorkeling we experienced the entire trip. The soft coral and seafans were beautiful. Huge gorgonians (my personal favorite)and every type of fish we could imagine.There were tarpon and giant supermale parrotfish 3 feet long. Jourdan saw a spotted eagle-ray. It was a great 2 hour swim.

Unfortunatly,right at the end of this wonderful snorkel we encountered an illegal fishing net strung across the reef with dying and dead fish entangled.I tried to free 2 parrotfish but was unsuccessful because of the depth and having no knife.Once ashore I spoke to a group of divers
from Holland who said they had freed a king crab in deeper water.

We continued our drive south past the Red Slave huts and lighthouse.The land and seascape down there was like nothing we'd seen before.Wound around past the mangroves (hoping we'd get a chance to kayak later,never did)passing donkeys and divi divi trees and much more that is Bonaire.

Upon returning to the villa I placed a call to the Marine Park to tell them about that fish-killing net and learned that personnel had already been dispatched. Apparently,the group of divers had also called.We were relieved at that news.

We went to have dinner at the Lions Den and had a great meal.The catch of the day was rainbow runner. It was very good. The service here was fast and friendly and we all agreed the portions were more than adequate. We would return sooner than we realized. Another bonus was watching the night divers and the large tarpon in their light beams.

Memorable quote "Somebody is on the way" - person who answered phone at Marine Park Hq

I'll continue soon...

Scott,
Great trip report, exciting to read, can't wait for the next installment.
BTW, I loved Divi Flamingo when I visited and fell in love with Bonaire 2 years ago. When my son married last year, I gave him and his bride a honeymoon trip to Bonaire, staying at Divi Flamingo. They loved Bonaire, had a very nice room on the waterside. But they, too, said that the personnel were not very friendly. So they mostly ate out at places like Gibi's and other local restaurants which enhanced their wonderful impression of the island. Two more Bonaire lovers gained.
Reading your report makes me really homesick for Bonaire! Thanks for sharing.
Margarita

Scott,

Thanks for such a great report thus far - I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment.

Any pictures you would care to share?

Belinda

Scott, very nice report. Our grandson is 7 and also loves to snorkel. I noted you took Jourdan to Andrea I & II. I don't know her age but I assume this is a good snorkel site for a young person. Am I correct? Is it relatively easy access?

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read my report.

Debbie and Belinda, sorry to say I'm still in the dinosaur age and used a 35mm on land and underwater. Should have my prints tomorrow.

George, my daughter Jourdan is 13 and she had no problem at any of the spots we snorkeled. The easiest entry was probably at 1000 steps. At some places you just have to time the waves correctly on your entry and what waves there are, are very small.

Hope to finish my report this week. Scott.

Scott,

No apologies necessary - my favorite land camera is my old trusty Pentax K1000 (ancient).

I just bought my first digital camera this year and will be using it underwater for the first time in Bonaire next March.

So far I'm not impressed but I'm sure it is user error.

I bought an Olympus C5050 and my biggest complaint is that it seems to have an EXTREMELY LONG delay before it actually takes the picture. I'm hoping that once I get some user-defined modes set I can help that situation. Any advice on this front from C5050 users would be greatly appreciated.

If I can't figure it out before March I'm sure I'll get lots of fuzzy pictures of fish and will be switching back to film very shortly afterwards :-)

Looking very forward to the rest of your report - I'm enjoying it very much! And remember, no picture should remain unposted ;-)

Belinda