Well, back for a few days so time for a trip report.
We were up at 2 AM on Jan 28 for our trip to the airport. Four of us going down, and meeting another couple in Montego Bay for the trip down to Bonaire. We had originally scheduled an overnight in Miami to catch the Air Jamaica flight to Mo Bay and continue on to Bonaire. When AJ cancelled the flight from Miami, we decided to fly NW direct to Mo Bay and overnight there (still rasslin AJ over a refund). It took us an hour and a half to clear immigration in Mo Bay, those folks are slow and paranoid and there was a stack of planes in. We stayed the night at Wyndham Rose Hall, a nice place if you go for the upscale. 20 somethings sitting around the pool bar tokin it up and upscale yuppies galore. Anyway, that’s another story. Up in the morning with time for breakfast and a walk around the grounds and then off to the airport. Checkin at AJ was quick and painless. Picked up some crème rum and coffee at the duty free, and then a pleasant 2 hour flight down to Bonaire.
We landed just ahead of a KLM 747, so immigration was a breeze, and customs virtually non-existent.. The reception at Bonaire was exceptionally warmer and friendlier than Jamaica.
Buddy dive was there to meet us with a van and loaded everything up and we were off. Checkin at Buddy was quick and painless also. By the time we got unpacked it was time for dinner, and we decided to eat right there. Our meal was excellent. I had what was supposed to be beef/chicken/shrimp skewers with French fries, but turned out to be fish and shrimp. It was so good that I decided very quickly that I was not going to say a word. Also, French fries were the best I have had in decades.
On Sunday morning, the four divers in our party went through the indoctrination and paid our park fees. We then broke out our equipment and suited up for our first dive off Buddy. The airlines managed to break my snorkel so I had to buy another one. I suspect whoever went through it at security didn’t repack it quite as good as they should. Somehow they also turned on my dive light, as the brand new batteries were DOA. Anyway, great dive, lots of fish and the soft coral was in fantastic shape. Loafed around the rest of the day, made plans for the week. Lunched at Buddy, great cheeseburgers. That evening had dinner at Mangos, apparently their last night at the site. Food was a bit overcooked, with the exception of the Keshi Yena my wife had, which was superb.
Monday we packed up our van (from Buddys, nice Toyota that had seen better days, but a real trooper in getting us around) and headed up to Ol Blue fro diving and snorkeling. Stopped by 1000 Steps for a photo op, decided it was just to far to lug all of our gear so we proceeded up to Ol Blue. We unloaded all of our gear, and everything else from the van to the beach. There were three teenagers hanging out down the beach and keeping an eye on all the stuff we were moving, but being security minded, we set up our gear and everything else went into a large dry bag we had brought along. Cameras were also in zip locks, and my wife just towed everything along behind her while we dove and she and her sister snorkeled. When the kids saw what we were doing, they bailed out. Nice dive, easy entry, good snorkeling and lots of things to see. After the dive, we packed everything up and made our way back through Rincon. Stopped at a snack bar there and had a few beers and some chips, and watched a herd of goats moving back and forth down the street. Back to Buddy, rinsed the gear and started getting ready for dinner. We had been to Croccantino last trip and were eager to eat there again. Unfortunately they were closed when we got there, so we took a walk looking for food. We ended up at Zee Zicht and had very good martinis and excellent fish. Two of the ladies had flank steak, which turned out to be a little chewy, but all in all a good meal.
Tuesday, breakfast at Buddy (we had the breakfast package and never regretted it, the buffet was very good). We had signed up for a mangrove snorkel, which was interesting but a little more novice oriented. Lounged around the pool with a few beers and then headed back to Croccantinos for dinner. Excellent meal, martinis fair to good.
Wednesday we headed up into the park. The going was slow and the roads were a bit rough but the van just kept on going. Bottomed out once and lost the spare tire, but we got it wired back up and continued. Lizards everywhere, afraid I squashed a few with the tires. Since it looked like a slow trip, and the guard at the entrance warned us about the dive sites on the long loop being a bit rough, we took the short loop. Stopped at Playa Funchi, where we dove last trip, and found it rough also, with a big broken coral berm between the parking and the water that wasn’t there last trip. Also, huge swells, so we decided not to dive there. Brought some orange slices for the lizards, which were in great abundance. Proceeded on to the other dive sites on the short loop, but same swells, so we didn’t get wet. Boca Slagbai also head the broken coral berm. A bit of a disappointment that we couldn’t get in the water, but better safe than sorry. Headed back out, stopped in Rincon for a little rehydration at the same snack bar and then back to Buddy Dive. Snuck in another late afternoon dive off the resort. Cleaned up and off to Kon Tiki for dinner. We found the food to be fair, but nothing to shout about.
Thursday morning off to the Hooker for diving and snorkeling. The snorkelers said it was very good, and the divers who had never been down on a wreck before had a very good dive. The dive itself was complicated by me being the last one in and breaking a fin strap. The others bobbed around in the water while I tried to fix it, but then came in to help when I couldn’t get it done. It needed a woman’s finesse to get the replacement through the holder. The rough part was getting back onto dry land with full gear and no fins on, holding them in my hand in the swells. I got beaten up pretty bad on the coral. Anyway, a fun dive. Back to Buddy for lunch, changed tanks and back to Aquarius for a second dive. Snorkeling fair, and a very good dive, lots of tube sponges and critters.
Went to Richards for dinner, and the martinis were excellent, top of the line. The Dorado and Wahoo were grilled to perfection and the atmosphere and service were exceptional, can’t say enough nice things about the place.
Friday we dove the salt pier and had a good easy dive. Entry and exit a bit rough because of the swells. I lost a bit of meat off my knees and shins on the exit, but that comes with the territory. Saw Tarpon, Cudas and my first frogfish. In the afternoon we did the boat snorkel tour to Klein Bonaire. That was enjoyable for the snorkelers, and even the divers thought it was extremely pretty. Back to Richards again for dinner and another excellent meal.
Saturday we packed up and just loafed around the pool till our noon checkout. . Met Todd Geardino and his lovely wife for a chat at breakfast. We had passed a few e-mails prior to our trip after contacting on the board.
Had a fantastic cheeseburger and fries at the airport snack bar
Bottom line impressions. Some fun dives, good snorkeling. Some challenging entries over the broken coral, but nothing we couldn’t handle. We are not rabid divers, just recreational in our 50’s, so we don’t think we did too badly. Saw a lot of fish, lots of eels and a couple of sharp-tailed eels. Tarpon, Barracuda, Angelfish of all types and sizes, Butterflies, and of course the Filefish and Parrotfish and all of the other brightly colored inhabitants. Definitely worth the trip. Buddy dive was excellent, friendly and professional. The food was extremely good, and the only complaint I would have would be the hard beds, which I suppose is a matter of preference. The other restaurants were as stated above, sometimes mixed reviews depending on the dishes ordered. I tend to eat a lot of conch, and the Bonaire version of conch chowder or soup tends to be ground conch rather than the chunks I prefer, but that is again a matter of preference.
On the return trip, we again overnighted in Mo Bay, at the Rose Hall Sea Castles. We only had 10 minutes in immigration, as there was only 1 couple ahead of us in line. The resort was picturesque, large well maintained grounds, big pool. Rooms were a bit dated, but the most notable thing was we seemed to be the only guests. No lines to eat, a bartender all to ourselves, and the staff was fun and friendly.
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By Bob Birk (BonaireTalker - Post #54) on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 10:51 am: 
