BONAIRE TRIP REPORT (Sept. 19-27, 2006)
TRAVEL TRAINING: Our group visited Bonaire, September 19-27, 2006. The group included 7 family members from Texas, and Colin Stuart--a PADI IDC Staff Instructor we flew in from Scotland (I had met him while diving in Thailand and was impressed). Colin came along to provide advanced dive training for the group. Six of the 7 were certified divers (the 7th was a snorkler only), and during our stay on Bonaire various divers completed different advanced PADI training certifications (Advanced Open Water, Deep Diver, Night Diver, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Enriched Air/Nitrox Diver, and Wreck Diver). Not all divers pursued all those certifications, but there was a lot of training and diving for the group, and it was a demanding schedule for the divers. (Even more so for Colin, the instructor, who taught in groups of 1-3, and hardly seemed to have an hour to himself. He must have been weary of us by the end of the 8 days, but you would never know it--his energy seemed boundless and he was truly the "life of the party" from beginning to end. Colin does this sort of travel/dive training for a living; he is exceptionally good at it and obviously loves his job. For anyone interested in using his services, he can be contacted through www.liveandletsdive.com)
This sort of travel-training can be organized to fit any budget, and it is a great way to get your own personalized dive training, critiques, and guidance while in exotic places of your choosing. I am a strong believer in diver continuing education, and I would certainly recommend "travel-training" to others, though perhaps in smaller doses. We scheduled so much training that some in the group wished they'd had more time to just relax and enjoy Bonaire. That said, the advanced personalized dive training made every diver on the trip notably more competent and more confident, increasing the fun and relaxation of their diving at the same time.
When my daughter, Emily, graduates from high school next year, we are taking her on a lengthy dive trip around the world--we are considering Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Papua New Guinea, southern Thailand/Indonesia, the Maldives (India), Greece and the Aegean, Egypt and the Red Sea, and Zanzibar (Africa). (BY THE WAY, ANY OTHER DREAM DIVING DESTINATION SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE MOST WELCOME). We will definitely bring Colin along to organize and oversee the complex diving schedule for that trip, and to train my wife and daughter as Rescue Divers (a certification every diver should have), and on through to PADI Master Scuba Diver Certification, along the way. Bonaire was a sort of "dry run" for the longer trip, and it was a great success.
FLIGHTS/AIRPORTS: We flew American Airlines from Dallas to Miami, stayed at the fascinating Undersea Hotel in Key Largo (see www.jul.com), then on through Puerto Rico to Bonaire. The flights themselves were uneventful, and we all arrived on time (more or less), with our gear intact. All six divers brought their own complete sets of gear, including BCDs. Some checked through all their gear; others preferred to keep computers, compasses (the excellent Suunto SK-7s), and regulator sets in their carry-ons. Neither approach presented any significant problems (except some tense moments when my wife and daughter forgot to remove their dive knives from their carry-on luggage and were not allowed to keep them--not a good way to start the trip!). The "no liquids" rule had just been put into effect, and that created some interesting moments for one of our group who cannot seem to travel without her own jar of peanut butter. Not only was it hand examined at every check point, but as we were actually entering one plane, she was taken aside to sit on the entry ramp, others passing by onto the plane, while more security people hand searched her carry-on. By the time it reached Bonaire, that may have been the most handled and studied jar of peanut butter in history.
Some of our checked baggage had been opened and inspected (we use those TSA locks which security people can open for searches outside your presence without having to cut them off--a button on them changes colors to let you know if they've been opened--they are about $10 at www.LeisurePro.com). In general, security at the airports was a manageable annoyance. But be prepared for a LOT of unnecessary aggravation if you want to smoke a cigarette. You have to pass security and go outside the airport building to smoke at DFW and San Juan, then pass back through security again, standing in long lines, enduring searches, etc, and repeat the lengthy and tedious process every time you just want to have a smoke when waiting hours for a connection. Some may applaud this, but I think all paying passengers should receive reasonable (and equal) accommodation. To gain some empathy, try to imagine having to go through this "inconvenience" every time you want to go to the toilet at an airport...
ARRIVAL ON BONAIRE: We arrived at Bonaire's little pink airport late at night. By the time we de-planed, gathered our luggage, rented trucks, and made our way to our accommodations, it was nearing midnight. Could not find any store open that time of night to buy bottled water and other drinks (not allowed to bring any on the plane), ice, etc., and no restaurant either. Indeed, the whole island seems to close up by 5pm (except the few bars) and for a good while at lunch time (except of course the restaurants, about which more below). It had rained (apparently quite a bit) before we arrived; it was warm, very humid/sticky, and the mosquitos were out. During the remainder of our trip, mosquitos proved to be an aggravation, but for the most part a minor one, and the weather was pleasant (no more rain), though sometimes uncomfortably warm/humid in the afternoon if the wind wasn't blowing.
WHERE WE STAYED: First, a note of thanks to the people on bonairetalk.com for ideas, suggestions, etc., on accommodations. We spent a great deal of time researching this issue. We wanted our own place as a group, but with individual privacy as needed, on the water if possible, but reasonably priced. We decided on the BEACHFRONT OASIS HAMLETS. These are located immediately north of Captain Don's (they actually share some driveways/walkways), but are not (to my knowledge) actually part of Captain Don's. We rented Hamlet #10--see www.beachfronthamlet.com for photos and info (there is a row of at least 10 of these water front homes, beginning at the edge of Captain Don's and going in numerical order northward). Cost for the whole place was about $3,000 for the 8 nights for 8 people ($375 per person), and we paid an additional $5.50 per person per night Bonaire tax.
I cannot speak about the other houses here, only about ours. Ours (#10) was a two story home with six air-conditioned bedrooms (4 upstairs, 2 downstairs) and seven bathrooms, a full kitchen (including stove, fridge, microwave, coffee maker, plenty of knives, forks, spoons, corkscrew, small drinking glasses, cooking pots and pans, plates, bowls, saucers, etc), a living area with sofa, coffee tables, and two large chairs, and a dining area with table and chairs. This downstairs living/cooking/dining area is NOT air-conditioned--it has a ceiling fan and two moveable floor fans. It became oppressively stuffy when we all gathered, particularly when we were cooking. In addition, each bedroom has its own patio/deck with a wonderful view of the ocean and Klein Bonaire, and there is a large tiled patio attached to the back of the first floor, and another tiled patio down at the water (great for watching the sunset and having a cocktail) with tiled steps leading down to the water (very helpful for entering and exiting wearing all your dive gear).
Other houses in this row seemed to have large front yards and small back ones, but ours was the opposite--just enough room for seven locking gear lockers and parking for two trucks and some motor scooters in front, but in the rear tons of room, an outdoor shower, a barbecue, gear drying lines, two large tables with chairs, lounging/sunbathing furniture, and the patios.
PROS/CONS of Hamlet # 10. On the GOOD SIDE: The owner communicated well and was easy to work with, and the manager, Donna, is a dependable, nice lady willing to help in any way she can. This beach house provided adequate room and facilities for our group of eight (two couples, four singles, six bedrooms). I would consider the furnishings average to spartan (this is NOT a luxury accommodation). Each room has working air-conditioning and ceiling fans, has its own private tiled bathroom with shower (no bathtubs), has a fridge (though not all seemed to work), has a room safe for valuables, and has its own patio or deck with ocean view. Most have a double bed and a single bed in the room, with a nightstand and light, but little else. The view is awesome from the rooms and from the patios out back, and direct access to the beach (mostly large coral "gravel" rather than sand) was nice. About 20 meters off shore is the buoy for the dive site known as The Cliff--easy access to diving. In addition, there are plenty of towels (no need to bring your own).
On the BAD SIDE: No credit cards. Had to pay half up front in cash, the other half upon arrival (also in cash). Hamlet # 10 could be maintained better; small things mostly--cracked window here, flapping screen there, chipped tiles, some loose ceiling plaster, kitchen sink leaking--nothing that some additional effort wouldn't easily correct. It was also not very clean. The rooms were VERY musty; the windows should have been opened the day before we arrived to air it out. Some nasty tile grout in the bathrooms. Half eaten can of mackerel sitting open in the fridge. First impression upon arriving, tired and late at night--not good. Indeed, one of our pickier couples set about immediately finding other accommodations, to no avail (they came to tolerate the place; the rest of us came to like it just fine). Water pressure was a problem, but that may not be specific to Hamlet # 10. You could be taking a nice water-pounding shower one moment and have literally nothing more than a trickle the next moment. We learned to shower quickly. About the only guaranteed time to have an uninterrupted longer shower was around 4-5 AM--certainly not while everyone was washing gear following a dive. There is only one television set and that's in the living room. It has cable (including HBO), so reception was good, and we were able to watch American football games on Sunday and Monday evenings between night dives. But, the non-football fans among us would have preferred TVs in the bedrooms, and since small TVs are inexpensive these days, putting one in each room should be no big deal.
FOOD: Our general plan was to eat breakfast and lunch at our accommodation, cooking for ourselves, then to eat out in the evenings, and overall that's what we did. We did eat breakfast our first morning at Captain Don's next door. Open air (nice view) all you can eat buffet style: bacon, breads, milk, cereal, scrambled eggs with omelets on request, coffee, tea, fruit, etc. Nothing special, but nothing to complain about. Price? $11 US per person. The rest of the time, we made our own breakfasts--roughly the same menu--for a fraction of that amount. (Unfortunately, the Last Bite Bakery was closed the whole week--gone on vacation.)
Lunches were typically some variation on cold cut sandwiches, Romaine lettuce salads (with Bacos even), BLTs, grilled cheese sandwiches, frozen pizzas (but the oven heated up the living area), various kinds of chips, mixed nuts, bananas, ice cream, Chips-Ahoy and Oreo cookies, cold grapes and watermelon. Once we got Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch, but apart from a Subway we noticed no other such American-style fast food joints. We went through cases of sodas, untold gallons of bottled water, and I lost count of how many bags of ice (not to mention a good deal of rum and tequila, mostly on our last day--a no dive day because we had to fly out at the ungodly hour of 7am the last morning!).
Grocery shopping was expensive, and the selection was not what we are accustomed to in the US. Still, as you can tell from the list above, there was plenty of variety. We tried three stores. The first, an inconvenient convenience store just down the road southward from Captain Don's, was a nightmare. We stopped in there, picked up one bag of ice, one can of mixed nuts, a small bottle of A1 steak sauce, and several six-packs of Coke. Price? $58 US!!!! We put it all back on the shelves. Then we found the two grocery stores. The first was significantly better than the inconvenient convenience store, but still not much of a store. The second was actually a version of a supermarket, with lots of choices, fresh vegetables and fruits, etc. Can't recall what it was called, but it was near the airport I think, and there was a small gas station across the parking lot in front. That's the place to go for groceries.
Eating out... We did eat out some evenings--expensive, but good food. We had done some research on this and followed recommendations people had made. We were not disappointed (thanks again to you folks on bonairetalk.com). First we tried CASA BLANCA. Nice place. A meat lover's paradise. Good food. Good service. Wines. cocktails. BIG portions of meat, which surprised me. I'm a big meat eater, so I ordered the mixed grill for two. WOW! They brought out a huge platter stacked with meat 10 inches high (no, I'm not kidding). The mixed grill included two each of barbecued rib racks, steaks, pork chops, sausages, and grilled chicken (all excellent except the pork chops, which were a bit dry). I took most of it back to our beach house and we sliced it up and sautéed it with onions for sizzling hot lunch sandwiches the next day--great with ice cold watermelon following a couple of morning dives. Some ordered rib-eye (huge--but not marbled and tender the way you would expect; we think it was actually sirloin, an inferior cut), while others ordered fillet mignon--to die for (tender and BIG--the size of a grown man's fist, served with wonderful scalloped potatoes). I have to stop talking about that--I'm making myself hungry. Cost of the Casa Blanca dinner for the group of 8, including some drinks, was several hundred dollars US. Ouch.
Another night, we tried the LION'S DEN at Buddy Dive for dinner. Again, good food, and a good variety. The Red Snapper was wonderful, as was the sliced roast beef with brown gravy, served with rosemary potatoes. My daughter had a burger and fries and loved it. The mixed grill was similar to Casa Blanca's, but not nearly as impressive in size. Cost of this meal for the group of 8 with some appetizers and drinks was $300+ US. Ouch.
They say don't eat at PASA BON PIZZA until late in your trip, or else you will not want to eat anywhere else. Now I understand. The gourmet pizza there is just excellent--and it was applauded even by those in our group who are not pizza lovers. We ate there twice. Not cheap, but oh so good. A large pizza with everything on it was about $25 US.
One evening we decided to go for Lobster Night at the TIPSY SEAGULL (Plaza Resort) (www.plazaresortbonaire.com/seagull.htm). Nice place. The Plaza Resort is well manicured (unlike most of the island) with a nice view (like most of the island). It has condo style accommodations. The restaurant, the Tipsy Seagull, was nice, done up in a sort of Polynesian style. We ate under our own private grass-roofed cabana by the water. Not much breeze there, so it was a bit hot, and the mosquitos got those of us who left their legs unprotected. The bar looks like a boat, complete with steering wheel at the end. The food was delicious. Lobster Thermidor, jumbo shrimp cocktail, shrimp Tempura, nice big grilled/broiled lobster tails, grilled scallops, grilled tuna steak, veggie pasta for Emily. Service a bit slow, but nice folks. Cost with drinks for the group of 8 was about $400 (not counting tip). Ouch. Back to cold cuts for lunch.
Post too long. End of part 1. See following post for Part 2 and the funny stuff. |
By Larry Eldridge (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Monday, October 2, 2006 - 10:57 am: 
