Well, this was our 4th year to go to Bonaire, and I must say it was the best trip yet.

Getting to Bonaire: We flew AA from Tulsa-DFW-SJ-Bonaire without a hitch and everyone got their bags and gear for the week. While the others were waiting for the luggage, I went over to Budget and picked up the truck. By the time I got back, about 20 minutes later, the group was waiting for me at the curb. How efficient is that?! The return flight was just as seamless—all the luggage arrived with the flight in good shape. The only issue we had was the weight with a couple bags—we had to shift some stuff around. The check-in and departure process seems so much easier and more efficient this year. Even in San Juan, where we have had some issues in the past, was efficient and timely.

We had a bit of a complicated trip—Sun Rentals handled everything expertly for us and we had no issues. Five of us arrived on Wednesday, two more arrived on Saturday, and one of us left the following Thursday. The five of us stayed at Caribbean Court for the first 3 nights, and then moved over to Elkadia for the next week. Elkadia was spectacular! This place is huge! We had so much room and it was sooo nice having a bathroom in each bedroom. The furnishings were nice; the kitchen was a little outdated, but functional. We had a washer which was nice so we could wash things as we needed to. There are 3 ceiling fans in the living area which kept air circulated nicely. The bedrooms were all air conditioned when we were there in the house. The back of the house is what sold us on the place…..a nice large area with lots of lounges and chairs to look out over the big blue ocean. We dove 3 times right off the back although a couple days the wind was up and there was a lot of wave action. Bert kept us nicely supplied with tanks every morning. On Saturday, 4 of our group flew home, leaving my husband and me alone for 3 more days. We returned to the Caribbean Club for the remainder of our trip.



Car rental: Budget. Good experience and pleasant people working at the airport. It was complicated picking up 2 trucks at different times, returning them at different times, but again, Sun Rentals really came through with the communication on this trip!

Eating out: most of us in our group brought our own breakfast and lunch items to cut down on costs and that worked out nicely. I am a picky eater, and when I walk in the Cultimara my stomach turns a bit. We have had bad experiences in years past with spoiled milk and expired food so we bring food of our own—we like summer sausage and jerky and stuff like that to snack on after a dive and Bonaire just doesn’t have stuff like that! The CHEESE rocks though! Yummy!

We ate out almost every night. Our favorites:

Pasa bon Pizza: we ate here twice and love the fact you can take it out. Susan caught me on the way out one evening – we have the same camera for use underwater! A couple nights later we caught them again eating out at Lion’s Den, and one of her group came over to our table and gave me some great pointers about settings for my strobe. (A big thank you!)

Lion’s Den: food was good, service was lousy.

Casablanca: food was awesome as usual, service was great! We got the steak this time. And let the newcomers to Bonaire in our group experience the “mixed grill”.

Cactus Blue: food was good, service slow.

Bobbiejan’s: this was the best surprise of all! We have seen this place many times in years past but never stopped to eat. The ribs were very good and we got served in 5 minutes. WOW! They also do take out, which is a great thing. I think this year we really grew tired of dinner taking 3 hours so we looked for the take out.

Bongo’s: we did lunch there one afternoon, food was mediocre and the service was slow.

It Rains Fishes: FABULOUS! This was a Saturday night dinner with a big crowd but the food and service was outstanding!

Zeezicght: (sp?) the food was terrible and the service was very slow. We will not go back.

City Café: food was OK, service good.

Lost Penguin: we ate breakfast here the last morning before going to the park. Good food and good service. We wish the owner lots of luck in her new adventure! No more 80 hour weeks! Get that certification, you will love it!



We dove with Larry on the Wild Side, and had a blast! The water was so calm we had our choice of sites…..we decided on Blue Hole and Spelunk Lighthouse and both were like diving in a different place. Eddie, the DM, was outstanding as well. He taught us how to “clutch the pearls, 2.3”. For those of you thinking “huh?’ that was the Queen’s wave we were all doing for a marketing video Larry was having done at the time. Later in the week we attended an open house for JanArt and got to meet Jan and visit more with Larry. They are special people.


We shore dived the rest of the time, I think we got in 27 dives. My husband and I both had some ear problems but we went to the pharmacy and they gave us some drops which really helped. I must say that we both feel the reef life has improved and looks healthier than in previous years. We dove so many sites where there were fish EVERYWHERE. We had not seen this as much in years past.

This year because the winds were so low, my husband and I got to dive the lighthouse! For 3 previous years we were unable to do it because of the rough water. The fans were gorgeous and very different than other areas on the island.

I hope this wasn’t too long….I took lots of pics!

Meredith

Great report and pictures, really nice eagle ray and a juvenile blue tang .

Gorgeous pictures and great report! I can't wait to go....

Very well done, thank you so much.

awesome pictures !!!!

Great job Meredith! Love'd the photos. Start planning the next trip, makes it easier :>)

Meredith
Great report & really good pics!
Thanks for posting

Great report and beautiful pictures Meredith, thanks for posting!

No such thing as a "too long" report Meredith! Outstanding pics!!

Where was that last pic taken?

oooooh...nice pics

Great report and awesome photos!

The last pic was taken at the park, I believe at Wayaka where we were snorkeling. Gorgeous place!

very nice shots Meredith ...what are the round objects with all the coral growth under the ray shot?

That was taken off a wreck when we dove with Larry's Wild Side. I liked the circle pattern and how the coral had grown around it!

that's just stunning!

wonderful report and awesome photos thanks so much for sharing

I loved the photos'! Great report! Made me go "I can't wait to go back!!" 5 months and 29 days to go.

AMAZING pics!!! What do you have for a cam set up?

Really awesome pics and report! Thanks for sharing!

Nice trip report ! nice pics and great colors. "more pictures please"..... !

Here is a link to the rest.....

http://www.pbase.com/okiediver/bonaire_2006

Your pictures are beautiful! Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

Wonderful pictures and trip report, I have 3 1/2 weeks until I am there but who's counting? Me!!!
Any tips on the camera and flash setting you care to share. I have the Olympus C5050 myself with a smaller flash. Any tips you care to share would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Russ,

My settings are F8 and 125, all manual. I set it up in my modes with my strobe set to "slave". I also used macro on all my up close shots and "spot". I had to remember to change it to AF when shooting for distance. I cam give you a website with specific settings for the C5050 if you would like to have it!