After an unpleasant flight on Continental's red eye out of Houston we arrived to a beautiful day on Bonaire. Really, the only thing wrong with the flight is that the seats are too small to really sleep, even for a smaller person. We had blankets, neck pillows and even took a Benedryl. I will say it WAS nice to have the day to go through the orientation, get groceries and get everything put away and organized in our condo.

Diving was great although I thought the visibility was less than it was last spring. On the other hand the current was much tamer than our spring trip. We did many more dives past White Slave because the surf and current were "agreeable". Sightings included a couple of Eagle Rays, one big Sting Ray, an Ocean Trigger Fish and a Seahorse (still no Frogfish!). We also saw several Green Morays, Turtles and Octopuses(sp?). This was the first time diving with a camera, I took a lot of terrible pictures and then finally started to get the hang of it. Thanks to Michael at Chat & Browse I actually got to save them on a disc and bring them home.

We had a great dinner and dessert at Cactus Blue. We had one of our best meals EVER (anywhere) at Wil's. We also had dinner one night at The Old Inn. Oh, and we had the Gazpacho at City Cafe several times for lunch. We were lucky enough to be there when The Antillian Wine Co. was having one of their wine tastings. In April it became our Saturday night out (we were there 4 weeks), I can understand why they have scaled it down to once a month. We buy most of our wine through them and some wine and any hard liquor through the Bonaire Gift Shop on Kaya Grande (I think I have that right).

We rarely stay up past 10PM so no nightlife to report but, I'll leave you with a 6AM sunrise shot. I'll report more about food under dining and maybe some picture under photography. Aiyo!

Diane, nice trip report. Where did you stay for a MONTH? I'm jealous! I love Wil's. How was Old Inn? I didn't make it there my last trip.

Redeye, I'm spoiled now, the only way I'll do the redeye is in first class...none of the coast seats on any of the airlines are comfortable enough to actually sleep on a redeye.

Look forward to more pictures.

Nice all around Diane. How did you get such a large pic to post?

First of all Jerry, I think when I resized the picture I told it to maintain the aspect ratio.

Cyn, we own a condo at Den Laman and have 6 weeks we can use there. It is in a rental pool the rest of the time. We love it there. You're right, 1st class is the only way to go. But, since we wanted to be young retirees, we have to be a little careful with the cash. My husband was born in Austria and we are a bit spoiled with really good German/Austrian food from his mother. I am afraid Old Inn didn't make the cut for us. Good service, nice atmosphere but....

Diane, congrats on the condo at Den Laman. I haven't seen them, just the pics but they look very nice Plus, you have the best reef right out your front door. Thanks for the info on Old Inn...I may give it a try again next time to check it out.

My husband won't do the redeye anymore (even in first class...lol)...especially as getting to Bon from LA is a PITA...much like Colorado...so he goes to SJ, overnights, then takes the AE to Bon...which is cheaper than first class...lol!


Awesome profile pic, where was that taken?

That picture was taken at Lake Powell. Great place! We find that we dive Bari Reef quite a few times each trip now. Next spring we'll be there for 6 weeks in a row. I am really looking forward to that. The good news is I don't go through culture shock because I live in such a small community here in Colorado. The hardest part is getting used to the elevation and dryer air again. Oh yes, and lack of little Amstel beers!

Ahh...I've been to Lake Powell a few times over the years. I have a lot of relatives in Colorado...Aspen, the Stapeltons, my Uncle on my mom's side (my uncle passed this last fall). We hope to get there this winter and visit them

Hi Diane,
your pic looks exactly like the one i took last june from our terrace at the den laman...is so cool to see the dive boats and big boat in the exact same places..we stayed in unit L. really love it there and the reef. is Erica still working in the dive shop? I will be back at the den laman april 28th thru may 5 and have already emailed you about diving together..looking forward to meeting you.lucky you guys to be able to stay for a month and than another 6 weeks.