My trusty Braun travel alarm woke me in time to grab my gear and hike to the dive center for the morning group orientation. All dive sites off Bonaire and Klein Bonaire are included in a marine sanctuary, and those who dive must complete a short orientation course and pay a ten-dollar fee for the privelege. A plastic tag is issued, to be tie-wrapped to the individual's BC. Mine is still in place; the registration is good for one calendar year, and I might win the lottery or get laid off at work...After viewing a video lecture which included some Bonaire diving history and the usual admonitions (don't touch the coral, don't spear fish, etc.) our group was dismissed to gather and gear up at the resort's own beach, Eighteen Palms. A divemaster was present, but mainly to hand out extra weight as needed and keep an eye on the less experienced among us. I paddled out over the sand flat to the beginning of the drop-off at about 25 feet, where a buoy marked the official dive site and a pair of PVC squares used for buoyancy control tests. No one seemed to be doing any actual testing at the time, so I headed off down the reef to see what I could see. Mixed coral heads, rock and sand chutes covered the slope, more of a hillside than a wall, punctuated with purple tube sponges and bright fish. As I passed beyond 70 feet, I could see that the bottom leveled into a sand flat at a hundred feet or so. Three dark shapes glided along the edge of the white bottom. I stopped to watch. As they came nearer, I recognized the distincive profile and upturned mouth. I had never seen Tarpon in person before, and I hovered quietly as they paraded past. They were medium-sized, between four and five feet, and their sides glittered like stainless steel. I had a strong feeling that I would be pleased with our choice of vacation spots. All around me were flocks of chromis and damsels, trumpetfish, trunkfish, Spanish hogs, wrasse, you name it. As a REEF member, I had come here both for recreation and to count fish. One base was definitely covered.

After a rinse and a chat with the divemaster, I returned to the room where Carol was sitting up in bed reading the instructions to the air conditioner remote control. Neither she nor I had ever seen such a thing, but it immediately struck us both as a very good idea. Our room was equipped with an independent unit capable of cooling the entire suite in a matter of a few minutes, controlled by a handheld "clicker" very much like the one for the television, which which every American is intimately familiar. Perhaps the more affluent, technically advanced folks in the USA have remote controlled AC, but I don't know any of them.

My dive package consisted of one one-tank dive each day, and that day's was scheduled at 1:30, so Carol and I took advantage of the opportunity to touch up our suntans on the beach. We lay on our lounges, reading and conversing for just under an hour, at which time I gathered my equipment and hiked to Toucan Dive Center, leaving her to enjoy the quiet lapping of water and the rustle of the breeze in the palm trees. The boat trip to Klein Bonaire was short, as was the predive briefing. I "buddied up" with the group and enjoyed a relaxed hour of noting familiar species and looking for new ones to add to my lifetime list. The weather was fair, visibility good (in the 50-75 foot range) reef health good, and fish life abundant. The relaxed, yet professional attitude of the boat captain and divemaster made the atmosphere for diving very pleasant and secure.

Back at the suite, Carol was ready for adventure, so we took our truck out for a spin around Kralendyk. First on the menu was a stop for gas, and after a short self-taught course on Netherland Antilles gas pumps, we took the road through town, tooling up one street and down the next until I saw the Cultimara sign. I knew from this site that this was the place to stop for anything and everything, so we parked in the dirt lot across from the movie theatre and strolled in. Carol said the place smelled like her grandmother's house, probably because the entrance was right by the baked-goods section. We wandered the aisles, looking for familiar products, and eventually exited with two bags of potato chips, two six-packs of Amstel, two liters of Coca-cola and two liters of Spa water. Back at the Plaza, we paused for a quick rest and a shower, then went down to the Coconut Crash for the manager's cocktail party and barbecue. After filling up on chicken, pasta salad and rum punch, we sat on the beach watching for the green flash (didn't see it) and enjoyed the music of Moogie, the ubiquitous one-man band, as night fell on the sea.

Later that night, a visit to the casino yielded just over a hundred dollars, courtesy of a generous slot machine, to top off the evening. Our vacation was only a day old, and we were already having a very good time.

George, I'm really enjoying your trip report and look forward to part 3..

George,
I found that by attaching a 1 inch brass split key ring to the BC, it becomes very easy to add each years Marine Park tag; now have '98 - '02 with room for the many more to come.
Chet

Good idea, Chet.
geo.

Great report.

Nice!! What dive site did you go to in Klein Bonaire?

Awesome report!!!! Keep em coming!!!

The first day's dive on Klein was at South Bay.
geo.

Very thorough, Thanks!

George, I see you are a MedTech, well I think you should try your hand at writing. Such a great report with a variety of descriptive words that I can never think of while I'm writing. Thanks for the update.

Chet thanks for the great idea. I'm going to get a ring on my BC right now.

Hi George,

I am new to this site and greatly enjoy reading these trip reports. It sounds like you had a great time and I can't wait to read about the rest of the days. One question -- You wrote that everyone has to complete a marine sanctuary "training"? Is there a water test of some kind, or do they just want to make sure you know how to set your gear up, etc.? I am a newbie to this site and have only been SCUBA certified one year.

Thanks and thank you for the great trip reports!

Stephanie

Stephanie,
The course includes information on the protected status of Bonaire's underwater resources and emphasizes their protection. In the water, you may be asked to demonstrate buoyancy control. As with most dive operations, a check-out dive for new arrivals is a good way to make sure everyone is reasonably proficient and will be able to enjoy the area's fascinating sea life without finning it to death. I'm sure you will have no problems. Have fun.
geo.