Mike Boswell
Contributor
My wife Katy and I just got back from our week-long trip to Bonaire. We stayed at Buddy Dive which was very good in most respects. They picked us up very early at the airport and quickly had us in our room. The facilities were good, the staff were very nice and helpful and the divemasters were excellent. The boat dives to Klein Bonaire were great, and the "house reef" was really good and we liked it about as well as any spot we dived. The truck was fine. Generally, we had no problems at all.
We had a room with a kitchen so we mostly ate in, but the restaurant meals we did have were very pricey and the food was just fair. The mosquitoes were bad - Dengue Fever is a concern I guess - so next time we'll bring a can of insect fog for the room.
Most dives were in the 25-60 foot range, on top of or along the coral-covered dropoff that circles the island about 50 yards offshore. It was very windy on the windward side but the lee side is protected. The water was 81 degrees F and vis was about 80-100 feet, but not as crystal clear as I was hoping for. Katy and I dove only in swimsuits but everybody else had wetsuits and several people even had drysuits.
The diving highlights for me were seeing the schools of jacks, the barracuda, and the tarpon. We also saw grouper, squid, turtles, eels, seahorses, Peacock Flounder, and some very big lobsters.
At the end of one dive we were swimming in to the shallows and a yellow-and-purple "Spanish Hogfish" about a foot long swam over and demanded to be petted. Katy and I stroked the little fellow for a while, marvelling at how affectionate he was.
On a night dive at Buddy Reef, we were escorted by a huge Tarpon who swam back and forth in my light beam, coming within inches of me, looking for unsuspecting fish to snap up. He kept missing them, though, so maybe he didn't have his AOW certification.
We did the 3-tank dive at the park ($120.00 each). On the third dive - at "Taylor Made" which is a very healthy and pristine reef - we swam up to a huge house-sized baitball surrounded by Jacks and Barracuda. As we hung 30 feet away watching the swirling mass, the baitfish suddenly spooked and swam directly into us and all around us. It was a fantastic moment.
We also enjoyed our time driving around the island, looking at the salt ponds, the flamingoes, the donkeys and goats, the wild windward side with the windmills and "Flotsam Art", the windsurfers and kite boarders, and the little museum at the entrance to the Washington Slagbaai Park.
All in all, we were sorry to leave Bonaire so soon, and could have stayed for at least another week. I would recommend Bonaire and Buddy to anyone.
We had a room with a kitchen so we mostly ate in, but the restaurant meals we did have were very pricey and the food was just fair. The mosquitoes were bad - Dengue Fever is a concern I guess - so next time we'll bring a can of insect fog for the room.
Most dives were in the 25-60 foot range, on top of or along the coral-covered dropoff that circles the island about 50 yards offshore. It was very windy on the windward side but the lee side is protected. The water was 81 degrees F and vis was about 80-100 feet, but not as crystal clear as I was hoping for. Katy and I dove only in swimsuits but everybody else had wetsuits and several people even had drysuits.
The diving highlights for me were seeing the schools of jacks, the barracuda, and the tarpon. We also saw grouper, squid, turtles, eels, seahorses, Peacock Flounder, and some very big lobsters.
At the end of one dive we were swimming in to the shallows and a yellow-and-purple "Spanish Hogfish" about a foot long swam over and demanded to be petted. Katy and I stroked the little fellow for a while, marvelling at how affectionate he was.
On a night dive at Buddy Reef, we were escorted by a huge Tarpon who swam back and forth in my light beam, coming within inches of me, looking for unsuspecting fish to snap up. He kept missing them, though, so maybe he didn't have his AOW certification.
We did the 3-tank dive at the park ($120.00 each). On the third dive - at "Taylor Made" which is a very healthy and pristine reef - we swam up to a huge house-sized baitball surrounded by Jacks and Barracuda. As we hung 30 feet away watching the swirling mass, the baitfish suddenly spooked and swam directly into us and all around us. It was a fantastic moment.
We also enjoyed our time driving around the island, looking at the salt ponds, the flamingoes, the donkeys and goats, the wild windward side with the windmills and "Flotsam Art", the windsurfers and kite boarders, and the little museum at the entrance to the Washington Slagbaai Park.
All in all, we were sorry to leave Bonaire so soon, and could have stayed for at least another week. I would recommend Bonaire and Buddy to anyone.
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