Bonaire - 2006

[MXGratefulDiver]

This was our third trip to Bonaire ... a "birthday" trip for our friend Janet Lamont who accompanied Cheng and myself along with her husband Jim. We left Sea Tac airport at 1:45 PM on Friday, August 25th and arrived in Bonaire the next morning at 5:30 AM ... just enough time to check in at Captain Don's Habitat, unpack, and grab some breakfast before the morning check-out dive.

It was a milestone trip for both Janet and Cheng ... the third dive on Saturday was Janet's 200th, and the first dive on Sunday was Cheng's 500th ... both turned out great as we encountered seahorses on Janet's dive and frogfish on Cheng's dive.

We dodged a bullet with the weather ... a tropical storm had just passed through the day before we got there, and our first dives were in rather choppy seas. The vis on our check-out dive was only about 30 feet till we got down below the surge zone (35-40 feet in depth). But as the day wore on the sea calmed down, and we had spectacular weather and steadily improving vis for the rest of the week. In fact, our dives out to Klein Bonaire (the tiny island just a mile or so offshore) were some of the best vis I've ever seen in Bonaire.

Overall for the week I managed 24 dives, with just a few minutes under 28 hours of bottom time. My shortest dive was 40 minutes on the Hilma Hooker ... the only dive where they limit your bottom time because of the dive profile ... and my longest dive was 91 minutes on the last dive of the trip ... we found a turtle and a school of squid in the shallows, giving us just the excuse we wanted to not get out of the water until we absolutely had to.

Well, since a picture's worth a thousand words, here's about 80,000 words worth of pictures ... I combined the best of Cheng's pictures and mine all in one show. They really express the trip far better than I ever could by describing it. Hope you enjoy ...

http://photoshow.comcast.net/watch/BD9NR6Gv

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Diver Dennis]

Bob, you have some outstanding shots there. Looks like you had a fantastic time...

 

[sasscuba]

Very nice pics! Glad you had a great time!~I am going back in March and taking the wife for her first open water dives since certification...cannot wait!

 

[WVDiver]

Great show Bob. We are going in Nov. I can't wait.

 

[cardzard]

VERY NICE work Bob & Cheng
Looks like Bonaire once again showed her beauty and you 2 did a great job capturing it.
How was you stay at Capt.Don's ?
CONGRATS Cheng on #500

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Actually, some of the best pics ... like most of the squid and turtle shots ... were Cheng's. She's got some kind of empathy or something that caused those critters to swim right up and pose for her ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

VERY NICE work Bob & Cheng
Looks like Bonaire once again showed her beauty and you 2 did a great job capturing it.
How was you stay at Capt.Don's ?
CONGRATS Cheng on #500

About Captain Don's ... I have to say I was a bit disappointed with the place this year.

When we arrived ... tired after flying all night ... they tried putting us in accommodations that were less than what we had reserved and paid for. Turned out they had overbooked, and rather than discussing it with us, the desk guy just figured he'd downgrade us to a lesser accommodation and hope we didn't notice. We did ... and after a bit of "discussion" we got the cabin we'd paid for.

Most of the dive staff are new ... the ones we had liked the most from two years ago have moved on. And with one exception, the new ones weren't all that motivated. We had one DM that got on our case about not following "boat rules". Well, instead of explaining those rules, he had asked us if we'd dived with them before. We had ... and said so ... but apparently the rules have changed since then. On the one hand, I can see them expecting guests to follow house rules. On the other hand, instead of asking us if we knew the rules he should've simply explained them. And in any event, it's never a good idea for dive boat staff to cop an attitude with a client without explaining to the client why you're upset. Made for a rather uncomfortable ride home.

On a later dive, the same DM decided to leave the group and go on his own dive. He later told me he had gone down to 140 feet looking for a watch someone had lost on a previous dive. OK ... I don't need a DM to lead my dive, but it does make for a nicer time when someone who's familiar with the dive site helps you find the cool stuff like frogfish and seahorses. If he expected a tip, he wasn't gonna earn one 70 feet below me looking for somebody else's dive watch. And since he ... like we ... was diving EAN32 ... I figure it's a good thing he didn't tox at 140 because none of us were in a position to go down and get him.

At the end of the trip we discussed all of this, and the one DM who put some effort into helping us find cool critters got tipped ... the rest of them got "suggestions".

Then there's the house restaurant ... it's now independently-owned and operated. While the menu is basically the same, the food ain't all that good. And (again with one exception) the help seemed more interested in each other than they did in their customers. We ended up going next door to Buddy Dive and eating at the Lion's Den more often than not. It's a bit pricier, but the food and service were way worth the walk and the extra money.

It wasn't really a big deal ... and to be honest, we had a great time anyway. But it is kind've a shame to see a place like Cap't Don's deteriorating from the great experiences we had there just a couple of years ago.

It'll probably be a while before I go back to Bonaire ... there's just so many places I haven't been to yet. But when I do go back I'll be finding a different place to stay.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[WVDiver]

I'll be staying at the Golden Reef, I'll send you a trip report.

 

[TheRedHead]

Great photos, Bob! Sorry to hear your experience at Capt. Don's wasn't up to par. I'm heading to Buddy Dive in November (I love eating at the Lion's Den). Did you do a "drive and dive?" What sites did you like the best this time?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Great photos, Bob! Sorry to hear your experience at Capt. Don's wasn't up to par. I'm heading to Buddy Dive in November (I love eating at the Lion's Den). Did you do a "drive and dive?" What sites did you like the best this time?

We only went driving one afternoon ... did Andrea II, then drove up to Karpata. I had so wanted to dive there, but when we arrived the waves looked more suitable for surfing. The older dude who runs that little refreshment shack told me he had to rescue a diver earlier in the day (don't ask me how, in that surf), but I told him I didn't intend to give him a chance to go for two in the same day. We ended up driving south ... all the way to Angel City ... for our second afternoon dive.

Favorite sites ... on this trip it would have to be Knife out on Klein Bonaire. We saw two seahorses and danced with a turtle on the same dive. Vis was way better than 100 (probably closer to 150), and we were in the water for 80 minutes. Incredible dive!

South Bay (also on Klein) was another 80-minute dive ... I was taking a pic of some christmas tree worms when suddenly Max (the DM we liked) tugged my fin and pointed down. Sitting there about a foot below where I was framing my pic was that lovely red frogfish in the photo show. Can't believe I didn't see it without help ... it was the most obvious frogfish I've ever seen!

Monti Divi and 1,000 Steps would round out my list of top sites for this trip.

We did the Salt Pier again this year ... which was a nice 84-minute dive ... but it wasn't as magical as last year's experience. I guess when you get four frogfish, two octopus, a school of squid, a school of barracuda, and a chance to swim inside a bait ball all in the same dive, it's tough to live up to expectations the next time ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)