lgreco
Registered
This is a description of my recent (and 8th) trip to Bonaire (23-30 June).
Flight: Flew from ORD to ATL on Friday night, spent the night at the airport's Renaissance, took Delta's Saturday flight to the island. Uneventful flight, with most middle seats on the airplane empty. Very comfortable. Return trip just as comfortable, with a 2.5 hour overlay in ATL before continuing to ORD; if the return flight is on time (as was mine) there is plenty of time to clear US Immigration and Customs, go through security, and get to your next flight's gate. Delta's departure from Bonaire coincides (broadly) with Insel's departure for Miami and Arkenfly's departure for Amsterdam. The airport may be busier than usual, so plan to spend a few more minutes in line for checkin.
Immigration at BON: since 10/10/10 the lines seem to be moving a bit faster. There were about 15 travelers ahead of me at passport control, and we were all done within 6-8 minutes.
Rental truck: Telerin. The car is waiting for you right at the curb as you exit the custom's area. I am not sure if there is any other rental car agency on the island that provides this kind of service. Same for drop off: you bring the car into the airport's parking and you leave it there.
Lodging: Den Laman, 2-bedroom unit -- shared with a Puget Sound friend who came to Bonaire for the first time. Den Laman remains a reliable, clean, comfortable location.
Dive shop: Bonaire Dive and Adventure (BDA). Ample supply of air and (free) nitrox tanks, at dockside and at the truck loading area. Dockside tanks (and gear storage) are accessible 24X7. Efficient orientation for repeat customers.
Dives and Dive Conditions: reduced visibility most of the week due to some surge of plankton. Average was about 50-60 ft, occasionally (but rarely) down to 40 ft. (Night visibility in Bonaire remains dismal: 0 feet, until you turn on your light). Currents and other conditions affected the distribution of the plankton and the visibility. On two separate days that we dove Invisibles, we encountered 100+ ft visibility and 40 ft visibility. Things like this happen. Overall this was the poorest visibility I've seen in Bonaire.
Water was a bit cooler than usual: mostly 81F throughout the column, except for a few locations where we encountered thermoclines at 55 ft with temperatures dropping from 80F to 77F. At Hilma Hooker we encountered a third thermocline at 97 ft, with temperature of 75F. Of course, the only way to take the temp there was to plant your wrist (with the computer) at the bottom while the rest of your body hovered at 96 ft, above the thermocline. Speaking of Hilma I noticed an unusual number of Baracudas this year, both near the wreck but also on the reef down to it.
In terms of aquatic life, the usual suspects were there: turtles, groupers, lobsters, eels, tarpons, squids, octopus; unusual sightings this time included a manta ray (at the Bari reef), huge midnight parrots, the large population of 'cudas at Hilma, and a humongous green moray at Karpata (35 ft, next to the anchor). Didn't see as many lionfishes as last year and I noticed a smaller number of flounders this time. Our night dive escorts, the tarpons, were as hungry as ever. Another unusual sight was Jerry Ligon behind the wheel of a car; all these years I got used seeing him swimming, biking, or walking.
Reef conditions were mixed. The damage from 2008's Omar is still visible above 35 ft, though there are promising signs of recovery. More alarming are the brown and red algae covering coral heads below 35 ft, at some sites. Especially at the double reef parts of Invisibles and Alice.
Dove the Cliff for the first time and really liked it. Very healthy part of the reef. It's an easy dive and on a day with no current you can easily make it to Captain Don's reef (steady at 50 ft) and return back (at 30 ft) with plenty of air left -- assuming that you start with 3000 psi and you don't burn through it faster than a startup burns venture-capital funds. Staff at the dive shop (Dive Friends) at the Cliff are very nice and helpful and they welcome visitors.
Angel City to Hilma and back remains a favorite dive. It's about 6-8 minutes of moderate swim at 40 ft from Angel City to Hilma's mid section; saving you plenty of air to swim through the cargo hold, explore the bow, and return safely to your entry point (keep it 35 ft on your way back to conserve air; see note for air hogs above).
Dining: we had most our dinners at Fogon Latino, with breakfast and lunch at the condo. Fogon remains an excellent choice for value and quality. Bonaire is full of good restaurants. Over the years I've grown fond of Fogon. I still try other places of course, but Fogon is truly a gem. A new dutch fries place was near completion up in Antriol and it looked promising. It opened a couple of days after we left.
Groceries: The Warehouse remains a reliable source for most of your needs. The new Van den Tweel supermarket is fantastic, expansive, a bit expensive, and most definitely worth a visit. It's further up the road from the Warehouse and you can't miss it. Cultimara is open again, under new ownership. If you are into Coca Cola, when shopping in Bonaire look for bottles imported from Venezuela. They're still made with real cane sugar and the taste is closer to the authentic stuff. Of course if you are into that corn extract stuff, there is plenty of it as well.
Miscellaneous: The island was a bit more dusty than usual because of all the digging for the new high pressure sewage treatment system. Lots and lots of dust, lots and lots of dug up streets. The project is moving along and the construction crews have started patching up the streets. A friend of mine who dove the cold waters of the Puget Sound all his life, came with me to Bonaire. This was his first trip to the island (and to warm water diving). Every time the local dive masters or regular divers apologized to him for the poor visibility and the cold water, he thought they were crazy! Priceless.
Flight: Flew from ORD to ATL on Friday night, spent the night at the airport's Renaissance, took Delta's Saturday flight to the island. Uneventful flight, with most middle seats on the airplane empty. Very comfortable. Return trip just as comfortable, with a 2.5 hour overlay in ATL before continuing to ORD; if the return flight is on time (as was mine) there is plenty of time to clear US Immigration and Customs, go through security, and get to your next flight's gate. Delta's departure from Bonaire coincides (broadly) with Insel's departure for Miami and Arkenfly's departure for Amsterdam. The airport may be busier than usual, so plan to spend a few more minutes in line for checkin.
Immigration at BON: since 10/10/10 the lines seem to be moving a bit faster. There were about 15 travelers ahead of me at passport control, and we were all done within 6-8 minutes.
Rental truck: Telerin. The car is waiting for you right at the curb as you exit the custom's area. I am not sure if there is any other rental car agency on the island that provides this kind of service. Same for drop off: you bring the car into the airport's parking and you leave it there.
Lodging: Den Laman, 2-bedroom unit -- shared with a Puget Sound friend who came to Bonaire for the first time. Den Laman remains a reliable, clean, comfortable location.
Dive shop: Bonaire Dive and Adventure (BDA). Ample supply of air and (free) nitrox tanks, at dockside and at the truck loading area. Dockside tanks (and gear storage) are accessible 24X7. Efficient orientation for repeat customers.
Dives and Dive Conditions: reduced visibility most of the week due to some surge of plankton. Average was about 50-60 ft, occasionally (but rarely) down to 40 ft. (Night visibility in Bonaire remains dismal: 0 feet, until you turn on your light). Currents and other conditions affected the distribution of the plankton and the visibility. On two separate days that we dove Invisibles, we encountered 100+ ft visibility and 40 ft visibility. Things like this happen. Overall this was the poorest visibility I've seen in Bonaire.
Water was a bit cooler than usual: mostly 81F throughout the column, except for a few locations where we encountered thermoclines at 55 ft with temperatures dropping from 80F to 77F. At Hilma Hooker we encountered a third thermocline at 97 ft, with temperature of 75F. Of course, the only way to take the temp there was to plant your wrist (with the computer) at the bottom while the rest of your body hovered at 96 ft, above the thermocline. Speaking of Hilma I noticed an unusual number of Baracudas this year, both near the wreck but also on the reef down to it.
In terms of aquatic life, the usual suspects were there: turtles, groupers, lobsters, eels, tarpons, squids, octopus; unusual sightings this time included a manta ray (at the Bari reef), huge midnight parrots, the large population of 'cudas at Hilma, and a humongous green moray at Karpata (35 ft, next to the anchor). Didn't see as many lionfishes as last year and I noticed a smaller number of flounders this time. Our night dive escorts, the tarpons, were as hungry as ever. Another unusual sight was Jerry Ligon behind the wheel of a car; all these years I got used seeing him swimming, biking, or walking.
Reef conditions were mixed. The damage from 2008's Omar is still visible above 35 ft, though there are promising signs of recovery. More alarming are the brown and red algae covering coral heads below 35 ft, at some sites. Especially at the double reef parts of Invisibles and Alice.
Dove the Cliff for the first time and really liked it. Very healthy part of the reef. It's an easy dive and on a day with no current you can easily make it to Captain Don's reef (steady at 50 ft) and return back (at 30 ft) with plenty of air left -- assuming that you start with 3000 psi and you don't burn through it faster than a startup burns venture-capital funds. Staff at the dive shop (Dive Friends) at the Cliff are very nice and helpful and they welcome visitors.
Angel City to Hilma and back remains a favorite dive. It's about 6-8 minutes of moderate swim at 40 ft from Angel City to Hilma's mid section; saving you plenty of air to swim through the cargo hold, explore the bow, and return safely to your entry point (keep it 35 ft on your way back to conserve air; see note for air hogs above).
Dining: we had most our dinners at Fogon Latino, with breakfast and lunch at the condo. Fogon remains an excellent choice for value and quality. Bonaire is full of good restaurants. Over the years I've grown fond of Fogon. I still try other places of course, but Fogon is truly a gem. A new dutch fries place was near completion up in Antriol and it looked promising. It opened a couple of days after we left.
Groceries: The Warehouse remains a reliable source for most of your needs. The new Van den Tweel supermarket is fantastic, expansive, a bit expensive, and most definitely worth a visit. It's further up the road from the Warehouse and you can't miss it. Cultimara is open again, under new ownership. If you are into Coca Cola, when shopping in Bonaire look for bottles imported from Venezuela. They're still made with real cane sugar and the taste is closer to the authentic stuff. Of course if you are into that corn extract stuff, there is plenty of it as well.
Miscellaneous: The island was a bit more dusty than usual because of all the digging for the new high pressure sewage treatment system. Lots and lots of dust, lots and lots of dug up streets. The project is moving along and the construction crews have started patching up the streets. A friend of mine who dove the cold waters of the Puget Sound all his life, came with me to Bonaire. This was his first trip to the island (and to warm water diving). Every time the local dive masters or regular divers apologized to him for the poor visibility and the cold water, he thought they were crazy! Priceless.
Besides, Dutch is a combination of German and English. I find it relatively easy to read even though my German is dismal.
