OP
This would have been sweet had you not gotten the wrist strap in the pic...
Bonaire Trip Report (LONG...)
- Thread starter O-ring
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OP
I am not an expert on the matter, but you might want to ask Captain Don's about it. Maybe SG will chime in here, but I really liked Captain Don's (we were only there one day/night). They seemed to run a really good operation from our limited exposure. IMHO, I would make sure you have DAN Preferred before going anywhere near Bonaire..
We actually didn't get anything stolen...only a ransacked car. It was the two couples I talked to in the rental car line that were complaining about it.
Dang...I think we may have made that trip report sound a little too negative. Bonaire is a beautiful place with great diving (IF you like looking at little stuff). I just think we were expecting to walk off the plane into the arms of 400 topless Dutch women and have the dives of our lives. It was a good trip, but wasn't nirvana...
They were there but left when they heard you were coming. ;-0
Chad
OP
...of me standing on the reef..ckharlan66 once bubbled...
Look at that trim.
Nice shot.
Chad
I have been going to Bonaire the last 4 years and have a very different perspective on it. My comparisons are based on Grand Bahama Island (Freeport). The out islands may be different.
Rampant Crime? Mostly over rated hipe, there was a kid who was sacking cars, he is in jail now. You are much safer in Bonaire than some of the streets around here. I have purposely kept change laying on the counters in my rooms....it has been rearranged several times but NEVER has any been missing. Sure there is petty crime, but I bet there is a good bit of this in the Bahamas as well. I have not been to the out islands but at least in GBI I saw a lot of bars on the houses and saw a lot of police, many of them in a hurry to go some where, lights flashing. Must be some crime somewhere.
Unfriendly locals???? I have been treated well and really enjoy the people. I also found the Bahamians nice but pushy, I don't want any braids thank you....I have yet to see a street vendor in Bonaire.
Merchants ripping you off?? The only case I have heard of this was a waitress at one rest. When the owner found out he put a stop to it. I have never had any trouble with any merchant or restaurant. Switching to guilders eliminates the problem.
Shallow Reefs...considering what I go to see is the reef and the fish, I prefer the shallow reefs. I get a lot more bottom time, my N2 loading is a lot less and the colors are better shallow. To top it off, I can get in many,many more dives in the same amount of vac time. I go for bottom time and to look at the fishes, on a per dive basis, Bonaire comes out cheaper, even including the air. Also, what do you consider shallow, I know of several reefs in the 80 ft range, about the same as GBI. If I want wrecks, I will stay here in NC.
Fish...It is true that there are not a lot big fish but the clouds of tropicals are a lot thicker than I have seen in GBI or the Keys. If I want sharks and jacks, the wrecks in NC are covered with them.
Wierd Currency...well yes they do use guilders but it's simple to figure out and I like using it. After all, I am going to a foreign country. If you are afraid you will be cheated in the exchange, just go to the bank and exchange the USD for guilders and use them. The smaller value coins are the same as the US coins. A 25 cent piece is 1/4 of a guilder, not tough math. By the way, they are not Dutch guilders, they are Netherland Antilles guilders, a completely different currency. They also take dollars just like in the Bahamas and most restaurants have both prices on the menu.
Passport requirements.. unless they have changed lately, they are exactly the same as the Bahamas, photo ID and a raised seal birthcert.
It is a long plane ride but I see more fish, get in more dives, on a $/dive basis I come out cheaper and I find the food is better. I can shore dive as much as I want, which I much prefer to boat diving and am NEVER EVER pestered by street vendors....NO $#@!!@#@ I don't want my hair braided!
OP
...is that the divers we saw in Bonaire (it wasn't often that we ran into others underwater, but occasionally we did) looked generally better than divers I have seen elsewhere. Not sure if it is the marine park orientation (we got a lecture, but didn't have to do a checkout dive), the poorly skilled avoiding a place that they can't touch down, or the conditions being so easy to dive in, but we only saw a couple people touch the bottom the whole time we were there.
raxafarian
Contributor
take some charters there and you'll see plenty.
There's scary divers everywhere.:boom:
There's scary divers everywhere.:boom:
OP
Do the DMs yell at them? I assume the charters there are all DM led...
sillygrendel
Contributor
Hey O-ring... Feel free to post any good pics of me! (I think that one over the sand might be me?) Or you can PM a couple to me and I could weed out the ones of me standing on the coral...
After all... You know how long it took to stage, err... take those pictures!
After all... You know how long it took to stage, err... take those pictures!
OP
You were the one sitting on the brain coral taking the picture, remember?
Here's the best one with you in it...
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