Trip Report BONAIRE TRIP REPORT & PIX (APRIL 14-21)

[jujubeess]

Nice report and some of the nicest photos I have seen posted on SB. As the years go by I think we all experience fewer 5 dive a day days but the days are no less enjoyable. The night dive problem was solved years ago for me by switching my night dives to pre dawn dives. Happy diving.

I agree with you on the number of dives. As I get older...less Dives....

 

[Jersey]

Great trip report, my sentiments exactly - older = longer & fewer dives per trip. We are Buddy fans, the owners have certainly put money back into the resort which we like to see. The staff, from front of house to dive ops, are normally helpful and accommodating to the degree possible. They seem to attract and retain really good DM's, Laurent and Craig among them. I like the house reef, usually pretty empty between 1-4, except Sunday when everyone is doing check dives and lots of stuff can be found in the 'backyard'. I've seen octopus, reef shark (about 90 ft down), big cubera snapper, all kinds of eels. I'm also fond of Salt Pier late in the day. While not a guarantee, turtles have been known to show up.

What's this little guy? Kinda looks like a sharp nosed puffer.
BONAIRE - APRIL 2018 - kenkurtis

 

[drbill]

Some fantastic photos, Ken. I just wish my video camera had the resolution and image capture necessary to record such detail

 

[Ken Kurtis]

This Pic :
BONAIRE - APRIL 2018 - kenkurtis
Uh-Mazing. What kind of fish is it?

Glad you like it. That's a Black Durgon, a type of Triggerfish (Melichthys niger)

 

[Ken Kurtis]

May I ask you....where did you find that yellow frog fish? We looked all over for one.

North corner of Small Wall, pretty much right where the wall started, about 40 feet deep. He hadn't been spotted in a month or two but DM Craig told me where he generally was and he and I both were searching and - amazingly - both spotted him at the same time. But he's not too sociable. As soon as he spotted us, he slowly moved down and under into a little hole in the reef.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

What's this little guy? Kinda looks like a sharp nosed puffer.
BONAIRE - APRIL 2018 - kenkurtis

Close. Bandtail puffer (Sphoeroides spengleri).

 

[tarponchik]

"Unlike Lionfish, the Parrotfish population in Bonaire is quite robust and numerous. And there are many different species spotted as well: Stoplight, Princess, Queen, Striped, Redband, and others."

What we've noticed is that the larger speicies, Midnight and Rainbow parrotfish, disappear. Also, no surprise to me that you have no pictures of Green morays in your display. We saw just 2 in a week of diving back in Dec'14. Hamlets and bass are nice, of course, but the larger members of the grouper family are gone for good, it seems.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

My husband and I are planning our first trip to Bonaire in October. We were planning on booking at Buddy Dive but I've read some negative reviews on Tripadvisor. They indicated the resort is run down and in need of repair, AC is weak and only in the bedroom, WiFi is spotty. Did you see any evidence of any of these complaints?

First of all, I highly recommend Buddy's. I would disagree with "run down and in need of repair." And with anything, if there's a problem, mention it and give them a chance to fix it. A lot of times I read reports where something was wrong all week and could have been fixed, but the complainer didn't make any attempt to get the issue resolved. So take some of those comments with a grain of salt.

However, it also helps to have some historical info . . .

Years ago, Buddy Dive bought the adjacent resort o the north, Lion's Den, and combined everything into one property. On the old Buddy's side (the south portion), I think you're correct about only the bedrooms having AC. However, on the Lions' Den side (the north side), there's AC in the bedrooms AND in the open living/dining area. So the "trick" is to ask for rooms on the Lion's Den or north side of the property.

As far as Wi-Fi, it used to be reliably available only in the bar and breakfast area. But over the years they've beefed it up and it's readily available in most of the rooms as well as the bar area. We were specifically in #611 (Lion's Den side) and had a great signal, partly because we were on the second floor and partly because there was a router tied to a tree right off of our balcony.

By the same token, we also had #509 which was on the other side of #611 and they didn't have a great signal inside the room but had a strong signal out on their patio. So some of it's going to be luck of the draw.

 

[ljwillia]

First of all, I highly recommend Buddy's. I would disagree with "run down and in need of repair." And with anything, if there's a problem, mention it and give them a chance to fix it. A lot of times I read reports where something was wrong all week and could have been fixed, but the complainer didn't make any attempt to get the issue resolved. So take some of those comments with a grain of salt.

Thank you, Ken! I appreciate the response.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

Thank you, Ken! I appreciate the response.

BTW, I just noticed you're from Richmond, VA. That's where I first got certified (W&W Dive Shop on Midlothian - no longer in existence) when I was the Program Director for 1480-WLEE radio. Did my cert dives in Gum Springs Quarry.