Sitting here tonight in sub zero upstate NY it seems impossible that just 3 days ago I was in tropical Bonaire. Maybe writing about the trip and viewing some of the pictures will take me back. Am not a great photog, and worse than a novice on the computer, but I will try to post a short trip report from our trip this last week to Bonaire.
It was mostly in the 80's all week on Bonaire, but I found out the "rainy season" means just that, sometimes. (I am used to July on Bonaire where it is hot and dry!) Several inches of rain during the week; raining some every day and sometimes very heavily at night, but still great diving weather (when you're from upstate NY, where I've been buried in snow and ice for 3 months, anything BUT is great diving weather!). Bottom temps ran @81 down to 70'. My skin was all the protection required, even after 20+ dives.
We met a fun couple from Canada/ Europe Chevy and Hellen on Bonaire Talk web site, which gave me some real dedicated divers to buddy with when the gf wanted time topside. Got in 23 dives, only a couple night dives, and no pre dawn dives this trip. Mostly we dove Bari Reef, 'Yellow Submarine', 'Windsock' (dive site and the resort) on this trip.
Some of my favorite sites were damaged quite heavily by tropical storm Omar since I was there this last July. 'Oil Slick', which was one of my favorite sites was pretty much devastated down beyond 35', and word is other exposed sites got hit hard by the storm too. The area below 'Oil Slick', which was almost a garden, looked, in the words of my Canadian friend "like it's been bulldozed". Will take some time to recover.
(ScubaSteve001 posted some really good vid clipstoday that he took of that storm on Bonaire, in the "posting photos" thread here on SB.)
All in all it was a very good trip, but as always one week on Bonaire is only enough to whet the appetite. Coming home to another 14" of snow and more ice, with the temps tonight @zero only makes me miss Bonaire that much more.
We ran into a few equipment problems but thanks to Marco @ Buddy Dive and Neils @ Den Lamen we missed very few opportunities to dive. There are so many great people on Bonaire, both the ones working there, dedicated to making your trip go smoothly, and all the other divers we meet every time we're there! Like Herman and Deputy Dan here on the board who first convinced me to try Bonaire (missed you guys all this week, it's not the same without you)!
The reports that I've been reading here on SB about a die off of Green Moray eels appears to be true. Usually I see greens everywhere on Bonaire, but in 23 dives including night dives I saw not one green! Also saw only one lobster and it was intact and dead, so not a victim of normal predation.
As always on Bonaire the shore diving is awesome and there are so many really great restaurants to try, that I can never get to everywhere I plan on. Guess I'll just have to start saving to go back!
It was mostly in the 80's all week on Bonaire, but I found out the "rainy season" means just that, sometimes. (I am used to July on Bonaire where it is hot and dry!) Several inches of rain during the week; raining some every day and sometimes very heavily at night, but still great diving weather (when you're from upstate NY, where I've been buried in snow and ice for 3 months, anything BUT is great diving weather!). Bottom temps ran @81 down to 70'. My skin was all the protection required, even after 20+ dives.
We met a fun couple from Canada/ Europe Chevy and Hellen on Bonaire Talk web site, which gave me some real dedicated divers to buddy with when the gf wanted time topside. Got in 23 dives, only a couple night dives, and no pre dawn dives this trip. Mostly we dove Bari Reef, 'Yellow Submarine', 'Windsock' (dive site and the resort) on this trip.
Some of my favorite sites were damaged quite heavily by tropical storm Omar since I was there this last July. 'Oil Slick', which was one of my favorite sites was pretty much devastated down beyond 35', and word is other exposed sites got hit hard by the storm too. The area below 'Oil Slick', which was almost a garden, looked, in the words of my Canadian friend "like it's been bulldozed". Will take some time to recover.
(ScubaSteve001 posted some really good vid clipstoday that he took of that storm on Bonaire, in the "posting photos" thread here on SB.)
All in all it was a very good trip, but as always one week on Bonaire is only enough to whet the appetite. Coming home to another 14" of snow and more ice, with the temps tonight @zero only makes me miss Bonaire that much more.
We ran into a few equipment problems but thanks to Marco @ Buddy Dive and Neils @ Den Lamen we missed very few opportunities to dive. There are so many great people on Bonaire, both the ones working there, dedicated to making your trip go smoothly, and all the other divers we meet every time we're there! Like Herman and Deputy Dan here on the board who first convinced me to try Bonaire (missed you guys all this week, it's not the same without you)!
The reports that I've been reading here on SB about a die off of Green Moray eels appears to be true. Usually I see greens everywhere on Bonaire, but in 23 dives including night dives I saw not one green! Also saw only one lobster and it was intact and dead, so not a victim of normal predation.
As always on Bonaire the shore diving is awesome and there are so many really great restaurants to try, that I can never get to everywhere I plan on. Guess I'll just have to start saving to go back!
