brief Bonaire trip report

[Lorenzoid]

A group of six of us just returned from a week on Bonaire. It rained every day. Some days, it rained most of the day. Some days it was difficult hauling ourselves out of bed to the sound of pouring rain. The locals said they hadn't seen that much rain in years.

We stayed at the Belmar and had an excellent experience. Nice ocean view condos. We prepared most of our meals at the condo to save on dining costs. Very good customer service from the dive shop at the Belmar when we had a problem with some dive gear having not arrived with the rest of our luggage (American Airlines found the missing luggage the next day and forwarded it from Miami via Curacao). Since the dive shop is run by Buddy Dive, we could use Buddy's drive-through air station.

The seas were rough at times, the current strong (for Bonaire), and we found some of the entries and exits challenging. Lesson learned is probably to ask at the dive shop if they know where the best area to dive is on that day. One day, based on nothing but speculation, we decided that the southern sites would be calmer, and it turned out to be just the opposite. Saw lots of lionfish. I don't think I saw a single one on last year's Bonaire trip.

 

[drrich2]

I was at Bonaire the first week of October (2-9); it rained quite a bit nearly the first half. Yes, very atypical from what I understand. We, too, saw a number of lionfish, whereas I've been 3 times previously, once back in March 2010, and had never seen one in the wild before.

Weird weather Bonaire is having lately. Still had a great trip, though. And got to dive the southern tip of the island; that was a change! But it depended on the day. We went with a small group, and our old Instructor had been many times & could recommend sites apt to be promising.

Richard.

 

[Texas Torpedo]

I'm heading to Bonaire tonight and just checked the weather forecast.. Looks like more of what you got, Lorenzoid.

Can you tell me what the water temps were like during your dives?

Thanks,
David

 

[phelana]

The entire Caribbean has seen very strange weather. I was in Anguilla last week and the waves and wind, phew.

Last year the ABC islands saw no rain for almost 5 months. It has been raining since early Oct. Despite the forecast I anticipate the rest of the season will be perfect for diving with a few rainy interludes in the next two weeks.

Please keep in mind hurricane season has ended and whilst we are out of the belt, weather north and east can influence our weather patterns.

Check out WindGURU: Weather forecasts for windsurfing, kitesurfing and other wind related sports for very good forecasts.

Happy Diving!

 

[diverrex]

I'm heading to Bonaire tonight and just checked the weather forecast.. Looks like more of what you got, Lorenzoid.

Can you tell me what the water temps were like during your dives?

Thanks,
David

My computer showed 82 on the Klein Bonaire reefs today. But with no sun, some showers and an air temp of only 82 the water felt colder than it normally does when it is 82. It's some strange weather but least the visibility was fairly normal at around 60 feet.

 

[ronski101]

We hd a similar experience on Roatan last month with 82f water and rain every day. Didn't know that an el nino year affected the carribean also.

 

[gert7to3]

I keep forgetting that it is an El Nino year. How was your vis? Rain usually precipitates algae growth, impacting vis.