This is the 3rd year of what is becoming an annual dive trip. There were 5 in our group this year for the full 2 weeks. This will be more of a highlight reel seeing as this is my 3rd report regarding Den Laman and Dive Friends, and there have been at least 7 Bonaire trip reports posted in the last 2 months, 2 of them today.
Travel-We decided to leave out of Boston the Friday evening before our arrival, spending the night in Miami. We did this the first year and it is so much less stressful. The only downside was the Even Hotel that we stayed at in Miami. Not terrible, just not good.
On our return, the storm of the season was hitting Boston. AA notified us, and we were able to switch to staying overnight Saturday in Miami (NOT at the Even!). Somehow, AA got our luggage where it was supposed to go. The other couple who were flying into Boston decide to leave Friday, so they could be home by Saturday. That made a fantastic discovery. Unlike Saturday afternoon, when there are, what, 3, maybe 4, flights leaving at the same time, there is only 1 flight leaving Friday afternoons. So, we’re going Friday to Friday next year.
Truck Rental-Trucks were waiting for us at the airport. Prins does a great job of sending you information on WhatsApp as to where your truck is parked in the short term lot. there is money waiting in it with the lot ticket, which makes it easy. We stop in there office the next day on the way to the grocery to settle up, and off we go. Nice diesel Hilux this year.
Accommodations-We were able to get Tuna again this year, the 2 bedroom unit at Den Laman above Breeze ‘n Bites. There were only the 2 of us in there, but the extra space is nice. Plus, it’s our 30th anniversary this year, so we splurged. Simon and Cecile made our stay pleasant, as usual.
Diving-Dive Friends got us set up that night with the drying room and scheduled us for our orientation Sunday morning. It was nice to be back on Bari. My wife, @ebb&flow , found all of the good stuff on this dive, starting with a juvenile turtle! We would encounter this turtle, and 1 other, a few times during the 2 weeks. She also found the sharp tail eel and a beautiful queen angel.
We did 4 boat dives with them, as well. These dives were all good, but I’ve realized that I prefer diving off of their larger catamaran. The small boats are just a bit too cramped, even with just 8 people. We got lucky on day and only had 5 divers on the catamaran.
Side note about the Dive Friends DMs. We often see folks writing about how a lot of DMs don’t stop people from abusing marine life and the reefs. Dive Friends DMs do not fall into this category. I witnessed a diver on one boat get chewed out by 2 DMs for throwing his orange peel out of the boat, in spite of us being told to make sure we didn’t toss anything out of the boat. Another time I witnessed one of the same DMs haul a diver who was taking photos off of some coral by the tank valve after not being able to get their attention. So, these folks take conservation of the marine park very seriously.
We had a lot of great dives. Some of the standouts were Kaprata, Tolo, Andrea 1, Pink Beach and, to quote Allen from Sand Dollar, Bari never disappoints. Speaking of Bari, we usually return to the dock in the sand flats, but decided to return along the top of the reef this year. We saw so much more by coming back this way. At the end of the trip we had finished with 26 dives. @ebb&flow hit her 75th on this trip, leveling with a total of 76 after 2 years of diving!
Listing by what we saw;
1) Turtles were encountered on Bari, Tolo, Knife, Karpata and Invisibles. We saw more turtles on the east side this trip than the last 2 trips combined.
2) Green morays were a bit more rare this year, as pointed out by @arew+4. We saw only 2, but both were out swimming, and one of those swam right through the group on one of the boat dives as we were finishing up. Quite spectacular!
3) We saw 2 Tiger Grouper, one small and the other rather large. Both of those were on Klein. These were the first I’ve ever noticed, and they were not shy at all.
4) Rays were a bit more scarce this year. We only came across one, and that was on Bari. We were returning along the top of the reef when it dropped right in fromt of us in the sand and started scrounging. We came across it a few days later and it decided to pose for photos (to be posted later).
5) Blennies were in no short supply on Tolo. Those are always fun to come across.
6) Creole Wrasse do not travel in schools. They travel in rivers. This is the best way to describe how seemingly hundreds, if not more, zoom by you. We witnessed a couple of what appeared to be mating frenzies. Another diver who came out shortly after us stated that he felt like he needed a shower after that display. We saw lots of Creole Wrasse at most sites, and in large groupings. This was true of Chromies, as well.
7) We saw a large African Pompano chilling at Andrea 1 which was pretty cool.
There were a few fish that seemed in greater abundance this year. We encountered lots of Porcupine and Cow fish, which, according to a DM, was due to the cooler water temps. We recorded 80/81 degrees the first week and 79/80 the second. We also saw many more Sand Divers, Barracuda, Scorpion Fish and, unfortunately, Lion Fish.
Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but the coral seemed more colorful in some areas, mainly Tolo, Pink Beach and Knife. I saw some healthy Brain Coral on a few dives, as well as some decent sized areas of Staghorn Coral. Unfortunately, Windsock was a devastating display of what SCTLD and bleaching can do to a reef. I have never been on a reef that was so desolate. I dived that site in 2018 and it was such a contrast.
Dining-We never eat in as much as we plan to. This year no was different except that we ate out even more than we planned to. The Winners that were hold overs from last year were Yhanni’s Arepas, Pita Madre, Pizza Mare, Tandoor Palace and Between 2 Buns. The new addition to the Winners was Taqueria The Fat Dog, in Isidel Beach Park. He does, however, seem to run out of fish early.
Breeze ‘n Bites has moved off of our list of places to go despite its convenience. There has always been a bit of a problem with consistency, but it seemed worse this year. Bon Tapa was the only new restaurant that didn’t really do much for us. The food was OK, but nothing worth returning for. (I may be wrong, but the “Crispy Mini Fries” that came with my burger seemed like potato sticks that came out of the can). Also, none of our dishes were tapa’s, though they tried to describe them to us as if they were, suggesting that one item would not be enough.
Speaking of Yhanni’s, we ran into the folks from @adiverslife there on one of our visits. It was really nice to meet them.
We have already made plans for returning next year. Again, thanks to @scubadada and @Lorenzoid for talking up Den Laman back when I was doing research for our first trip!
Erik
Travel-We decided to leave out of Boston the Friday evening before our arrival, spending the night in Miami. We did this the first year and it is so much less stressful. The only downside was the Even Hotel that we stayed at in Miami. Not terrible, just not good.
On our return, the storm of the season was hitting Boston. AA notified us, and we were able to switch to staying overnight Saturday in Miami (NOT at the Even!). Somehow, AA got our luggage where it was supposed to go. The other couple who were flying into Boston decide to leave Friday, so they could be home by Saturday. That made a fantastic discovery. Unlike Saturday afternoon, when there are, what, 3, maybe 4, flights leaving at the same time, there is only 1 flight leaving Friday afternoons. So, we’re going Friday to Friday next year.
Truck Rental-Trucks were waiting for us at the airport. Prins does a great job of sending you information on WhatsApp as to where your truck is parked in the short term lot. there is money waiting in it with the lot ticket, which makes it easy. We stop in there office the next day on the way to the grocery to settle up, and off we go. Nice diesel Hilux this year.
Accommodations-We were able to get Tuna again this year, the 2 bedroom unit at Den Laman above Breeze ‘n Bites. There were only the 2 of us in there, but the extra space is nice. Plus, it’s our 30th anniversary this year, so we splurged. Simon and Cecile made our stay pleasant, as usual.
Diving-Dive Friends got us set up that night with the drying room and scheduled us for our orientation Sunday morning. It was nice to be back on Bari. My wife, @ebb&flow , found all of the good stuff on this dive, starting with a juvenile turtle! We would encounter this turtle, and 1 other, a few times during the 2 weeks. She also found the sharp tail eel and a beautiful queen angel.
We did 4 boat dives with them, as well. These dives were all good, but I’ve realized that I prefer diving off of their larger catamaran. The small boats are just a bit too cramped, even with just 8 people. We got lucky on day and only had 5 divers on the catamaran.
Side note about the Dive Friends DMs. We often see folks writing about how a lot of DMs don’t stop people from abusing marine life and the reefs. Dive Friends DMs do not fall into this category. I witnessed a diver on one boat get chewed out by 2 DMs for throwing his orange peel out of the boat, in spite of us being told to make sure we didn’t toss anything out of the boat. Another time I witnessed one of the same DMs haul a diver who was taking photos off of some coral by the tank valve after not being able to get their attention. So, these folks take conservation of the marine park very seriously.
We had a lot of great dives. Some of the standouts were Kaprata, Tolo, Andrea 1, Pink Beach and, to quote Allen from Sand Dollar, Bari never disappoints. Speaking of Bari, we usually return to the dock in the sand flats, but decided to return along the top of the reef this year. We saw so much more by coming back this way. At the end of the trip we had finished with 26 dives. @ebb&flow hit her 75th on this trip, leveling with a total of 76 after 2 years of diving!
Listing by what we saw;
1) Turtles were encountered on Bari, Tolo, Knife, Karpata and Invisibles. We saw more turtles on the east side this trip than the last 2 trips combined.
2) Green morays were a bit more rare this year, as pointed out by @arew+4. We saw only 2, but both were out swimming, and one of those swam right through the group on one of the boat dives as we were finishing up. Quite spectacular!
3) We saw 2 Tiger Grouper, one small and the other rather large. Both of those were on Klein. These were the first I’ve ever noticed, and they were not shy at all.
4) Rays were a bit more scarce this year. We only came across one, and that was on Bari. We were returning along the top of the reef when it dropped right in fromt of us in the sand and started scrounging. We came across it a few days later and it decided to pose for photos (to be posted later).
5) Blennies were in no short supply on Tolo. Those are always fun to come across.
6) Creole Wrasse do not travel in schools. They travel in rivers. This is the best way to describe how seemingly hundreds, if not more, zoom by you. We witnessed a couple of what appeared to be mating frenzies. Another diver who came out shortly after us stated that he felt like he needed a shower after that display. We saw lots of Creole Wrasse at most sites, and in large groupings. This was true of Chromies, as well.
7) We saw a large African Pompano chilling at Andrea 1 which was pretty cool.
There were a few fish that seemed in greater abundance this year. We encountered lots of Porcupine and Cow fish, which, according to a DM, was due to the cooler water temps. We recorded 80/81 degrees the first week and 79/80 the second. We also saw many more Sand Divers, Barracuda, Scorpion Fish and, unfortunately, Lion Fish.
Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but the coral seemed more colorful in some areas, mainly Tolo, Pink Beach and Knife. I saw some healthy Brain Coral on a few dives, as well as some decent sized areas of Staghorn Coral. Unfortunately, Windsock was a devastating display of what SCTLD and bleaching can do to a reef. I have never been on a reef that was so desolate. I dived that site in 2018 and it was such a contrast.
Dining-We never eat in as much as we plan to. This year no was different except that we ate out even more than we planned to. The Winners that were hold overs from last year were Yhanni’s Arepas, Pita Madre, Pizza Mare, Tandoor Palace and Between 2 Buns. The new addition to the Winners was Taqueria The Fat Dog, in Isidel Beach Park. He does, however, seem to run out of fish early.
Breeze ‘n Bites has moved off of our list of places to go despite its convenience. There has always been a bit of a problem with consistency, but it seemed worse this year. Bon Tapa was the only new restaurant that didn’t really do much for us. The food was OK, but nothing worth returning for. (I may be wrong, but the “Crispy Mini Fries” that came with my burger seemed like potato sticks that came out of the can). Also, none of our dishes were tapa’s, though they tried to describe them to us as if they were, suggesting that one item would not be enough.
Speaking of Yhanni’s, we ran into the folks from @adiverslife there on one of our visits. It was really nice to meet them.
We have already made plans for returning next year. Again, thanks to @scubadada and @Lorenzoid for talking up Den Laman back when I was doing research for our first trip!
Erik
