General Questions for first timer to Bonaire

[Randallr]

I stayed at Bruce Bowker's for a week in July 2011. Lovely place, but small - like a B&B with diving. Rooms vary. I stayed in a second floor waterfront room, which was very large - a one-bedroom apartment, really - with terrace, living room and full kitchen. Also stayed my last night in a small studio that was sort of dark and airless. Carib Inn feels kind of close quarters. There's no food there of any sort, so to eat or drink, you need to stock your refrigerator and pantry, or walk into/drive into town (15 minute walk, 3 minute drive). Attracts lots of repeat customers. When I was there, I was the only solo traveler. Because it's so small, the opportunity to find people to hang with is limited. Dive operations is superb, and Bruce routinely does small fixes and doesn't charge people. The divemasters can seem somewhat taciturn, but they've all been working with Bruce for ages and they absolutely know their stuff. The boatd are very small, so you get to do uncrowned, unhurried dives with a pleasant group of well-led people. One or two divers came over to dive from Divi next door. I highly recommend it, but it is a particular kind of place.

 

[miketsp]

I'm a little concerned about baggage limits. We'll be flying in through Aruba and then Tiara Air to Bonaire. We get a 30kg allowance as far as Aruba but then only 20kg checked in and 6kg hand luggage on the Aruba - Bonaire leg. Since we won't be taking a lot of clothing the weight limits are doable, however I see some really tight size limits on the site.

Baggage Information | Tiara Air Aruba

only 22" x 14" x 10" for the checked bag.

My dive bag is quite a lot bigger than this.

Are they flexible on these limits? Do they charge excess if you're within the weight but above the size?

 

[Seaduced]

Worth taking to heart. On one trip I wore a standard pair of 'scuba booties' and walking geared up on the jagged iron shore at Oil Slick Leap I hurt my foot pretty bad. No penetration of bootie, to laceration or twist of the ankle, just blunt compression trauma. That foot was sore off and on for several weeks.

I switched to SeaSoft Sunrays, and am much happier with them.

Richard.

Yeah the hard soles are a good idea, but I really love my big ol' Cressi paddles. I use the insoles all of the time these days. I'm a pretty big guy (6'2"), I think my weight exacerbated the problem. My buck-nothin'-soaking-wet wife doesn't have any problem.

 

[greyfin]

I agree with the glasses advice, I had a pair of plastic single vision that went on every dive, along with $20 and my original c-card for id. I also remembered advice someone on here gave, and filled a couple of gallon bags with water and left them in the bed of the truck. After a dive, they made a nice warm water rinse for hair, head and the glasses. Also, we took our drysuit boots and neoprene socks. Awesome for shore dives and for going up those 1000 Steps.

 

[drrich2]

If nobody's mentioned it yet, get serious with sunscreen. You're not at the equator, but close enough that tropical sun can bake you fast. This includes the back of your neck, your ears, any bald or thin spot you may have, etc...

But have some care. On one trip, I used some in a blue aerosol spray can, and when I sweat, it got in my left eye. I'm badly nearsighted in my right eye, so I rely on my left for distance vision. Well, my distance vision got soft focus and, this is hard to explain, some of the colors I'd see weren't right. Been awhile, but I probably had issues 2 or 3 days.

Richard.

 

[diversteve]

Yes, that's probably the best solution. I have an older pair with titanium frames and a hard plastic case in which I'll drill some drain holes so it fills and empties quickly.

Can you get these locally? Witz "Lens-Locker" Dry Case

 

[miketsp]

Can you get these locally? Witz "Lens-Locker" Dry Case

No, maybe I can buy something in Bonaire.

 

[phelana]

If you need something specialty wise, buy it in the US. Bruce Bowker's dive shop is my go to place for dive stuff. Also for my clients.

 

[MeraSonnet]

If nobody's mentioned it yet, get serious with sunscreen. You're not at the equator, but close enough that tropical sun can bake you fast. This includes the back of your neck, your ears, any bald or thin spot you may have, etc...

But have some care. On one trip, I used some in a blue aerosol spray can, and when I sweat, it got in my left eye. I'm badly nearsighted in my right eye, so I rely on my left for distance vision. Well, my distance vision got soft focus and, this is hard to explain, some of the colors I'd see weren't right. Been awhile, but I probably had issues 2 or 3 days.

Richard.

Richard, have you found a waterproof sport sunscreen that works well for you when diving in salt water? I have not found the right one yet... my eyes get very sensitive to sunscreen once my face gets wet. No matter how much I try to keep it away from my eyes, and wash it off my hands before messing with my dive mask, I often get burning in my eyes once underwater with the mask on. At one point I wondered if I might have a sensitivity to de-fog, but it has happened sometime while just swimming in the ocean without a mask. Do not seem to have such a problem in fresh water with sunscreen playing on the lakes here around Atlanta.

 

[Insta-Gator]

We used some reef/environmentally safe sun screen when we were in MX last June. I'll see if I can find it and tell you what it is. It worked pretty good, but I'm not terribly sensitive to such things or to sunburn.

Edit: Sweetie informs me that we gave it to someone who was staying another week. Sorry.