scubamickey
I'm a GIRL!
We just returned yesterday morning from our 2 week vacay to Bonaire. Stayed at Den Laman and loved it. I got to meet Divemaven and her hubby and dived with them. Great to put a face to the avatar.
It was a great trip. Right up until the last dive of the last day when I had a scuba tank fall on my foot. Excruciating pain. Tore the nail of the big toe clean off, right down to below the cuticle. :depressed:. So off to the ER we went with me and my smashed toe. I got in right away and everyone was very nice and sympathetic. Cleaned it off, x-rayed, and bandage all in less than 90 minutes and a grand total of $250. I couldn't believe how cheap and fast they were.
My favorite dives were the ones in the North and in the park. Although the Hilma Hooker, The Rock, and Alice in Wonderland were running a close 2nd.
We dived 1000 steps about 3 times just to prove that it's not that bad of a climb. Plus the reef there is stunning with all that plate coral. Got video of a big bait ball trying to evade a couple of hungry fish.
Easiest entries-in this order: Oil Slick Leap (jumping off the little cliff), Slaagbai, Andrea I, and 1000 steps.
Hilma Hooker is a nice wreck (albeit very small) but I hated the sea urchins that were lining the entry into the water. Otherwise it's an easy dive.
Frogfish perched on an orange sponge at Windsock was very cute. Unfortunately it was harassed and possibly injured by some very bad divers and DM from Capt Don's. We captured it on video (the bad divers and DM--the frogfish too) and will probably post it on Youtube for all to see. It was very upsetting to see so many (about 12) poor divers (horrible buoyancy and trim) fighting for a chance to see this poor little guy. The DM was encouraging this destructive activity. What is so hard about hovering in a horizontal position, feet bent up, and not touching and smacking the coral?
All the dive sites were great and easy diving. So I'm really splitting hairs when I list the easy entries.
Our truck was rented from Poppy at Telerin and had barely 2000 miles on it. No problems at all.
I was concerned about the theft stories but after the first day we stopped worrying and pretended we were back at home. Left the windows open because it helped keep the interior cooler. Left hats, towels, cover ups, sandals, and a small Pelican case with lots of tools (our save a dive kit) in the back seat. Nothing was stolen nor was it disturbed. No sign of suspicious locals either. Sure, I wouldn't leave the stuff that I normally leave in my truck (here at home) but otherwise I felt pretty secure leaving these select items. I never assume that other locations are as same as my hometown.
The condo was wonderful and spacious-we had a 1 bedroom ocean view. Amina, the front desk manager is a sweetheart and made us feel like we were staying at a B&B. Everyday asked if we needed anything and always greeted us with a smile and a wave. Stainless steel appliances, and daily housekeeping that was very thorough. Always came home to fully swept unit including the balcony. No sand in sight and she managed to get rid of the smells from the cooking we did the night before
. I think Den Laman might be a little more pricey than other places but I would never stay anywhere else. We had friends staying next door at Sand Dollar and visited them. Nice units (they also were in a 1 bedroom) but not as large and the decor there was loud. Appliances and furniture were very tired looking. But their balcony was screened.
We used Bonaire Dive and Adventure for our tanks. They need to do a better job of checking the o-rings on the tanks as well as replacing valves. Had to swap out tanks on a couple of occasions. We went on 1 boat dive with them to Klein Bonaire. Totally under impressed. The dive boat is basically a skiff where you set up your tanks in the floor and hope nothing falls on your foot. They insist on calling you by your "number" and scolded a diver for writing his name on his tank instead of his assigned number. The female DM, Peggy, was rude and condescending. Too much time spent as a special ed teacher I think. Treats everyone like they are children. Not tips were left. By contrast, the dive shop support staff in the office made me feel at home. A bunch of lovely women.
Although, after what I saw come off the boat from Capt Don's--I suspect that this level of poor Dive mastering might be the norm. The one male DM from our shop even ran out of air on one dive that our friends were on and had to ask our friend to share air.
The irony is that the GUE training shop is literally 30 feet from their dive shop.
If you go to Bonaire don't bother with the boat dives. The sites are all a short swim from shore and there's no reason to take a boat. We always had 1hr or longer dives even on the longer swims. We never surface swam either.
I'll add a picture of my toe just because the injury is so spectacular that I have to show it off. They had to cut off my 5mm Goldcore wetsuit because of the injury and swelling. Good thing that I'm insured with DEPP. That puppy is a few hundred dollars--or was.
It was a great trip. Right up until the last dive of the last day when I had a scuba tank fall on my foot. Excruciating pain. Tore the nail of the big toe clean off, right down to below the cuticle. :depressed:. So off to the ER we went with me and my smashed toe. I got in right away and everyone was very nice and sympathetic. Cleaned it off, x-rayed, and bandage all in less than 90 minutes and a grand total of $250. I couldn't believe how cheap and fast they were.
My favorite dives were the ones in the North and in the park. Although the Hilma Hooker, The Rock, and Alice in Wonderland were running a close 2nd.
We dived 1000 steps about 3 times just to prove that it's not that bad of a climb. Plus the reef there is stunning with all that plate coral. Got video of a big bait ball trying to evade a couple of hungry fish.
Easiest entries-in this order: Oil Slick Leap (jumping off the little cliff), Slaagbai, Andrea I, and 1000 steps.
Hilma Hooker is a nice wreck (albeit very small) but I hated the sea urchins that were lining the entry into the water. Otherwise it's an easy dive.
Frogfish perched on an orange sponge at Windsock was very cute. Unfortunately it was harassed and possibly injured by some very bad divers and DM from Capt Don's. We captured it on video (the bad divers and DM--the frogfish too) and will probably post it on Youtube for all to see. It was very upsetting to see so many (about 12) poor divers (horrible buoyancy and trim) fighting for a chance to see this poor little guy. The DM was encouraging this destructive activity. What is so hard about hovering in a horizontal position, feet bent up, and not touching and smacking the coral?
All the dive sites were great and easy diving. So I'm really splitting hairs when I list the easy entries.
Our truck was rented from Poppy at Telerin and had barely 2000 miles on it. No problems at all.
I was concerned about the theft stories but after the first day we stopped worrying and pretended we were back at home. Left the windows open because it helped keep the interior cooler. Left hats, towels, cover ups, sandals, and a small Pelican case with lots of tools (our save a dive kit) in the back seat. Nothing was stolen nor was it disturbed. No sign of suspicious locals either. Sure, I wouldn't leave the stuff that I normally leave in my truck (here at home) but otherwise I felt pretty secure leaving these select items. I never assume that other locations are as same as my hometown.
The condo was wonderful and spacious-we had a 1 bedroom ocean view. Amina, the front desk manager is a sweetheart and made us feel like we were staying at a B&B. Everyday asked if we needed anything and always greeted us with a smile and a wave. Stainless steel appliances, and daily housekeeping that was very thorough. Always came home to fully swept unit including the balcony. No sand in sight and she managed to get rid of the smells from the cooking we did the night before
. I think Den Laman might be a little more pricey than other places but I would never stay anywhere else. We had friends staying next door at Sand Dollar and visited them. Nice units (they also were in a 1 bedroom) but not as large and the decor there was loud. Appliances and furniture were very tired looking. But their balcony was screened.We used Bonaire Dive and Adventure for our tanks. They need to do a better job of checking the o-rings on the tanks as well as replacing valves. Had to swap out tanks on a couple of occasions. We went on 1 boat dive with them to Klein Bonaire. Totally under impressed. The dive boat is basically a skiff where you set up your tanks in the floor and hope nothing falls on your foot. They insist on calling you by your "number" and scolded a diver for writing his name on his tank instead of his assigned number. The female DM, Peggy, was rude and condescending. Too much time spent as a special ed teacher I think. Treats everyone like they are children. Not tips were left. By contrast, the dive shop support staff in the office made me feel at home. A bunch of lovely women.
Although, after what I saw come off the boat from Capt Don's--I suspect that this level of poor Dive mastering might be the norm. The one male DM from our shop even ran out of air on one dive that our friends were on and had to ask our friend to share air.
The irony is that the GUE training shop is literally 30 feet from their dive shop.
If you go to Bonaire don't bother with the boat dives. The sites are all a short swim from shore and there's no reason to take a boat. We always had 1hr or longer dives even on the longer swims. We never surface swam either.
I'll add a picture of my toe just because the injury is so spectacular that I have to show it off. They had to cut off my 5mm Goldcore wetsuit because of the injury and swelling. Good thing that I'm insured with DEPP. That puppy is a few hundred dollars--or was.
