Just landed in Bonaire

[TabeaK]

Interesting! Do you find entering south of the pier superior than north of the pier? I think I've done north, just because I tend to be headed southward and park before I reach the pier, so it just 'kind of happened' without thinking much about it. Maybe it's time to think...(when all else fails, of course).

The south entry at Salt is way superior than the north. The north has the typical broken iron shore with a step down. Almost busted my a* getting in that way. And getting out there sucked too as the surf had increased a lot during our dive, I carry a big camera and we were coming out just before sundown, with tons of urchins coming out. Definitely did not want to put your hand on one of them.

The south entry however has a gently sloping beach, no holes, no big boulders, no step down. You gradually walk in and float to put your fins on.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @ReadyTo Dive

Glad you had a good time on Bonaire. What room were you in at Den Laman? The yellow frogfish are still on Bari?

Is Chogogo open or partially open now. any comments? Any idea of what Chogogo does for a dive operator? When we were there at the end of Oct/beginning of Nov, Dive Friends had no idea what they were going to do.

 

[Steelyeyes]

Hi @ReadyTo Dive

Glad you had a good time on Bonaire. What room were you in at Den Laman? The yellow frogfish are still on Bari?

Is Chogogo open or partially open now. any comments? Any idea of what Chogogo does for a dive operator? When we were there at the end of Oct/beginning of Nov, Dive Friends had no idea what they were going to do.

Chogogo is partially open. Last time I went to Bari's about two weeks ago I saw one large, assuming a female, and one small, probably male in close proxiimity. Both were the yellow green color.

I'm still looking for the pink one.

 

[ReadyTo Dive]

Hi @ReadyTo Dive

Glad you had a good time on Bonaire. What room were you in at Den Laman? The yellow frogfish are still on Bari?

Is Chogogo open or partially open now. any comments? Any idea of what Chogogo does for a dive operator? When we were there at the end of Oct/beginning of Nov, Dive Friends had no idea what they were going to do.

Hey @scubadada, we had a great time! I’m thinking about doing a trip report but haven’t yet because I won’t be able to add UW photos because it is all (currently) unprocessed GoPro footage. Alot of A+ action though from our 24 dives and I think I could actually add a bit of useful BON info here that’s others would like to know by doing one so I will if I can get enough time soon; I’m still running on just 2.5 hrs sleep from the last 2 or so days so I’m about to call it a night now.

We stayed in Blue Marlin and rented/used the Ultimate Dive Truck. Coupled with Dive Friends it was an *outstanding* combination. In fact, we’ll only use the UDT going forward and I think we’ll have a very hard time ever doing better overall than Blue Marlin, again just a stellar total experience.

Bari frogfish is still there, allegedly there are 4 but I only found 1 and was lucky to find him (thanks @Soloist for helping with the hunt!). I searched for the pink one 3-4(?) times/dives and never found him, sigh. Yellow and brown seahorses were not too far away as well, a real treat. Sad to be back!

 

[gqllc007]

We landed a little earlier today and I thought I would share our entry experience in the hopes that it might help someone else. These are solely our experiences only, YMMV.

The new protocols were a little stressful/confusing but not difficult. We left DFW (late of course) on AA for MIA and not a single document or test result was asked for to board.

We boarded in MIA and again not a single document (besides our passports) was asked for. Also again, we were late to arrive in BON (thanks AA).

We both have had 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. No booster shots.

Before we left we both took the rapid test from Walgreens approximately 20 hours before our MIA plane to BON departed; we did not want to chance being denied entry because we tested too early (aka using our DFW to MIA flight times).

We uploaded pictures of our vaccine cards and our negative test results to the Bonaire Health Declaration website approximately 16 hours before our MIA to BON plane departed (and filled out the rest of the form too of course) using the same BON departure time-logic.

Once we landed in BON we took our printed tested results, our printed copies of the Bonaire Health Declarations and our Vaccine Cards to the customs official who DILIGENTLY looked over and matched up every single name/detail (again YMMV) and were then granted entry. We picked up our bags and the Ultimate Dive Truck and off we went to Den Laman. Easy peasy.

We’ve only been here a few hours but everything has been A+ so far. Mask wearing seems to be 50/50 even at the Van Den Tweel (the Kip Tukkie smoked chicken guy out front was excellent too FYI).

We’re looking forward to splashing in tomorrow and hope all of your BON entries go as smooth as ours!

I thought you needed a PCR test for bonaire coming from a high risk country like the US...I didn't think ID now was a PCR test?

 

[scubadada]

I thought you needed a PCR test for bonaire coming from a high risk country like the US...I didn't think ID now was a PCR test?

It is a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) as is PCR

 

[Joneill]

I thought you needed a PCR test for bonaire coming from a high risk country like the US...I didn't think ID now was a PCR test?

It is: Clearing Up the Confusion on Types of COVID Testing - Physicians Immediate Care

 

[abernat]

Just returned from two weeks in Bonaire and here are some of my experiences. Of course, things are changing rapidly.

1) We flew Washington National - Miami - Bonaire on American.
2) The website requirements for entering Bonaire are ambiguous but an email from the Bonaire public health department stated that either an antigen test within 24 hours of departure or a PCR test within 48 hours of departure were acceptable for fully vaccinated. No idea if departure means your original departure on the flight to Bonaire but I would use the latter to be safe.
3) You must fill out the Bonaire health form before going to the airport.
4) The counter agent briefly glanced at the above two forms on our phones before checking us in. I doubt he could have even seen whether the test was positive or negative that way. We did not us American's VeriFly app.
5) Upon arrival in Bonaire our forms were checked (paper copies) carefully before we proceeded to passport control.
6) We arranged and paid for PCR tests with Bon Bida Bonaire via the web before departing for Bonaire. They said they would refund the fee if we didn't make it to Bonaire. We also arranged for a nurse to come to our resort rather than having to drive to them (extra fee).
7) On return we used American's VeriFly app and filled it in. They offer a fast turnaround option for $15 which we didn't need. The ticket counter folks were happy with it and we didn't need to show any paper documentation.
8) We arrived at the airport about 2 hours before the flight and the lines were not long.
9) The waiting room has been enlarged and redone since we were last there (2-1/2 years) with an outdoor seating area as well. Shops are about the same. Since there were not multiple airlines all departing there were enough seats.
10) In Miami we went through the regular Global Entry process since our documentation was already in VeriFly. Luggage actually arrived fairly quickly. But the line after dropping off luggage for re-entry through security was really lengthy and they sent us another way which ended up placing us at the far end of departures for terminal D. The only TSA Pre line open was at the opposite end of terminal D (there were 2 security lines along the way but neither has TSA Pre open in typical Miami fashion).

Non-travel comments.
1) This was out first visit during the holiday season (and 16th overall) and we thought Bonaire was very crowded although I'm told it was somewhat less than the former normal. Lots of traffic; rental cars ran out of cars so folks were renting scooters. On our last morning we tried to dive Witches Hut but there was no parking anywhere along the road past Oil Slick Leap. We returned to Oil Slick Leap and were the only divers. When we came out, there were 10 trucks/cars parked. Many shore sites were quite busy.
2) Visibility was not very good with lots of sediment in the water. There's been lots and lots of rain, never have seen Bonaire so green.
3) Loads of construction still going on.
4) One or two cruise ships every day.
5) Most people walking around were not masked.
6) Lots of folks in restaurants.
7) Lots of fish, particularly Sharp Nosed Puffers. Lots of algae although not noticeably worse than 2-1/2 years ago.

 

[tridacna]

@drrich2 I just tried to donate here as a supporter - but the only option was PayPal. I'm no longer on PayPal due to an issue they had - is there any other way to donate ?


Maybe Venmo or something ?

@The Chairman