pa diver
Contributor
Saturday, 10/24
Arrived early in the morning on the redeye from Houston. Picked up our truck that was arranged through Golden Reef Inn. Liz & Ed had everything ready for us so we grabbed a nap. Went to WannaDive for our check out dive later in the day. I had sinus problems below 15, wildly unhappy. Saw lots of broken coral from the hurricane Hoping that things go better the rest of the week, as I will become miserable pain in the ass if I cant dive.
Off to City Café and 2-for-1 happy hour. Had drinks and peanuts and went back to the room for sandwiches and early to bed.
Sunday, 10/25
Diving at Andrea II. No problems descending this time.
Bari Reef at Den Layman was our second dive.
Nice to have two dives in after the worry of our first day. Also had to be sure we finished by 1:00 so we could go to Lees Sports bar to watch the Steeler game. Lee put the game on one of the televisions and set up our own area to watch the game. Lee was a great host, and is a huge Elvis fan (rumored to open the place at 7:35, when Elvis was born). A good time was made even better in that the Steelers won Steelers 27, Vikings 17, hell with Favre. I would recommend this place for any sports .they even had nascar, if thats your flavor.
Dinner at Bobby Jans steak & ribs. Steak had good flavor and so did the ribs, but the ribs were tough and didnt have much meat. Ill have to admit that were picky about ribs though. We can get such great baby back ribs here and we smoke them ourselves, so we expect a lot when it comes to restaurant ribs. Had coconut ice cream from Lovers Ice Cream for dessert.
Monday, 10/25
Spent the day with a guide, Bas Noire from Blue Divers? We did two daytime dives on unmarked sites and a UV lighted night dive.
First dive was at Soft Coral Gardens, an unmarked southern dive and as the name implies, an unbelievable amount of soft coral.
Had lunch at one of the places near Jibe City, beach bar type of place, looked a little touristy but the food was ok.
Second dive Taylor Maid. Quite a drive to get to there on rough roads and it is north of the oil tanks, but worth it. Very large coral formations and the dive lends itself well to seeing a few of the larger critters. It was a nice drive back from the site on way to Rincon. Lake Gotomeer is worth a look with all of the pink flamingos and I kept wondering if there was anything worth seeing underwater as it looked so clear. It was heavily posted. Past the two wells that serve as a watering hole during especially dry periods. Saw a few wild pigs in the woods.
UV Night dive at the Cliff- The UV light was interesting. Certain coral and critters that contained the right properties really lit up. Had flashback to blacklights and high school posters .or the day-glow colors that showed up in college concerts. Little fire worms glowed florescent orange and the anemone were really easy to find. Well worth a look .All in all Bas is an interesting guy, full of local knowledge (and some offbeat non-local knowledge/stories) and a good guide. The only advice I would offer would be to check to see if there are other people scheduled at the same time. There was another couple that came along with us and they were both very nice, and very capable divers etc . they just dove at a faster pace than us. We are admittedly slow and I think it was a little difficult with divers of varying speeds.
Pretty late by the time we finished our dive and cleaned up, so off to China Nobo for takeout. Ordered curry beef and chow mein, but got lo mein and were overcharged (by about a buck, too tired to argue). The food was great though, and enough for two meals each.
Tuesday, 10/26
Someplace Special. Always a nice dive the easy entry is a bonus.
Wanna Dive Front Porch / Eden Beach for our second dive today. We met Marco a single diver from the board who needed a buddy, so he joined us. I wanted to see the site at depth since I was unable to on our first day. The site was pounded by the 2008 hurricane. There was a lot of broken coral, not a pretty dive but an interesting dive in its own right. Different little critters have taken up residence. A couple of small wrecks are also available to explore ( Our Confidence and a smaller sailboat?)
Dinner at Mona Lisa, bar menu. We had Wahoo with garlic sauce and chicken with mushroom sauce. Had a side of scalloped potatoes that was more than enough for both of us. I recommend this place highly, bar menu changes nightly and is between $15-20, very, very good.
Wednesday, 10/27
Another mid-morning start, this time toward the south end of the island. We started with the Hilma Hooker as this is a deeper dive. Was neat to dive it, but the viz was not great. We saw plenty of garden eels poking their heads out of the sandy bottom, and the usual reef fish with some fairly large purple sponges thrown in.
Margate Bay was our second dive. Nice coral and lots of it, including sea fans and gorgonians that were substantial. Visibility was so-so. We saw an untagged turtle that decided to follow us along for awhile. Parked closer to the road and had to wade through a small area to get to the beach, entry was pretty easy.
We stopped at the WannaDive private beach area to watch the sunset. Its a really nice setup, and surprised that there werent more people there. Thought about doing our night dive there, but hadnt dived there before so decided to go to Den Lamen dock instead (Bari Reef). Always a nice night dive, was saw a few spotted morays hunting and a couple of squid the tarpon made them very nervous and you got the feeling they knew being in the spotlight was a bad idea.
Dinner at Casablanca. Had the mixed grill, which was absolutely HUGE, and again we brought a lot back to the room for the next day. It included two of everything short ribs, spare ribs, pork chop, sirloin, ½ chick, and chorizo. $20 pp too much food
Thursday, 10/28
We decided to go out early for a dawn dive, although we were just a little late. Ive always liked Something Special so thats where we went for my 100th dive. Saw a local fisherman run his boat in about 4 of water and then throw his anchor (huge chunk of dead coral) onto the reef at about 55. We swam right past his anchor line but saw no evidence of fishing? Had a great dive. A turtle approached us and we stopped moving, so it came closer and closer until finally it was a foot or so from my mask. Saw a lone fish in the 4-5 foot range that was not a barracuda although shaped somewhat similarly turned out to be a Wahoo. Maybe its the one I ate later that night.
Met up with Marco and Pat (Marcos neighbor) later in the morning and went to the Wannadive private beach at, Windsock. We were told a couple of seahorses had been hanging around We found one then saw a nice eagle ray and a couple of squid (amazing how curious they are when tarpon arent cruising around)
Next dive, Alice in Wonderland. Saw a nice sharptail eel and his hunting companions in the shallows that we followed for a long time. Intended to go to the shallower end of the second reef (northern), but there was a strong crosscurrent, and since it was our third dive, we decided to stay along the first reef and relax. Such a pretty dive.
We went to the Wannadive hut for rum punch, then on to Wills for dinner. The following is a blatent advertisement for Will's. We wanted to try the tasting menu. You need to make reservations a day or two in advance as the chef will prepare the menu based upon what is available fresh that day. We met Marco, Pat and his wife Della for a nice full table. The food was amazing. The first course, seared wahoo encrusted with pastrami spices, lettuce and whipped cream with picadilly (mustard, sauerkraut, beer, etc.). Second course tuna three ways raw with ginger, wasabi and soy, then tuna tartar served with a vodka and ginger liquer, and then ceviche with a creamy garlic sauce. Third course 2 soups - roasted red pepper and crab with a spoonful of a mascarpone/crab mix and green onions/basil garnish. Second soup was a shrimp coconut bisque. Shrimp, fresh coconut and coconut milk, ginger, small amount of peanuts, and curry. It was very red, so maybe it was red curry or there was something else that gave it the color. Regardless, it was fantastic. Next course med-rare tuna with teriyaki sauce and barracuda with a somewhat sweet sauce. Dessert fresh baked chocolate chip cookie baked in a small dish, vanilla ice cream, kahlua whipped cream, and a chocolate coated spoon. Yes, the meal was memorable. This is not an inexpensive meal but worth having once on vacation. Their regular menu is reasonable and very impressive If I remember correctly, I believe Will was the chef at the Waldorf Astoria (Will, feel free to correct me if I am wrong or did a disservice to one of your dishes with my pedestrian description).
Friday, 10/30
Last day, so no diving, bummer. We took a drive north of Karpata, and along Laguna Goto (also called Lake Gotomeer). Had lunch at Rose Inn in Rincon. Iguana soup, beef stew, and fish, all with rice & beans and polenta made with coconut milk. Wondered if there were two menus, one for tourists and one for locals because there were no prices shown anywhere. Drove to the park (Washington Slagbaar National Park). Was late in the day, so too late to tour the park. Went through the little museum, history about the island and a timeline that corresponded to other world events, archeology, wildlife info, etc. Then started back, passing through Boka Onima and went to see some of the Indian writings then to the costal area with all of the windmills. Saw plenty of goats and donkeys. Most of the goats and donkeys were shy, but near the end of the road, two donkeys came up to the car for some bread and an orange. Came home and stopped by Black Durgeon to see Marco, Pat, and Della, then off to Wills for some more soup. Back to the hotel to pack to be at the airport by 5:00 a.m.
Summary the island is still great. Just hope they dont get overrun by pod people. Water temp 82-84, couple of evening showers. Golden Reef Inn very good provided you dont need waterfront. Still have never done a boat dive, maybe next time. Exchange US dollars for Guilders, do you really want to think about conversions while on vacation not me. Buy a couple of big soda bottles to keep in the truck, they get nice and warm for post dive rinse. Reuse water bottles daily, fill and freeze each night. Take advantage of happy hours. Bring a couple of extra large garbage bags (leaf/lawn bags) put on seat to keep it dry that way your butt is dry while going to dinner and you can pack anything wet or really smelly in it. DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING IN THE CAR THAT YOU WOULD NOT MISS AND KEEP WINDOWS DOWN (must admit, I felt slighted when I left a couple of tee shirts, cheap sunglasses and a hat in the truck and nothing was touched). Pay departure tax when you arrive.
Arrived early in the morning on the redeye from Houston. Picked up our truck that was arranged through Golden Reef Inn. Liz & Ed had everything ready for us so we grabbed a nap. Went to WannaDive for our check out dive later in the day. I had sinus problems below 15, wildly unhappy. Saw lots of broken coral from the hurricane Hoping that things go better the rest of the week, as I will become miserable pain in the ass if I cant dive.
Off to City Café and 2-for-1 happy hour. Had drinks and peanuts and went back to the room for sandwiches and early to bed.
Sunday, 10/25
Diving at Andrea II. No problems descending this time.
Bari Reef at Den Layman was our second dive.
Nice to have two dives in after the worry of our first day. Also had to be sure we finished by 1:00 so we could go to Lees Sports bar to watch the Steeler game. Lee put the game on one of the televisions and set up our own area to watch the game. Lee was a great host, and is a huge Elvis fan (rumored to open the place at 7:35, when Elvis was born). A good time was made even better in that the Steelers won Steelers 27, Vikings 17, hell with Favre. I would recommend this place for any sports .they even had nascar, if thats your flavor.
Dinner at Bobby Jans steak & ribs. Steak had good flavor and so did the ribs, but the ribs were tough and didnt have much meat. Ill have to admit that were picky about ribs though. We can get such great baby back ribs here and we smoke them ourselves, so we expect a lot when it comes to restaurant ribs. Had coconut ice cream from Lovers Ice Cream for dessert.
Monday, 10/25
Spent the day with a guide, Bas Noire from Blue Divers? We did two daytime dives on unmarked sites and a UV lighted night dive.
First dive was at Soft Coral Gardens, an unmarked southern dive and as the name implies, an unbelievable amount of soft coral.
Had lunch at one of the places near Jibe City, beach bar type of place, looked a little touristy but the food was ok.
Second dive Taylor Maid. Quite a drive to get to there on rough roads and it is north of the oil tanks, but worth it. Very large coral formations and the dive lends itself well to seeing a few of the larger critters. It was a nice drive back from the site on way to Rincon. Lake Gotomeer is worth a look with all of the pink flamingos and I kept wondering if there was anything worth seeing underwater as it looked so clear. It was heavily posted. Past the two wells that serve as a watering hole during especially dry periods. Saw a few wild pigs in the woods.
UV Night dive at the Cliff- The UV light was interesting. Certain coral and critters that contained the right properties really lit up. Had flashback to blacklights and high school posters .or the day-glow colors that showed up in college concerts. Little fire worms glowed florescent orange and the anemone were really easy to find. Well worth a look .All in all Bas is an interesting guy, full of local knowledge (and some offbeat non-local knowledge/stories) and a good guide. The only advice I would offer would be to check to see if there are other people scheduled at the same time. There was another couple that came along with us and they were both very nice, and very capable divers etc . they just dove at a faster pace than us. We are admittedly slow and I think it was a little difficult with divers of varying speeds.
Pretty late by the time we finished our dive and cleaned up, so off to China Nobo for takeout. Ordered curry beef and chow mein, but got lo mein and were overcharged (by about a buck, too tired to argue). The food was great though, and enough for two meals each.
Tuesday, 10/26
Someplace Special. Always a nice dive the easy entry is a bonus.
Wanna Dive Front Porch / Eden Beach for our second dive today. We met Marco a single diver from the board who needed a buddy, so he joined us. I wanted to see the site at depth since I was unable to on our first day. The site was pounded by the 2008 hurricane. There was a lot of broken coral, not a pretty dive but an interesting dive in its own right. Different little critters have taken up residence. A couple of small wrecks are also available to explore ( Our Confidence and a smaller sailboat?)
Dinner at Mona Lisa, bar menu. We had Wahoo with garlic sauce and chicken with mushroom sauce. Had a side of scalloped potatoes that was more than enough for both of us. I recommend this place highly, bar menu changes nightly and is between $15-20, very, very good.
Wednesday, 10/27
Another mid-morning start, this time toward the south end of the island. We started with the Hilma Hooker as this is a deeper dive. Was neat to dive it, but the viz was not great. We saw plenty of garden eels poking their heads out of the sandy bottom, and the usual reef fish with some fairly large purple sponges thrown in.
Margate Bay was our second dive. Nice coral and lots of it, including sea fans and gorgonians that were substantial. Visibility was so-so. We saw an untagged turtle that decided to follow us along for awhile. Parked closer to the road and had to wade through a small area to get to the beach, entry was pretty easy.
We stopped at the WannaDive private beach area to watch the sunset. Its a really nice setup, and surprised that there werent more people there. Thought about doing our night dive there, but hadnt dived there before so decided to go to Den Lamen dock instead (Bari Reef). Always a nice night dive, was saw a few spotted morays hunting and a couple of squid the tarpon made them very nervous and you got the feeling they knew being in the spotlight was a bad idea.
Dinner at Casablanca. Had the mixed grill, which was absolutely HUGE, and again we brought a lot back to the room for the next day. It included two of everything short ribs, spare ribs, pork chop, sirloin, ½ chick, and chorizo. $20 pp too much food
Thursday, 10/28
We decided to go out early for a dawn dive, although we were just a little late. Ive always liked Something Special so thats where we went for my 100th dive. Saw a local fisherman run his boat in about 4 of water and then throw his anchor (huge chunk of dead coral) onto the reef at about 55. We swam right past his anchor line but saw no evidence of fishing? Had a great dive. A turtle approached us and we stopped moving, so it came closer and closer until finally it was a foot or so from my mask. Saw a lone fish in the 4-5 foot range that was not a barracuda although shaped somewhat similarly turned out to be a Wahoo. Maybe its the one I ate later that night.
Met up with Marco and Pat (Marcos neighbor) later in the morning and went to the Wannadive private beach at, Windsock. We were told a couple of seahorses had been hanging around We found one then saw a nice eagle ray and a couple of squid (amazing how curious they are when tarpon arent cruising around)
Next dive, Alice in Wonderland. Saw a nice sharptail eel and his hunting companions in the shallows that we followed for a long time. Intended to go to the shallower end of the second reef (northern), but there was a strong crosscurrent, and since it was our third dive, we decided to stay along the first reef and relax. Such a pretty dive.
We went to the Wannadive hut for rum punch, then on to Wills for dinner. The following is a blatent advertisement for Will's. We wanted to try the tasting menu. You need to make reservations a day or two in advance as the chef will prepare the menu based upon what is available fresh that day. We met Marco, Pat and his wife Della for a nice full table. The food was amazing. The first course, seared wahoo encrusted with pastrami spices, lettuce and whipped cream with picadilly (mustard, sauerkraut, beer, etc.). Second course tuna three ways raw with ginger, wasabi and soy, then tuna tartar served with a vodka and ginger liquer, and then ceviche with a creamy garlic sauce. Third course 2 soups - roasted red pepper and crab with a spoonful of a mascarpone/crab mix and green onions/basil garnish. Second soup was a shrimp coconut bisque. Shrimp, fresh coconut and coconut milk, ginger, small amount of peanuts, and curry. It was very red, so maybe it was red curry or there was something else that gave it the color. Regardless, it was fantastic. Next course med-rare tuna with teriyaki sauce and barracuda with a somewhat sweet sauce. Dessert fresh baked chocolate chip cookie baked in a small dish, vanilla ice cream, kahlua whipped cream, and a chocolate coated spoon. Yes, the meal was memorable. This is not an inexpensive meal but worth having once on vacation. Their regular menu is reasonable and very impressive If I remember correctly, I believe Will was the chef at the Waldorf Astoria (Will, feel free to correct me if I am wrong or did a disservice to one of your dishes with my pedestrian description).
Friday, 10/30
Last day, so no diving, bummer. We took a drive north of Karpata, and along Laguna Goto (also called Lake Gotomeer). Had lunch at Rose Inn in Rincon. Iguana soup, beef stew, and fish, all with rice & beans and polenta made with coconut milk. Wondered if there were two menus, one for tourists and one for locals because there were no prices shown anywhere. Drove to the park (Washington Slagbaar National Park). Was late in the day, so too late to tour the park. Went through the little museum, history about the island and a timeline that corresponded to other world events, archeology, wildlife info, etc. Then started back, passing through Boka Onima and went to see some of the Indian writings then to the costal area with all of the windmills. Saw plenty of goats and donkeys. Most of the goats and donkeys were shy, but near the end of the road, two donkeys came up to the car for some bread and an orange. Came home and stopped by Black Durgeon to see Marco, Pat, and Della, then off to Wills for some more soup. Back to the hotel to pack to be at the airport by 5:00 a.m.
Summary the island is still great. Just hope they dont get overrun by pod people. Water temp 82-84, couple of evening showers. Golden Reef Inn very good provided you dont need waterfront. Still have never done a boat dive, maybe next time. Exchange US dollars for Guilders, do you really want to think about conversions while on vacation not me. Buy a couple of big soda bottles to keep in the truck, they get nice and warm for post dive rinse. Reuse water bottles daily, fill and freeze each night. Take advantage of happy hours. Bring a couple of extra large garbage bags (leaf/lawn bags) put on seat to keep it dry that way your butt is dry while going to dinner and you can pack anything wet or really smelly in it. DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING IN THE CAR THAT YOU WOULD NOT MISS AND KEEP WINDOWS DOWN (must admit, I felt slighted when I left a couple of tee shirts, cheap sunglasses and a hat in the truck and nothing was touched). Pay departure tax when you arrive.
