Our Bonaire Travelogue

[Dave & Leslie]

Two Thumps and Two doors…… Days 1 & 2
“Splash me, “I said.

Leslie (Double L) looked at me. She said “What?”

“Splash me,” I said again.

That was the first time I had used that phrase with her. We were sitting in lounge chairs on the concrete boardwalk at the Sanddollar condominiums watching the sunset. The huge orange ball had not yet slipped below the horizon, but we didn’t care. We could sit here all night. To us, it was just fine if it took forever.

Lying between us on the concrete floor was a pitcher of rum punch. I had slaved over a blender to make it just for this occasion. I planned on doing that for the next 13 sunsets. It had become a tradition with Double L and me to take in the sunset with some form of alcoholic elixir. It was a tradition we took very seriously. A tradition we tried dearly to uphold.

Sitting beside the pitcher of rum punch was a bucket of ice. Les was sitting sideways on her lounger about to refill her glass with ice and rum punch when she had asked if I wanted a refill.

Of course I did and that’s when I said “Splash me.”

Billy Bob Thornton had used the phrase on the Amazon Prime hit series Goliath. When a bartender had asked him if he wanted a refill, he responded “Splash me.” Les watched the series with me, so she should know what the phrase meant.

“So, you want a refill?” She asked.

I smiled. That’s my girl! “Yes, splash me.”

Double L leaned over, filled my glass with ice, and then topped it off with rum punch. How could I have ever gotten so lucky? We clinked our glasses, then settled back and took in a glorious sunset.

Our arrival on Bonaire yesterday was signaled by a thump thump at Flamingo International Airport as the Boeing 757 – known in the Delta scheduling system as Flight 380 -- touched down, leaving a bit of scorched rubber on the concrete runway as its own personal arrival signature.

The ground crew rolled two sets of stairs to the plane, one in the front and one in the back, the doors were opened, and the magnificent Bonaire breeze flooded the plane. The stale winter air of North America was expelled, and regardless of the trials, tribulations, and tortures of a four hour flight, all the passengers seemed to be wearing smiles. It was like Ralphie on Christmas morning: All was right with the world.

We breezed through a dive orientation at Dive Friends. It really doesn’t get any easier than how they do it. Easy peasy doesn’t do it justice. We’re sold on that organization.

We dove Bari Reef twice – once south and once north. Great dives. It was good to get back in the swing of things. I had the temperature pegged at 78-80 degrees, and visibility is the standard 60-80 feet. Fish live galore. Big sightings for us today were an octopus, tarpon, three crinoids, cubera snapper, and way too many other divers.

Tomorrow we plan to do Margate Bay, Torrie’s Reef, and probably Barri Reef again.

As I write this, I’m munching on my last piece of a sausage pizza from Pasa Bon Pizza. We ordered at the bar, and while our food cooked, we sipped Brights and chatted with Joe. The place was busy, but everything worked out. Can’t beat a good pizza after diving. Just ask my brother Tim.

Well, Double L just handed me a Bright and asked if I’d like some Gouda cheese and crackers. I answered that I did, but I have no earthly idea how I’ll manage to eat anything additional.

But then I thought, what does that matter?

Bring it on!

Dive on Friends.

Dave & Leslie.

 

[Dave & Leslie]

Just let the Bonaire Wind and Sun Do It . . . . . Day 5

“Well, that sucks,” Leslie (Double L) said. She was standing on the other side of the truck from me.

We were at Tori’s Reef with our tanks laying on the tailgate, rigged and ready to go. I was planning the adventure of donning my three layers of wetsuit to coincide with Leslie being suited up.

“What?” I asked.

“I forgot a towel to dry off with,” Double L said, as she peered at me from behind one of the rear doors. Her shoulders were slumped and she was slowly shaking her head.

Obviously, not thinking this through thoroughly enough and not seeing the significance of the perceived problem, I simply shrugged. After all, I never bring a towel to dry off with.

“How am I supposed to dry off after the dive?” She asked.

“Well,” I said, carefully, “I just shake my head out a bit, then let the Bonaire wind and sun do the rest.

Her hazel eyes pierced my first layer of neoprene as she took a breath, then in a low, controlled voice, said “But that’s not how I do it.” She then went about getting her wetsuit on. I knew from that moment forward, all of her thoughts would be on how she was going to work around this problem. No towel. This proverbial fly in the ointment. Her ointment.

All of us have our personal way of gearing up for a dive and tearing down afterwards. We all have our likes, dislikes, processes, and, to a certain extent, quirks. There’s things you do first; things you do last. I’m sure each of us have specific places in our trucks for certain pieces of dive gear.

Well, Double L’s procedure at a dive site would rival any procedure NASA ever developed for a space shuttle launch. She is very precise with what she does and how she does it. It involves multiple towels, rocks to hold the towels in place, anti-crinkle hair spray, multiple layers of chapstick, a hair pick, towels to wrap her mask and camera in, and an entire checklist of the order her gear goes on and off.

It’s actually quite impressive to watch. And believe me, she comes by this honestly. She’s an accountant by profession and very detailed by nature. Her days are spent full of regulations, spreadsheets, and processes. It’s who she is and everything she does serves her well. 750+ dives on Bonaire must say something.

The dive on Tori’s Reef was magnificent. We encountered a huge green moray eel swimming through the coral. He’d stop some distance in front of us, then when we got close, he’d swim away again. This went on for about the first half of the dive. We also saw a small green turtle. He was near the mooring buoy when we dropped below the surface and was there as we came back.

The water temperature is consistently between 78 and 80 degrees, with more 78 degree readings than 80. Being that I’m getting older, and that I’m probably somewhat acclimating to the Bonaire waters, I’ve been experiencing some coldness. I bought a lava core long sleeve top to wear under the vest that I wear under my wetsuit. Three layers. That seems to do the trick, as far as the warmth is concerned, but it sure adds to the dive prep time.

We stopped yesterday for lunch at the King Kong Burger truck parked at Bachelor’s Beach. Mighty fine burgers and fries. If you need to quench a desire for a good burger and fries, I recommend giving them a chance. Quick, convenient, and reasonably priced. Plus, you can eat at one of the tables looking out at the ocean. Great lunchtime view.

As always the weather is great, the ocean is blue, and the diving is fantastic.

After we finished our dive, left Tori’s Reef, and were sitting at Bachelor’s Beach enjoying our burgers, I asked Les how she dried off.

She munched on a french fry, swallowed, and said, “I did what the smart people do.”

“Really?” I asked. “What’s that?”

“I let the wind and sun dry it for me.”

She smiled. I smiled.

Dive on Friends.

Dave & Leslie.

 

[Dave & Leslie]

All That’s Down There Is A Whole Lot of Nothin’ . . . . . Day 6

I don’t know the name of the road. Actually, I don’t really care what it’s called. It’s the one-way that runs from the north of the business district, south through town, along the ocean.

It goes past It Rains Fishes, Karels, and The Town Pier. Fairly regularly, drivers will stop to pick up passengers, drop off passengers, or even carry on conversations with pedestrians. It’s a narrow strip of pavement with houses, apartments, and businesses on one side and the ocean on the other. It’s possibly the most congested, excruciatingly slow mile of blacktop I ever drive on.

God, we love that road.

We travel it as often as possible. Whenever we’re going from Sanddollar to a southern dive site, we use that road. The boats moored gently on their buoys; the sights and sounds of the people; the smell of the restaurants; the sandpipers perched on the wooden pylons ;the dempels; kids jumping off the piers into the water. It’s a potpourri for the senses.

Unless….. Cruisers.

“Oh no, Cruisers,” Leslie (Double l) said as we turned onto the road from the northern most entry point.

There were two cruise ships parked neatly at the main pier. They looked big to me, but my experience with cruise ships is extremely limited. I’ve never been on one and the only ones I’ve ever seen are the ones that happen to moor at Bonaire while I’m on the island.

“I thought I smelled them,” Double L said. “I smelled them all the way from Sanddollar.”

Les insists that she can smell cruise people. She says they smell like a combination of sparkly t-shirts and sun tan lotion. A very distinct smell, she claims, that is as repulsive as lion fish in the Caribbean.

It’s quite easy to distinguish the Cruisers from other tourists. Not sure my olfactory glands are quite as sensitive as Double L’s to smell them. But I recognize them when I see them. I don’t know exactly, but they just seem to wonder around more awkwardly than the diver tourists.

With two ships in town – which has been a regular occurrence all week --the drive slowed down even more. But we didn’t really care. We weren’t in a hurry. The dive site we were headed to wasn’t going anywhere. It had been there for years. It had survived many cruise ship arrivals. We will, too. It’ll be there when we make it through the gazillion Cruisers.

One of our dives today was at Pink Beach. Always a beautiful dive with an easy entry and plenty of soft corals. Leslie encountered some squid. They were pretty curious guys and let her snap some good photos. She also found a huge octopus hidden up under some rocks.

Water temperature is still in the 78-79 degree range. I’m warm now, having purchased the Lava Core upper. Visibility is good, but gets very good after dropping below about 45 feet. It opens up and becomes very clear.

Dinner tonight was some left over pork cops with mushroom gravy and Caribbean rice that I had made a few days ago. We don’t go out for dinner every night, preferring to do some in-condo cooking.

We did venture to Rum Runners last night. Being proud Wisconsinites, Double L just had to try their version of Mac & Cheese made with blue cheese. It was good. I know because I borrowed some from her plate.

I had the Baby Back Ribs. They were good, but not as good as mine. We’ll be back next week and try both the dishes again, just to verify consistency (as if we really care). It’s a great venue for dinning. Right along the sea and perfect for watching the sunset while having a cold one.

Doesn’t get much better then that.

So, allow me to proclaim that I might be jaded. Or maybe I’m what we use to call each other in high school which was “stuck up.” Or maybe I’m just plain a Bonaire snob. Could be that I’m all of those.

But some things really get me.

For instance, after we had geared up at Pink Beach and were walking towards the entry point, we passed some divers who had just come out of the water. At a glance, it appeared as though they had decent gear and it had obviously seen some use. They weren’t newbies.

As Les and I passed them, one said to the other, “All that’s down there is a whole lot of nothin’.”

Double L stopped. She looked at the guy, her eyes narrowed, her face reddening. I knew she wanted to have a conversation with those two misinformed divers in order to correct their opinion of what they had just experienced. I motioned to her to keep walking and asked her to let it go. Let’s just do our dive. Nothing is ever solved by that kind of intervention -- even when it feels so strongly there should be one.

Some years ago, our good buddy, John “Smack” Anderson, of BonaireTalk fame, said to me, “Aren’t you glad, Dave, that you’re one of the ones who gets it?”

After hearing that diver’s comments, then – not surprisingly -- experiencing the magic and beauty of the dive at Pink Beach, yes, I’m absolutely glad that we’re some of the ones who “get it.”

And sadly, I pity those who don’t.

Dive on Friends.

Dave & Leslie.

 

[wildbill9]

Shhhhh.....don't talk about pink beach, it is not one many go to and we love it. It can vary by day ( one day incredible, next not so much) but it is a site we always hit.

 

[wildbill9]

OK, I feel ripped off...days 1 and 2 then 5 and 6, yall got problem with 3 and 4??? Loving your trip reports but you can't just skip days and expect us to suck it up and let it go! Bring it, let us know! Bill and DeeDee (double d)

 

[shoredivr]

I spent 37 minutes at Pink Beach, hovering motionless above coral rubble in 23 ft watching sailfin blennies do their dance. Let them think there is nothing to see

 

[Colliam7]

Folks, this is a great thread. As a regular 'Bonaire-goer' I feel like I am back on the island, reading your posts!

I spent 37 minutes at Pink Beach, hovering motionless above coral rubble in 23 ft watching sailfin blennies do their dance. Let them think there is nothing to see

I am right there with you. I LOVE diving on Bonaire, where I can hover for extended periods of time and see an amazing and incredibly vibrant marine world without moving more than a foot in any direction. Years ago, our annual shop trip happened to coincide with the yearly Ned and Anna DeLoach visit, and I listened to Ned one evening talk about the 'small stuff'. Changed my diving forever (and for the better). As the OP said, I pity those who dive there and fail to appreciate all that they could be seeing, if they would just slow down and look around.

 

[scuba127]

I've been going to Bon for 15 years....been awhile since Pink Beach so I hit it last trip on a solo dive..max depth maybe 40' if that and I expirienced the same thing....inspiring dive even though very shallow....this was September and that particular scene still arbitrarily flashes through my head.....I think I get it...

 

[bcaderunr]

And after the dive, you can relax in the shade of a Palm tree enjoying your sandwich and a cold drink.

 

[Dave & Leslie]

OMG. I’ve become Leslie……… Days 7 & 8

“That’s the best mask I’ve ever used,” said Kent Mann, owner of Mann Overboard Scuba in Ottawa, IL.

It was early spring, 1994, and I had gone into the dive shop to sign up for scuba lessons. Kent – or “Mick” as he was commonly known as – was setting me up with the books and gear I needed for the class.

“You won’t go wrong with that mask,” Mick said.

He was referring to a Sherwood Genesis. And he was right – it truly was a great mask. I bought one. Then I bought another. I used one strictly for pool sessions and the other for diving. And believe me, I dove it like I stole it.

It was a terrific piece of equipment. Over the years, I periodically tried other masks, but none measured up to the Genesis. I always came back to it. It never failed me.

But, alas, after 23 years and 1000+ dives, my Sherwood Genesis has given up the ship. It will dive no more. The lens has fogged beyond repair and the skirt was is flexible as concrete. It leaks severely, and I was spending way too much time just trying to clear it. Like Old Yeller, it was time to put it down.

I bought a new Tusa. It has a purge valve and a great panoramic view. I like the mask. It seals well and the purge valve is handy when needing to clear. Water just runs out.

However, it’s not the Geneses.

Leslie has been suggesting for several years that I should try a full face mask. She has two and has offered to let me use her secondary one. It’s a Divator, which coincidently, she bought from Mick at Mann overboard.

Since I’ve been in mask turmoil for most of this week, I figured it was a good time to give it a try. In previous years, I couldn’t contemplate swapping my Geneses for a face mask. It just didn’t seem right….. the Geneses was a part of me.

But since I had to let go of that old friend, I figured I might as well give it a try.

I’ve done six dives on the Divator and let me tell you…. Holy cow! Once you get past the initial feeling of some slight claustrophobia, it is a whole new experience. It doesn’t leak – at all – and the view is expansive. And it can’t fog. It has constant air pressure.

And, since I’m actually able to breathe through my nose, my air consumption has improved. Not sure the “nose” thing has anything to do with it, but I’m now able to maintain pace with Leslie as far as tank pressure is concerned.

I’ve become a raging fan.

We had a great encounter with a spotted eagle ray at Aquarius yesterday. It was feeding on the bottom in about 75 feet of water and was oblivious to us. We were able to get pretty close and spend several minutes watching it burrow through the sand for whatever it found to be delectable. Evidently, we overstayed our welcome and he moved on.

We’ve seen two coronet fish in the last two days – one at Vista Blue and one at Aquarius. Saw a huge hawksbill turtle on Bari along with four crinoids. And a southern stingray at Vista Blue. It’s been a couple of great days.

Yesterday and the day before, it was a solid overcast –no sunset. Today was much better, but the sunset was rather mediocre. However, we still sat out by the ocean with rum punch, figuring it was still better than no sunset at home……

Although the face mask is a pretty comfortable way to dive, there are a few things to keep in mind.

First, in case of some type of emergency, I may have to remove the face mask underwater. If this happens I need to have a regular mask to don. Just like Leslie, I now need to carry an extra mask.

Also, since the metal fasteners for the straps can get tangled in what little hair I have remaining, I now need to wear a little beanie. Just like Leslie does.

The mask requires two hands to put on and tighten, using both hands at once. Because of this, I added an extra fastener to my BCD to hang my fins while I’m putting on the mask. Leslie also has fasteners for this exact purpose.

And since the mask actually belongs to Leslie, and I’m using it only through her generosity and grace, I need to abide my her rules in its care an maintenance. She insists that it be wrapped in a towel between dives for protection. So, I now take a towel to the dive sites. But I make this promise, a promise as solid as my Bright is cold and the Bonaire sunsets are magnificent, that my towel at the dive site will not be used to dry me off. It’ll only be used for wrapping the mask.

My world has been turned upside down. For years, I was the experienced one with all the answers; the Sensei, the Master Jedi.

Now, Double L is telling me “to do this if that happens,” and “”don’t do this,” and “be careful with this,” and “this is how this works.”

Mind boggling, but it just goes to show.

Regardless of your age, perceived experience level, number of dives, or levels of certification.

When it comes to scuba, we’re all students.

All of the time.

Dive on Friends.

Dave & Leslie.