souladdikt
Registered
- Messages
- 33
- Reaction score
- 43
- # of dives
- I just don't log dives
Took advantage of the American Airlines low mileage awards tickets to Bonaire (17K) and booked a short trip on a couple months notice. Due to the short notice, accommodations and truck rentals were pretty limited. I originally booked a nice looking airbnb near Delfins, but the owners sold the property one month before our arrival and we needed to find new lodging. Thanks to @drrich2 for his trip report from awhile back about Aqua Viva. It was one of only two places with availability left that fit our needs. It saved us from not having to cancel the trip. Here's some quick notes/thoughts:
- East Coast Divers was nice change from the shore diving we always do. We did their 2-tank morning dive and did the usuals of Funchi's Reef and White Hole/Turtle City. Flavia was an amazing guide. Saw so many turtles. Turtles swimming with us, turtles sleeping, turtle cleaning station. Also cool were spotted eagle ray, southern stingray, queen triggers, lobster, Queen conch. Things are bigger on the east side. The turtles are significantly bigger than what we usually see. They run a top notch trip. Excellent dive briefing and great boat.
- Not much to new to say about the shore diving since my last report. My wife and I only dove southern sites this time around. The farther southern sites still seem to be the best. We got to dive with a pod of dolphins at Vista Blue. As were were starting our descent, a couple dozen dolphins swam just a few feet in front us at about 25 feet. I tried to open up my camera app, but my phone wasn't responding (I'm using a Diveolk housing and the touch screen on my phone wasn't turning on). I stopped fiddling with it and just enjoyed the view as they swam by. A few minutes later another pod passed above us. I heard from a couple folks back at the dive shop that they've been spotting dolphins down south for a few weeks now. Red Slave was also fantastic.
- Back to Basic truck rental and PB were the only two rental companies with trucks left when I booked. Decided try Back to Basic because they leave the car in the airport parking lot to pickup and you just park back in the short term lot when you leave. Kitty (the manager) texted me a picture of the truck and location before landing. This saves time because you don't have to fill out paperwork upon arrival. I paid the next day at their office. It took less than 5 minutes to sign the papers and swipe my credit card. They have a range of cars and trucks. The single cab truck I booked was in good condition.
- Aqua Viva is small hotel that's just a few minutes north of the airport. I believe there are only 6 units. All the front doors/porches are facing out to the courtyard and swimming pool. We stayed in the largest, 1 bedroom apartment. It was clean but a bit dated. Because of the overhang that covers the front porch/front doors--the only windows, it was a bit dark inside. Most folks hung out on the porches or by the pool. The kitchen consists of a microwave, toaster, 2 burner hot plate, and an electric kettle. Just enough to cook some simple meals if you want. Housecleaning comes every three days to change out sheets and towels, clean the bathroom, and wipe down the tile floors. Overall, I think it needs a bit of an update to stay in line with pricing of some of the airbnb's we've seen, but for a last minute trip we were very satisfied. With easy access to the southern sites and VIP Diving right next door it made it serviceable home base.
- VIP Diving was another first for us. We've always used Dive Friends, but decided to give VIP a try. We will continue to use them. They often helped us load our truck or would take out inserts for us (we use DIN regulators) as we were analyzing our tanks. No short fills. A good cleaning station right next to their storage locker made for an easy end of the day routine.
