Ten things I learned in Bonaire last week

[gypsyjim]

The hurried upper I go, the behinder I get!

Never has paid for me to rush.


You should have seen my gf's reaction though, when she opened her water bottle, only to smell vinegar. Priceless! She is still not totally convince I did it by accident

 

[Sask]

I was there last week as well and followed the nothing in the truck plan. I never saw anyone who had issues. I guess we were around lucky people.

There were four of us and the bugs only bothered one. She wore deet and was still bit a lot. I never wore anything for bugs the whole trip and got maybe two bites, when here at home they love me, go figure?

We had a quick connection in ATL out of MSP and all five of our bags never made it. They were put on the red eye out of Newark (I think) and they were waiting for us at 7:30 AM when we went back to the airport on Sunday, so we never missed a beat really.

 

[muzicgirl]

Divi flamingo had plenty of towels when we were there - the diving was pretty good, the food was not so good, the bugs were very not so good, the hotel rooms - very good.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

GypsyJim..I've done my share of diving on Bonaire, but personally would never chose to dive the "White Hole" from shore. Ouch (big time)...You would have done better at Cai with a local guide like Bas if you wanted to try something different. Live & learn as they say. Jeepers another year before you get back?

You should have been at breakfast the next morning... Those who chose to do White Hole looked like they had been beaten up (not just the scrapes and fire coral burns that were visible, they actually looked mentally taxed from that dive the day before). Everyone recovered, I was glad to see. But, there were still those nursing their injuries for the rest of the week... small wafts of vinegar could be traced back to owners of those battle scars

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Yes, but you end up trading three or four shore dives for one boat dive. Meet at the shop, load the boat, motor out to the site, make the dive, motor back to the dock, unload the boat, travel back to your base..........

I no longer make boat dives at Bonaire.

True Walter, but this time Krista and I decided to make a three tanker day of diving from a boat.

Dive 1 - Playa Benge (Dive #2 on your Bonaire map... if the reader is playing along... lol)
This dive was slated as a moored boat dive. Since Marvel, Krista and I were the first one's in (would you expect anything less from us?) we began our dive in a slight current. 7 minutes into the dive, the DM flashed her magna-doodle to let us know the dive was changed to a drift dive... I was a bit confused at that message underwater until I heard and saw the boat speed ahead of us and the current went to "definite drift" dive. We had tons of Black Durgon on the dive and three large lion fish (and potential sightings of Bull Shark - never appeared)

Dive 2 - Bise Morto (Dive #4 on your Bonaire map...)
This dive was drift all the way. Nothing major to report, but we have some cool topside photos of that portion of Bonaire.

During this surface interval the DM asked if we really wanted to stay in the park for dive #3 or they would take us to Keepsake off Klein where they had spotted multiple frogfish and seahorses. We opted for Klein on that dive...

Dive 3 - Keepsake (Dive F on your Bonaire map [marked as "closed"])
Two yellow seahorses and six frogfish! I'll post images later

The dive boat started as a cluster f***, and our group was too large to fit on the smaller boat. After we loaded our gear on the smaller boat it left without us and we were all left to sit there wondering what was up. After 20 minutes our DM asked us why we were still sitting there at the dock? Well, we received zero instructions as to what was going on until the finally told us where to go to get on the bigger boat.

All in all it was the first boat dive I've ever done on Bonaire. At the $126 price tag, it will probably be the last. But, I am glad we did it once. It was a new experience. Marvel and I hit the house reef as soon as the boat docked to make a fourth dive of the day

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Divi flamingo had plenty of towels when we were there - the diving was pretty good, the food was not so good, the bugs were very not so good, the hotel rooms - very good.

The wash cloth issue is a European thing. You will usually receive towels and hand towels. Packing a few cheap wash cloths can help if you need them. We requested and received extra towels every day. The Plaza was ready to step up and help us whenever we asked... A smile and thank you can go a long way in the islands... toss in a couple mi dushi's and you can have a really easy trip

 

[tracydr]

Tonka: Well to my knowledge gloves are NOT permitted for entries/exits. So why don't you show us the rules to corroborate your statement? To my knowledge the ONLY exception for a diver without a med certificate is descending a support line on a wreck which may be covered in stinging organisms.
See this link to STINAPA..

STINAPA - Bonaire National Marine Park

How do you get a med certificate? My last time in Bonaire I fell exiting Red Slave and ended up with a horrible infection. Was almost hospitalized for it.
I'm here now, have been using my little boys, Walmart football gloves to protect my hands. I figure if anyone asks I'll tell them about my infection.
I'm a doctor, BTW.:cool2:

 

[tracydr]

We filled empty diet coke bottles with water. Unfortunately, I kept forgetting mine.

We bring our camelbacks on every trip. My husband attaches his to his tank and we both drink from it underwater. I've been sticking mine in the freezer so that we have cold water after our dives. Also, bring a soft sided cooler and fill up on fruit and sandwiches. Eggs are cheap so I make egg salad and cut up mangoes and pineapples. We also bring a ton of oranges in the cooler.
Can anyone tell me where to buy some fresh fish? We're staying in a two bedroom house near the Golden Reef, cooking most of our own meals.

 

[reefdiva]

How do you get a med certificate? My last time in Bonaire I fell exiting Red Slave and ended up with a horrible infection. Was almost hospitalized for it.
I'm here now, have been using my little boys, Walmart football gloves to protect my hands. I figure if anyone asks I'll tell them about my infection.
I'm a doctor, BTW.:cool2:

The med certificate must be presented at Stinapa headquarters so that they have it on record. If it is not and the rangers do a spot check and find gloves you risk them confiscating your gear until you leave the island.

 

[jepuskar]

Yup, here's a picture of me (taken by tajkd) sleeping on 8 of the 10 tanks in the back of our truck during our surface interval at the Hilma Hooker...

This shot was taken early afternoon. We left Plaza Resort after breakfast at 7am, and didn't get back there until after dinner and drinks at Papaya Moon. Did five dives that day.

The need for a "truck full of tanks" is important if you are doing up north, because once you hit the one-way portion of the road, it's a L-O-N-G way back to your resport/shop to get fresh ones. Even more specifically important to bring at least three tanks each to the park, since you'll be investing 1/2 - 2/3rd of a day on the drive itself.

Ray

OMG....is that a drysuit you are wearing??? Who in their right mind wears a drysuit in Bonaire. ABSURD!!!