posted 05-17-2005 04:17               

Well, I have to say that the diving was everything the dive mags say it is!! I have never seen corals so lush, colorful and varied. The shore diving truly is easy. I would strongly recommend, if you plan on doing much shore diving (as opposed to boat diving) that you rent a truck of some sort. It's easier to load/unload tanks, and several of the sites don't have parking lots (you drive over ruts, dead coral pieces and sand.) We had a double-cab Hilux that was a standard. No air conditioning, as most on the island don't have it (one exception that we saw was someone with a brand, spankin' new Toyota truck from Hertz, but the price tag was over $500 for the week!)

Not much big stuff. Not one shark the whole week, and one of the days when we opted not to do the boat (only shore) the group saw a lone eagle ray. This was the one and only big sighting all week.

As far as we can tell, the "protected marine sanctuary" thing is a joke. On one dive, I saw a line slightly in front of me, which I pointed out to DH. All of a sudden, it was being yanked up and we saw the bait on the hook! Later, when we surfaced, we saw the boat, which contained two locals who were casting lines.

We asked at the dive shop about this, and they said it's considered OK to fish (we had been told at orientation that the entire island is protected marine sanctuary, from shore to six miles out!) so long as you go into the reef somewhat to avoid contact with divers. Ducky swell!!! We could have had a hook embedded in us and some yahoo thinking he had got a big one as he pulled at our flesh...

So whereas there are lots and lots of small stuff, don't expect to see giants here. Sad.

On the upside, we did the Town Pier at night, which looked exactly like all the pictures you've seen in the glossies. The pylons are coated with a riotous mosaic of colorful corals. Couldn't get over the orange cup corals, which look like day-glo orange flowers!!

We called the island "Eel Central" as we've never seen so many eels in so many varieties. Under the Town Pier, we spotted a vampire moray. Most common are the spotted moray variety, but also saw lots of sharptails, as well.

Saw two seahorses, which Geertja, one of the dive guides at the resort, found for us. They are just precious!! One of them was eating the microscopic shrimp that float by. My big coup for the trip was finding the one and only frogfish all week!! The photographer came over and motioned that I was the champ - took my hand and raised it. Once back on the boat, the two dive guides said I was going to take their jobs!! I was so excited. The one I saw was a bright yellow.

We dove the Hilma Hooker wreck from shore. Easy entry there. The reef around it is actually more interesting than the wreck. It was pretty awesome, however, seeing it come into view as you descend and begin swimming toward it. It's massive. We did two tanks there. Also liked Angel City, where we did two more tanks. If you want to do the Salt Pier, you need to arrange it with a guide - same deal as the Town Pier. It will cost $25/person, as does the Town Pier.

Our favorite site was Karpata. It's a rugged entry, though. You suit up in the parking lot, then walk down the equivalent of 2 flights of stairs, then across lots of unstable rocks. After the dive, when you're pretty tired, that climb back up is a killer. Both in and out took a long time. The dive, however, was well worth it!! Amazing, dramatic vistas with sand valleys punctuating the reef. The drop off is so steep that the sand valleys look a lot like snowy avalanches, almost as if the sand had been spilled downward!

The one downside to this site is that it's so remote that your vehicle is an easy target for theft. We had been warned not to leave anything of value in the car and to leave it unlocked, or the thieves will break your windows and you will have to pay the car rental company. So we followed the current wisdom.

When we returned from the dive, everything in the car had been ransacked. Our sunglasses (they were smart enough to realize that prescriptions suns would do them no good. But don't take your Bolles or Serengetis!) had been removed from their cases in the glove compartment and thrown on the passenger front seat. Our clothes and towel were taken out from under the seat and thrown on the back seat. They even ransacked our emergency dive kit (the usual suspects - extra O ring, mask strap, fin strap, etc) and tore a hole in it.

The only thing taken, however, was a tin of cinnamon Altoids. They left the regular (mint) Altoid tin. Go figure!!

One thing you have to remember is to watch your gauges scrupulously. The entire island is a continuous coral reef that forms a wall. It goes down forever!! You can get busy looking at everything and be over 130' before you know it, and at that point, can getting narc'ed be far behind?! They told us that last month a father and son never returned from the dive, and they found the bodies at over 250 feet. So the warning was well-taken.

Drove by Lion's Dive. We couldn't see a whole lot from the back, but it looked fine. Nothing is posh by US standards. The Divi was nice enough. Our unit had a full kitchen, air conditioning, two comfortable full beds and a pull-out couch, with a screened patio. It had a full ocean view and was steps from one of the two pools. The patio is about 100' from the dive shop.

Best grocery store is in town, Cultimara. Excellent breads and the pastries looked wonderful. They were flying off the shelves! It has the best selection, although that's not saying much. It reminded us of how spoiled we are here in the US as at any given day or time of the week, there were some completely bare shelves in several areas.Remember that the next time you stroll the cereal or paper goods aisle of your local supermarket with multiple shelves lining the entire length, all chock full.

Don't plan on cooking out. No place had a grill, either for purchase (we searched everywhere on the island for anything like a hibachi, including The Warehouse - another grocery store that only accepts cash - and the Super Store) or for use, including the parks we saw.

We were so busy diving that we never got to Washington-Slagbaai, as you need a full day to see the place. It was about a 45 minute drive from the resort. We are saving that for the next time. Just confirmed the week after our Bonaire week at Curacao for 2007!!

The island itself wasn't anything that makes us want to rush back. Not a lot of indigenous culture. Most of the other visitors at the Divi were Dutch, and they didn't seem to have much use for Americans. Other compatriots also noticed how they were quite unfriendly, so it wasn't just us. They wouldn't so much as look at you as they passed you on the sidewalk. Maybe it's just the Dutch way, but it felt to us as if we were being looked down at. Might have been just the week we were there, though - only multiple visits will tell.

We did 3-4 tanks a day, everyday, including a shore dive at the resort the morning before we left. We stayed under 40' the whole time. BTW, the house reef at the Divi, "Calabas," was world class! We did all our night diving there, except for the one on Town Pier. You had access to tanks 24/7 and could dive whenever you chose. The pier from the dive shop extends right out almost to the reef. You suit up, walk down either of two sets of stairs on either side of the dock, slip on your fins, and you're in business. There was a huge, coral-encrusted anchor and chain from a wreck about 110 years old, a smaller anchor from a 35 year old wreck, a small pleasure boat (told it was about 30 years old) and an old, intricate, wrought-iron chair that made a surreal picture with all the various soft corals attached, at Calabas.

The problem with doing so many dives is that we (mostly I) got cold. I had an exposure suit, but Randy had only brought his skin. I had a problem with cold every day, even though I wore my hood. If you have a heavy neoprene, consider taking it. I wouldn't go the next time with anything under 3 mils. It may sound like overkill, but you'll find yourself diving 3-5 tanks a day/night.

All in all, if you're looking for a vacation where you'll dive your guts out for a reasonable price, this is the place. Not one bad dive in the bunch!! BTW, speaking of price, most everything is labeled in guilders (florins) which during our week converted to 1.85 per American dollar. Gas is, of course, outrageous - About $3 per LITRE!! That's when having the standard transmission without a/c came in handy. We only used about 12 litres the whole week, and we were in that car and moving every, single day.

You're going to have a great time, ladies!!! BTW, something completely remarkable - despite its being prime season, NO SEA ITCH!!!!! Yet one more reason to love Bonaire.

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--Cat

posted 05-17-2005 12:28               

It really was a wonderful trip. Yes, there are spots for some good snorkeling, but because the reef is one huge wall with a sheer drop-off, most of the reef is below what you can see clearly from the surface. I understand that Washington-Slagbaai has some good snorkeling areas.

posted 05-17-2005 22:16               

Judy, did you do lots of shore diving when you were there? What was your favorite site?

posted 05-18-2005 10:08               

muranojo, If you're RCI, they don't have much at the Divi Bonaire. Most of those deposits seem to go to II.
If you're having trouble getting an exchange into Lions Dive, it might be a VEP problem. For a reason I can't figure out, RCI has lowered its rating so much so that I can't match it even with my standard rated resort. If that's the problem, the best way to get an exchange is to call a VC (every day if you have to) and ask him/her to remove the quality filter on your deposit. Then ask when there is upcoming Lions Dive availability and grab anything you can use.

posted 05-18-2005 18:40               

BTW, I forgot to mention that the fee for the obligatory Bonaire Marine Park tag went up 4/1/05 from $10 to $25 per person. Guess they need that for all that heavy-duty enforcement of the marine sanctuary rules!

I have been able to pick up Lion's Dive with my summer Cape week, but not the last couple that you said you found with a call to a VG.

Jo, maybe a direct exchange to the Divi Flamingo is the way to go. Have you checked the Direct Exchange board? Won't work if you need a 2 BR, however, since they are all studios. They say that they can accommodate 6 (RCI only says 4, but the resort will let you have 6,) and there is bed space enough. But can't quite picture 6 adults staying there, all fighting over the one, tiny bathroom. They'd all have to be REALLY chummy!

posted 05-26-2005 15:25               

quote:

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Originally posted by Judy:
Yesterday we received a call from II telling us that our unit will be unavailable. Instead, Divi is putting us up in their newly rennovated hotel section and giving us free breakfast and dinner for the entire week in their on-site buffet restaurant.

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