Bonaire
Date: June 28, 1997 - - July 5, 1997
Airline: American Airlines - - Austin, TX
to Dallas, TX ($212)
Anerican Airlines - - Dallas, TX to Miami,
FL
Air Aruba - - Miami, FL to Aruba ($352)
Air Aruba - - Aruba to Kranlendijk, Bonaire
Hotel: Divi Flamingo ($340 per double room )
Dive Operator: Peter Hughes Dive ($75 for
tanks, $10 park permit)
Travel Agency: Pinnacle Travel (Airline tickets)
Car Rental: Suzuki Mini Van ($300)
Trip Cost: $850 (does not include food, drinks,
soveniers)
Welcome to Bonaire. We arrived at the airport
terminal shortly after 10pm. Our dive masters,
Carl and Pat
were waiting with a cooler full of Amstel.
Our trip down to the island had only minimal
delays. The only mishap occurred when some
of our friends' luggage failed to arrive
at the Bonaire airport. Most of our party
(except for two) decided not to check our
luggage "through" automatically.
We had heard rumors of lost luggage when
people relied on the different airlines to
make the proper transfers. It was a hassle
to check the luggage at the Miami airport
a second time, but this insured our luggage
arrived at the second airline. As for the
couple who checked their luggage "through",
They finally received their luggage two days
later.
Our dive masters provided transportation
to the hotel Divi Flamingo in two Suzuki Vans. The Divi resort is only
a couple of miles from the airport. After
a bit of confusion on who got which room,
we settled in for the night. Of course we
had a couple of the complimentary rum punches
before turning in.
The Divi is an older resort which was once
really nice. During our stay, signs of aging
were apparent. It is not as nice as some
of the newer resorts on the island but it
turned out to be very adequate. Each room
had two full size beds and one sofa bed.
In addition, each room had its own kitchen
with accompanying assorted dishes. The air
conditioning worked but not very well during
the day. There were several room with missing
or dead light bulbs. The windows were actually
wooden slats which could be cranked open
or closed. Unfortunately they aren't are
very efficient when it comes to insulating.
For the most part, the rooms were clean and
the maid service did a very good job.
Every evening we usually gathered in one
room for dinner. Each room would contibute
to the meal by preparing a dish in their
room and then bringing it to the party. Our
group made two trips to the local grocery
store to buy supplies. Most of our meals
we prepared ourselves except for two or three
outings. The store was very well stocked
considering just about every thing is imported
to the island. One thing to remember. The
store does not have grocery bags. You must
bring something to put the groceries in or
carry them out a handful at a time. The prices
are a little steep but considering the location,
they were tolerable.
Our group consisted of 12 people, of which
all except for one, where from Austin. The
ages of the group varied from 15 to 50.
The first morning, the first item on the
agenda was a visit to the resorts dive shop
to register and get tanks. Followed shorthly
by our check out dive, just a few feet away,
off of one of the resort's piers.
The check out dive, just off of the Calabas
Reef, was a great way to begin the week of
diving. Glad I wore my dive skin, we encountered
a swarm of sea wasp which no one had noticed
since we were all too busy exploring the
reef. We swam straight through the swarm
with only a few minor encounters.
After packing our gear, we headed out to
lease two additional mini vans.
to accomodate the rest of our group. Each
mini van would hold three drivers and their
gear along with two tanks for each diver.
We rented four vans, only one of which came
with air conditioning. It's amazing how tough
these little vans are, especially for the
abuse they take from rough roads and heavy
loads.
Each morning began with a trip to the dive
shop to load tanks. The tanks were located
at the end of one of the piers. Two tanks
per diver meant hauling 24 tanks each day
down the pier, up the ramp, through the dive
shop and out to the parking lot. We checked
each tank for orings and to insure the tanks
were full. We usually found several tanks
which were 2500-2700 instead of 3000. At
the end of the day, we would unload the tanks
and carry them through the hotel and down
to the end of another pier.
Most of our dives began with a beach entry.
Usually we backed the vans as close to the
water as possible to avoid carrying equipment
as much as possible. In some locations, access
to the water meant carrying our gear only
a short distance. Most entries were simple.
We would wade out into the water and float
our gear. When we reached a depth of around
chest level, each dive buddy would take turns
assisting the other putting on his/her equipment.
At Oil Slick Leap each diver had to preform a giant stride
off of an eight foot cliff. After every one
was in the water, the group swaim out to
a bouy marking the reef and then descended
to the reef below.
At a few of the locations such as Nukove, the group first had to traverse small
channels
through the coral in fairly shallow water
(10-15ft) to reach the deaper water. Sometimes
finding these winding shallow channels on
the return trip proved to be quite a challenge.
Looking back at the dive log, (it's been
way too long for me to remember, especially
since I have a hard time with what happened
a day or two ago, let alone six or seven
months) our day dives averaged 40 minutes
at 65 feet, while the night dives lasted
40 minutes at 35 feet. This trip was the
first for my newly certified dive buddy and
it showed. His air consumption the first
couple of days, would put a Hoover vaccum
to shame. Usually between dives we ate light
snacks and sandwiches and drank Amstel. Our
dive master requires a 2 Amstel surface interval,
sometimes 3. Amstel only came in a nine ounce
bottle, small for those who are more accustomed
to the twelve ounces or larger variety. Our
deepest dive came early on the second day.
The Hilma Hooker sits in 90+ feet of water. This was my first
wreck dive as well as for many others in
our group. We started out by swimming on
top of the water out to the bouy and then
descending directly down to the cargo ship.
Several large tarpon can be found lurking
in the cargo hulls of the ship. Passages/doors
have been left open in order to allow divers
to swim from one bay to another with ease.
After checking out the Hooker, we progressed
towards the shore and explored the reef on
our ascent.
The marine life was abundant and varied.
Besides the usual reef dwellers, we had a
rare opportunity to see a sea turtle on our
first day of diving. Many eels as well as
a few sea snakes were found on most dives.
For those who pay a little more attention
to details, Scorpion fish and fish cleaning
stations could be located in many of the
reef structures. On the night dives, several
of the divers saw a couple of octopi and
most of us were able admire the orange coral
blooms on the pier pilons. Our last day on
the island we took an opportunity to shop
and go site seeing since we couldn't dive
witnin 24 hours of flying. With a little
syncronize vanning from one side of the island
to the other we were able to cover most of
the interesting point of interest. Here are
a few more pictures from our trip:
Sites
Light House. 1.
Salt Piles. 1.
Slave Huts. 1.
Water Fountains. 1.
2.
Washinton Slagbai Park. Picnic. 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Donkey Preserve. 1.
Lac Bay. 1.
2.
3.
4.
Flowers/Plants. 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Chibi Chibi. 1.
Cordodo Lizard. 1.
2.
3.
Pink Flamingos. 1.
2.
A little about the sites of Bonaire: The
main export of the island is salt. Slave
were used to mine the salt and lived in the
tiny slave huts. You have to crawl to get
inside and they are not much bigger than
or minivans. The leadward side of the island
is extremely jagged and water sprays as the
surf bashes into the cliffs. Lac Bay which is also on the east side of the island
is popular for wind surfing. We visited a
local bar which was closed for the off season.
Our group picture shows us hanging out and
having a beer as we relax. Washington Slagbai Park is a national perserve on the north of the
island. Lots of cactus and rugged terrain.
The park does have an admittance fee and
closes at dark. There is a group who is setting
up a donkey preserve. The preserve was in
the construction state but they have built
a nice wooded tower which you can see a good
portion of the island. Another good point
of view is from the top of the old light
house. It was open the day we stopped by
and we were able to climb to the top and
take a few pictures in between dives. The
Chibi Chibi is a popular little bird around the island
not to mention the pink flamingos which draw
bird watchers from around the world. It is
said the lizards out number the human inhabitants
on the island. They are not shy at all. If
you have a picnic, expect a large number
of them to show up ready to be fed. Most
of the pictures of the plants are from around
the hotel.
If you have time, Dee Scares presents "Touch the Sea", a series of slides on underwater
life. This is a real informative as well
as entertaining presentation.
The island seemed to have only one musical
band. Each night we went to a different restuarant
the band would be there playing. Mostly kids
in the band, but they were very entertaining.
The trip home turned into a disaster as delays
go. A quick note on confirming your flights
home. Most of the airlines require a 24 hour
advance checkin/confirmation. This must be
handled at the airport. Be very careful this
gets carried out properly. One family in
our group thought they had confirmed their
reservations but the next morning they had
no tickets. If you don't confirm your tickets
they sell the seats to some one else. Luckily
for this family they were able to get it
straightened out with only minimal delays.
We woke up at 5am and rushed to the airport.
Stood in line for an hour waiting to check
in. Only one clerk working the desk and she
was in no hurry. Finally we made our first
short trip from Bonaire to Aruba. Once in
Aruba, we were herded from the plane to a
holding area for international travelers.
Here we were told our next flight had been
canceled but we were never given a reason
why. We sat in the airport for several hours
waiting for another flight. Realizing we
would miss our connecting flights in the
US, we called the local American Airlines
rep to have our reservations moved to a later
flight. After making the changes and calling
a second time to insure the changes had occurred
we settled in for a long wait. Finally another
plane appeared. We boarded the plane and
headed down the tarmack. We never made it
to the runway, the pilot turned the plane
around. All we were told was there was there
was a "parameter" which was not
normal and the mechcanics wanted to look
at it. After another hour of sitting in a
hot plane on the tarmack, finally we took
off. Once in the air the pilot explained
to us that the parameter in question was
a tempurature gage on one of the engines
and it was a little high but the mechcanics
insured them it was still within boundaries.
Of course the mechanics were now back safe
on the ground and we were thousand of feet
in the air.
Once in Miami, our group breezed through
customs, probably because we were so late.
We were cutting it close for our next flight,
or at least we thought. After running across
the airport and basically rushing the AA
desk, we found out not only was our connecting
flight delayed but we didn't have any seats
reserved. Come to find out, the AA rep in
Aruba never reserved the seats, she only
put a "comment" in the reservation
system. Fortunately the attendant was very
understanding and reserved us seats. Unfortunately,
we lost our direct flight home and had to
connect via Dallas were we hit another delay.
After another layover in Miami, we made it
to Dallas. When the plane landed, the power
died just a few feet from the terminal. Another
delay while the captian shut down the engines
and then restarted the plane.
Luckily our last layover in Dallas was only
an hour or two. We made it back to Austin
with out any more delays. It was funny because
another group had left Bonaire hours after
us but they almost beat us home.
Daily Dive Log
Water Temp: 80+
Dives Log No. 17-28
June 29, 1997
Dive Location: Divi Flamingo - Calabas Reef
- Check out dive (25mn@64ft)
Dive Location: Punt Vierkant - Sea Turtle
(37@56)
June 30, 1997
Dive Location: Hilma Hooker - Wreck Dive
- Large Tarpon (29mn@86ft)
Dive Location: Margate Bay / Pink Beach (42@67)
July 1, 1997
Dive Location: Nukove (38mn@73ft)
Dive Location: Oil Slick Leap (50@55)
Dive Location: Divi Flamingo / Calabas Reef
- Night dive (29@33)
July 2, 1997
Dive Location: Boka Bartol (37mn@73ft)
Dive Location: Boka Slagbaai (46@53)
July 3, 1997
Dive Location: Salt City / Invisibles (43mn@73ft)
Dive Location: Red Beryl / Atlantis (53@55)
Dive Location: Salt Pier - Night Dive (57@36)
