SeaDrifter
Registered
This was my third trip to the island ( '96 and '03 were the other two) but this time I had a family to enjoy it with me. Bonaire has changed quite a bit since I last visited but thankfully most of the things I really enjoy about coming here has stayed pretty much the same. I'll share some quick notes about our visit.
Transportation: Delta out of Atlanta was hassle free. I also enjoyed having free individual movies available to pass the time on the flight. I used Avis Bonaire for island transportation, and got a practically new Toyota truck that drove great. No hassles getting in and out of the rental place at the airport, and no mention was made to me about how to leave the truck at dive sites.
Accommodations: We stayed at a VRBO condo at Sand Dollar, north end of the property next to Buddy Dive, about 16 feet from the ocean. Check in was easy. Parking was right next to the condo. Very convenient location for diving the reef along Bari and Buddy's. Though it felt very secluded I never had any security issues. Dive gear stayed outside on the patio to dry throughout the week.
Dive Operation: We used Dive Friends and were extremely happy and satisfied with them. My wife and I took a scuba refresher course and my two kids ( daughter age 17 and son 14 ) got their Open Water Certification. All of us did the PADI online eLearning before we went. My kids really enjoyed their instructors and had a great time. Prices for the courses, rentals and diving packages were very reasonable and transparent. Swapping tanks at the many locations around the island also was convenient and hassle free. I especially liked the set up at the Hamlet location.
Dining: The first night (Sunday) we had Pasa Bon Pizza. It was good, but I'm partial to the pizza from Rum Runners at Captain Don's. The next night we went to the Monday night BBQ at Captain Don's. It was fantastic. A great deal for the quality and quantity of food. The only hang up was that though I made the reservation over a month in advance, they couldn't find the reservation. No matter, they accommodated us readily. Another great place we really enjoyed was called Beers and Burgers. It's a small place not too far from Wil's, and I highly recommend going there and trying the burgers. Fries and onion rings are also available for sides and were very good. And there is beer. We ate two more times from Rum Runners at Captain Don's. Once for a sit down dinner on Thursday night and the other for take away pizza. Service was very good and so was the food. Of course the seaside setting was unbeatable. Speaking of seaside setting, I booked the pier table at Sebastian's two months in advance. The food was unbelievable. It didn't hurt that most of our meal was caught by us on a fishing outing where we landed a blackfin tuna, a very nice barracuda, and a 60lb yellowfin tuna. The captain delivered the fish to the restaurant and they prepared them for us for a reduced price. It was a perfect evening. Two other memorable meals were lunches. At Posada Para Mira near Rincon we enjoyed delicious goat stew with fantastic sides ( I love plantains and red beans and rice ). Of course service ran on island time, but it is to be expected. Plus it allowed me to thoroughly enjoy my rum punch. The Kite City food truck is not to be missed. I can't adequately describe the experience. My mahi wrap was incredibly tasty, the sangria was cold and refreshing, and I was enjoying both on a beautiful day looking out over a clear blue ocean and equally clear blue sky. Enough said. Most other lunches were from Between Two Buns, right next to Sand Dollar. Very good sandwiches, and most were big enough to be shared between two people. Groceries were bought from either Van Den Tweel or Zhung Kong Market.
Dive Sites: I'll just talk about two of my favorite dives, which also happened to be solo dives. I really enjoyed La Danias Leap as a (semi) drift dive. The wife dropped me off at the site, which was pretty easy to find. It's about 5 km from the turn into Oil Slick Leap site. Look for the yinyang symbol painted in the center of the road and a pile of rocks stacked up on the left side of the road. The trail goes down a short ways over ironshore. The ledge is down and to the right, just left of the mooring buoy. Not much of a current that I could see. A boat of divers was there watching me as I made my entry. I went down along the wall at around 70 feet, gradually coming up to around 35 feet after about half an hour. I stayed on this course til I came across the large anchor and then turned to about a 45 degree heading and headed into the shallows. After my safety stop and a short swim I emerged right at the concrete pier, about 40 minutes after entry and 600 psi to spare.
My last dive of the trip was to the Hilma Hooker. I got up early and made it to the site by 7:30am. No one else there but me. After gearing up and making my checks, I took a heading to the middle buoy and then submerged. I go to the buoy and could see the reef slope down but didn't see the hull outline yet. I started out and down a little further and then boom, it was there. Kind of caught me by surprise but in a good way. I went along the hull to the stern following the contour down as I went. Lots of good marine life in the area but no other divers but me
. I could not get my depth any lower than 99 feet at the stern. I explored for a little while as I watched my gauges, then began coming up along the bow. I doubled back along the reef until I got to around 50 feet, then doubled back once again along the reef until I got to the crest around 30 feet and could see the middle portion of the wreck. Got my bearing back to the buoy, went into the shallows and sat on the floor at 15-20 feet for a 3-5 minute safety stop at which time a spotted eagle ray swam right past me. Came out at my entry site after about 35 minutes and 500 psi.
My other favorite dives were with my newly certified kids, at Salt Pier, Bari and Cliff. They especially liked Cliff, as we swam along the wall at 50 feet and turned around at La Machaca, came back by the Captain Don Memorial Dive flag, and then saw a passing manta ray right before we made our way back to the pipe to lead us out.
Non Diving Activities: Fishing with Big Game Fishing charter. Check it out, bring your Dramamine.
Run the gauntlet called The Donkey Sanctuary. Buy lots of carrots, put your kids and wife in the back of the truck with said carrots, drive slowly through the park, and laugh your ass off. Pun intended.
All in all, a great vacation that my children ( and I ) will never forget.
Transportation: Delta out of Atlanta was hassle free. I also enjoyed having free individual movies available to pass the time on the flight. I used Avis Bonaire for island transportation, and got a practically new Toyota truck that drove great. No hassles getting in and out of the rental place at the airport, and no mention was made to me about how to leave the truck at dive sites.
Accommodations: We stayed at a VRBO condo at Sand Dollar, north end of the property next to Buddy Dive, about 16 feet from the ocean. Check in was easy. Parking was right next to the condo. Very convenient location for diving the reef along Bari and Buddy's. Though it felt very secluded I never had any security issues. Dive gear stayed outside on the patio to dry throughout the week.
Dive Operation: We used Dive Friends and were extremely happy and satisfied with them. My wife and I took a scuba refresher course and my two kids ( daughter age 17 and son 14 ) got their Open Water Certification. All of us did the PADI online eLearning before we went. My kids really enjoyed their instructors and had a great time. Prices for the courses, rentals and diving packages were very reasonable and transparent. Swapping tanks at the many locations around the island also was convenient and hassle free. I especially liked the set up at the Hamlet location.
Dining: The first night (Sunday) we had Pasa Bon Pizza. It was good, but I'm partial to the pizza from Rum Runners at Captain Don's. The next night we went to the Monday night BBQ at Captain Don's. It was fantastic. A great deal for the quality and quantity of food. The only hang up was that though I made the reservation over a month in advance, they couldn't find the reservation. No matter, they accommodated us readily. Another great place we really enjoyed was called Beers and Burgers. It's a small place not too far from Wil's, and I highly recommend going there and trying the burgers. Fries and onion rings are also available for sides and were very good. And there is beer. We ate two more times from Rum Runners at Captain Don's. Once for a sit down dinner on Thursday night and the other for take away pizza. Service was very good and so was the food. Of course the seaside setting was unbeatable. Speaking of seaside setting, I booked the pier table at Sebastian's two months in advance. The food was unbelievable. It didn't hurt that most of our meal was caught by us on a fishing outing where we landed a blackfin tuna, a very nice barracuda, and a 60lb yellowfin tuna. The captain delivered the fish to the restaurant and they prepared them for us for a reduced price. It was a perfect evening. Two other memorable meals were lunches. At Posada Para Mira near Rincon we enjoyed delicious goat stew with fantastic sides ( I love plantains and red beans and rice ). Of course service ran on island time, but it is to be expected. Plus it allowed me to thoroughly enjoy my rum punch. The Kite City food truck is not to be missed. I can't adequately describe the experience. My mahi wrap was incredibly tasty, the sangria was cold and refreshing, and I was enjoying both on a beautiful day looking out over a clear blue ocean and equally clear blue sky. Enough said. Most other lunches were from Between Two Buns, right next to Sand Dollar. Very good sandwiches, and most were big enough to be shared between two people. Groceries were bought from either Van Den Tweel or Zhung Kong Market.
Dive Sites: I'll just talk about two of my favorite dives, which also happened to be solo dives. I really enjoyed La Danias Leap as a (semi) drift dive. The wife dropped me off at the site, which was pretty easy to find. It's about 5 km from the turn into Oil Slick Leap site. Look for the yinyang symbol painted in the center of the road and a pile of rocks stacked up on the left side of the road. The trail goes down a short ways over ironshore. The ledge is down and to the right, just left of the mooring buoy. Not much of a current that I could see. A boat of divers was there watching me as I made my entry. I went down along the wall at around 70 feet, gradually coming up to around 35 feet after about half an hour. I stayed on this course til I came across the large anchor and then turned to about a 45 degree heading and headed into the shallows. After my safety stop and a short swim I emerged right at the concrete pier, about 40 minutes after entry and 600 psi to spare.
My last dive of the trip was to the Hilma Hooker. I got up early and made it to the site by 7:30am. No one else there but me. After gearing up and making my checks, I took a heading to the middle buoy and then submerged. I go to the buoy and could see the reef slope down but didn't see the hull outline yet. I started out and down a little further and then boom, it was there. Kind of caught me by surprise but in a good way. I went along the hull to the stern following the contour down as I went. Lots of good marine life in the area but no other divers but me
. I could not get my depth any lower than 99 feet at the stern. I explored for a little while as I watched my gauges, then began coming up along the bow. I doubled back along the reef until I got to around 50 feet, then doubled back once again along the reef until I got to the crest around 30 feet and could see the middle portion of the wreck. Got my bearing back to the buoy, went into the shallows and sat on the floor at 15-20 feet for a 3-5 minute safety stop at which time a spotted eagle ray swam right past me. Came out at my entry site after about 35 minutes and 500 psi.My other favorite dives were with my newly certified kids, at Salt Pier, Bari and Cliff. They especially liked Cliff, as we swam along the wall at 50 feet and turned around at La Machaca, came back by the Captain Don Memorial Dive flag, and then saw a passing manta ray right before we made our way back to the pipe to lead us out.
Non Diving Activities: Fishing with Big Game Fishing charter. Check it out, bring your Dramamine.
Run the gauntlet called The Donkey Sanctuary. Buy lots of carrots, put your kids and wife in the back of the truck with said carrots, drive slowly through the park, and laugh your ass off. Pun intended.
All in all, a great vacation that my children ( and I ) will never forget.
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