Bonaire - Buddy Dive, Feb 23 - Mar 9

[Jersey]

You weren't robbed down there by any chance?

Ah, no, but I try to play it smart. I leave the jewelry home, fish don't care. I leave a ratty T-shirt and pink crocs in my truck. I feel far safer on Bonaire than any other islands I frequent. I lock the condo, don't leave money or technology toys laying around. Again, on Bonaire I feel safer than I did walking past the Methadone clinic on my way to my Tuesday morning meeting in North Philadelphia.

---------- Post added March 25th, 2013 at 10:25 AM ----------

Round trip from Newark is $604 (as of now) for June 7 - 15. (From Michigan it's about $680, which is pretty good,)

Problem with airfares is that it seems the best window for purchasing is 3-4 months out, and it's always a gamble.

Airfare - the bane of travel. Ever read the 'If Paint Was Sold the Way Airfare is Sold' spoof? I think for the week we went Delta was $800-something. Of course then they ding you $65 for 2 bags, so add another $130 to the total cost for 2 traveling. Luckily last few years we have accrued enough miles and points to cover the air, the one benefit to being on the road for a living.

Meal costs run the gamut. To give you an idea of less expensive eats at Mi Banana my buddy had 1/2 roasted chicken (9.50) I had steak ala planche (12.50) 4 beers (8) for a total $29. Add a generous tip and we came away stuffed for under $40. On the other hand, Capriccios - a nice bottle of wine, 1 shared appetizer, 2 entrees, 2 desserts was $278 before tip. Both meals had their merits.

The reefs seem to have recovered from the bleaching. While there are still spots, less bleaching and less of the nasty-red-slime-algae that at times seems to overwhelm the reef. Couple sites we saw stag/elk horn that had been broken or wiped out by hurricanes now in recovery mode, growing and spreading nicely. Yeah, marine life, I'm of mixed emotion on this. Very few Lionfish and that's good. Overall I think fish population is down, just a gut. I don't think I saw as many varied species. Fewer mid-sized like yellowtail snappers, horse-eyed jacks, but I did see more larger species - groupers, barracudas, etc. Tons of creole wrasses just about everywhere. The normal parrot fish munching, friendly angels and saw 2 differnt midnight parrots on one dive, each between 2-3 foot. One boat return we had the pleasure of watching (topside) a sailfish and a school of tuna chasing a school of bait fish into the shallows while the birds circled waiting for scraps. Not something I see every day and I take as a sign of healthy environment supporting larger game fish.

Food and meal prices are subject to your experiences. I live and travel in a major metro area - NYC - Phila - Wash DC 90% of the time. Probably not many more expensive regions in the US. Thus, Bonaire is about the same as home, maybe even a little less when you add our taxes and parking fees in. Last summer we visited South Dakota and found grocery and dining prices to be significantly less expensive, so I'm guessing if I were from South Dakota and saw Bonaire prices, it could be sticker shock. It's all based on your perspective.

 

[lmorin]

My wife and I have been going to Bonaire 4-5 times/yr since 2010. IMHO, there is no bleaching problem or fish numbers problem. There is a lot of variability with respect to what is seen on each trip, however. It is just not predictable and divers should not expect to see the same numbers of the same species each trip. One trip, we saw 10-15 schools of big eye scad, all in the same general location, and each school consisted of thousands of individuals. I do not expect to see such again. During another trip, we saw many dolphins daily--up to 40-50 at a time. Maybe never again. Some trips we see none. In some locations, mantas have been seen commonly over the past year. That is something different. Frogfish virtually disappeared for about a year and a half, but this January were pretty common. Personally, I think that if there are serious changes going on, they will only be observable over a period of years, given the normal fluctuations in the activities of marine life. Exceptions include disasters such as that which caused the die-off of the green morays a few years ago. They are coming back, but are still rather scarce.

One positive action is the growth of staghorn and elkhorn coral. Nearly all of these died off years ago, but there are signs of significant re-growth. It is being aided by a serious effort to cultivate and transplant specimens. On Bari Reef, right at the rocks in front of Sand Dollar, there is a small, but beautiful stand of elkhorn coral much like I remember on St. John, USVI, in 1965 when the reefs were lush.

 

[wwguy]

My wife and I have been going to Bonaire 4-5 times/yr since 2010. IMHO, there is no bleaching problem or fish numbers problem.

We've been visiting Bonaire since 1997. That doesn't make me an expert, but my experience and observations are quite different than yours. I respectfully disagree with your opinion quoted above. This 2011 study commissioned by the Bonaire National Marine Park, titled " Status and Trends of Bonaire's Coral Reefs", appears to disagree too.

The document's Executive Summary (page 7) includes the following quotes:

"Unusually warm ocean temperatures surrounding Bonaire during the late summer and fall of 2010 caused 10 to 20 % of corals to bleach (Fig. 1). Bleaching persisted long enough to kill about 10 % of the corals within six months of the event (Steneck, Phillips and Jekielek Chapters 2A – C). That mortality event resulted in the first significant decline in live coral at sites monitored since 1999 (Fig. 2). Live coral declined from a consistent average of 48 % (from 1999 to 2009) to 38 % in 2011 (Steneck Chapter 1)."

"Overall, Bonaire’s coral reefs today are more seriously threatened with collapse than at any time since monitoring began in 1999."

Personally, I think that if there are serious changes going on, they will only be observable over a period of years, given the normal fluctuations in the activities of marine life.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. The 3 years you've been visiting Bonaire began with the year the bleaching event occurred. Aside from a reference point for your own Bonaire memories, I don't think it's realistic to use 2010 conditions as a baseline measurement for reef health, as Bonaire reefs were already stressed in 2010 before the bleaching event occurred. In the same spirit others with more experience than me might say the same about my using 1997 as my experience reference point.

In addition to the 2010 coral bleaching, other factors have negatively impacted the health of Bonaire reef system over the 17 years we've been visiting the island. The reef system has been pressured by damage from 2 major storms (Lenny and Omar), over-fishing of some fish species by locals, increase in nutrients (possibly due to sewage), increased spread of algae, and small reef fish depredation by invasive lionfish. Many of these factors are inter-related. Information on the impact of these changes can be found in the report mentioned above and in several of the other reports on the BNMP Publications web page. The trends captured in these reports mirror my personal (and very unscientific) observations while diving on Bonaire over the years.

I'm not trying to be Chicken Little and say that the sky is falling. Bonaire is still beautiful and remains our favorite Caribbean dive destination. But in general she's been under some stress from mankind and mother nature for a while now, and she's showing the signs. Saying everything is sunshine and roses doesn't make it so. I'm a little troubled by what I perceive as a trend towards this line of thought from folks that have recently enjoyed great dive vacations on Bonaire. I think it's important to be realistic and open about the topic in order to implement and maintain whatever changes we can to slow the decline. Construction of the new sewage treatment facility, installation of sewer lines, changes in fishing practices, volunteer lionfish hunting, reef restoration efforts, and debris removal activities are all great examples of recent positive efforts to protect this great resource. Personally I'm skeptical that these targeted local efforts will be enough to offset the greater changes occurring on our planet, such as changing climate and warming oceans etc., but that's probably a whole other topic.

I mean no disrespect to you or your post, and meant for this to address the topic in general. I hope it comes across that way.

 

[lmorin]

WWGUY--
No disrespect received! We are largely in agreement. One only has to look at the huge volume of dead staghorn coral on some dive sites to know that things today are not as they once were. My comments were intended largely to rebut the all too frequent comments by posters who imply that the reef on Bonaire has been seriously and recently degraded, either by nature or people. That is certainly true since the arrival of Captain Don (when, so I have heard, he had to cut a channel through live staghorn/elkhorn coral in order to get a boat from land to the reef), but in the shorter term, it is not so obvious.

Thank you for the link to the This 2011 study commissioned by the Bonaire National Marine Park. It concerns an event that occurred around the time we first started going to Bonaire and I doubt I would have been able to see before and after differences. In addition, the report notes that "the abundance of juvenile corals was higher in 2011 than was quantified in 2009" (i.e., the year before the bleaching event). This suggests that the bleaching event may have actually stimulated an increase in coral reproduction and, conceivably, that things are better off now than in 2009.

I look forward to real improvements in the marine environment that I hope will start arriving soon after the sewage system begins to function.

 

[Jersey]

One positive action is the growth of staghorn and elkhorn coral. Nearly all of these died off years ago, but there are signs of significant re-growth. It is being aided by a serious effort to cultivate and transplant specimens. On Bari Reef, right at the rocks in front of Sand Dollar, there is a small, but beautiful stand of elkhorn coral much like I remember on St. John, USVI, in 1965 when the reefs were lush.

You mean this stand, which I was amazed to see when I snorkeled over. Truly beautiful and I agree a very good sign! I look forward to the day when the elkhorn is so thick and big it prevents entry, as it exists in some of the northern un-named sites.

Because I can’t dive 24/7, I need topside entertainment beyond stuffing my face at Gio’s or Lovers. I’ve noticed more shopping opportunities since the invasion of the Pod-people (cruise ships), Kralendijk now has a MALL with an escalator and elevator and there goes the neighborhood. I am a jewlery addict and found great pearls at MG Pearls where I invested a good hour, only regret not buying more. Thankfully my buddy was in a very patient mood that day. I also like the Bonaire Arts and Craft Store.

After a Salt Pier dive we drove down to Kite Beach (Atlantis dive site) to watch the boarding and grab lunch at the Cactus Blue truck. No Lionfish, but thick juicy burgers loaded with good stuff and ice cold beverages. My buddy declares he will try kite boarding next trip. (Just make sure the insurance is paid up honey!) I will sit on the sand and watch.

Tourist TV Bonaire did a piece about Bonaire during WWII and Tanki Maraka, one of the first radar installations in the Caribbean. Aruba and Curacao provided 70% of the fuel used by the Allies during the war, so the Caribbean Basin was important to the efforts. Of course upon seeing this, my buddy makes it our mission to find Tanki Maraka and thus began our Odyssey. We spend about 10 hours over 2 days driving up and down the donkey paths looking for the remains. Eventually we asked around the resort and DiveOps Manager Martin called friends at Scubavision Productions who called the original archeologist directly and he was kind enough to provide precise directions to the site. Only in Bonaire can you ask a question and get the archeologist on the phone! There is virtually nothing to see, some broken concrete slabs, but interesting to the WWII buff.

During this trek we also managed to drive around the Boka Spelonk lighthouse, completing our quest to visit all the island lighthouses. We took the road from Boka Olivia, to Boca Spelonk and ended up coming out by the landfill near Lagun. This was a 4 hour ride over some very tough terrain.Take lots of water, sunscreen and follow the blue rocks. Anyone know anything about the blue painted rocks? We thanked the Blue Rock People for pointing out the path during our drive cause without the rocks, it all looks like barren-rock-strewn-landscape.

All the driving around made me very thirsty and in exchange for participating in the Tanki Maraka Quest (as if I had a choice), my buddy promised a visit to the Cadushy Distillery in Rincon - see cadushy.com. Owners Eric and Jolande Gietman have expanded the product line beyond their Bonaire liqueur to include liqueurs from other islands and Rom Bonaire, Cadushy Vodka and Captain Don’s Whiskey. Grabbing a cadushy cocktail cooled me off while Eric explained the history, theory and process of distilling cactus and we walked around their shady garden. Jolande poured more samples and we came away with bottles of a delicious spiced rum and strong vodka not to mention a buzz (I wasn't driving). They are also involved in restoring the Rincon movie theatre next door and creating a walking tour of Rincon. Very interesting stuff, great hosts and a tasty product, check them out and support the local businesses.

Our last night we drove into town and picked up t-shirts from the the Iron Order Clubhouse located across the street from Little Havana and behind Paradise Moon. I was sorry we didn’t have time to hang and have a beverage as they seemed like a very interesting group. Maybe next trip…