Steve:
Nice report- Great photos and info.
I am heading down in 3 weeks ( first trip), staying at BB's Carib Inn. Any suggestions for "MUST BRING" stuff?
I have been shooting Pix for a couple of years now, but the suggestion to take the course sounds awesome. With everything we have invested in equipment, an extra $75 is nothing. I will really try to arrange i when I'm there.
THanks again,
DD
DD,
Here's some things that came in pretty handy:
A small dry box that fits in a BC to carry car keys, room key, a credit card, and a $20.00
We brought our own empty drinking water bottles, filled them half full of water and laid them on their side in the freezer. Filling them up as we left for our dive made for some nice cold water to drink after our dive.
Once we got there we purchased a couple of 2 litre bottles of soda, drank the soda and filled the bottles with water. We'd set the bottles on the hood of the truck while we did our dive. They made for a nice, warm shower to rinse off the salt after a dive.
The obvious - sunscreen and insect replellent.
At Den Leman (and I think this is a common practice down there in many places), they provided bath towels but did not have wash cloths so you may want to pack a few of your own.
I brought my laptop so I could view my pics in the evening and free up the space on my memory cards
If you're going to eat out all three meals a day, bring more many than you think you need. The food is good but it's an island . . . you can find good deals but for the most part the food will be a little more than you're probably used to paying in the states.
I wore my compass but I don't think I ever looked at it.
Get the book, Bonaire Shore Dives Made Easy by Susan Porter. A google search will pull it up. You can also pick it up once you get there.
Look over your truck rental very carefully . . .they will when you return it. Buy the extra insurance.
Eat at Rose's in Rincon.
Get the ribs at BobbeJans.
Be sure to take your camera on your land excursions.
On the camera course, email Tim at Fish Eye Photo in advance. I'm not 100% sure, but my bet is that if you tell him your skill level and what you'd like to accomplish he'll customize the class to meet your needs.
The biggest must have is go down there ready to slooooow down and enjoy island pace and be ready to already start planning a return trip before you even get home.
If I think of anything else that's a must have I'll be sure to post it. Have a great trip. I can tell you that ours exceeded our expectations.
