Bonaire May 2011
Bonaire May 2011
Last week, Kim and I set off for a little trip to Bonaire. We had reserver a complete package at the Golden Reef Inn, way back in September and I had been anxiously waiting ever since. We planned the trip to go along with Bassman and Tom Nic. A few weeks prior to leaving, We found out that the Golden Reef had been sold and the new owner was no longer operating it as short term rentals catering to divers. They now rent long term to medical students. Tom worked tirelessly, trying to make sure that our stay/dive/drive package was intact but by the time we left, things were still a bit up in the air.
Kim and I left from SeaTac at 8:30 am on Friday, flying through Huston. In Huston, we met up with Keith who was on the same flight from there to Bonaire. We arrived in Bonaire at 5:30 am Saturday and things looked hopeful. There was a driver waiting for us at the airport, complete with the little sign with our names on it. Off to the Golden Reef we went. The drive was downhill all the way there. First, we'd need to pay for the ride from the airport which was supposed to be included in what we paid. Second, the driver was supposed to be picking us up again to take us to the truck rental but he knew nothing about it. When we got to the Golden Reef, we hit the bottom of the barrel. The parking area was strewn with beer bottles and fresh vomit. Behind the rooms, the pool are was covered in more bottles, broken glass and vomit. Patio furniture was floating in the pool and tossed on the roof. After some quick deliberation, we decided that we would not be staying at the Golden Reef and we were going to put it behind us ASAP, and get on with the vacation.
We got a ride from the Golden Reef over to WannaDive where our dive package was supposed to be arranged. We told our long, sad story to Bob from Wannadive and he helped us find a place to stay and setup a complete package for us. He even personally, drove us over to get our rental trucks. We got settled into our room, went back to Wannadive to do our checkout dive and then head to the Airport to pickup Tom who arrived in the afternoon. Kim and I spent the rest of the day figuring out the local roads, grocery shopping, etc.
With all the mayhem behind us we started out day 2 with our first real dive at Fish Hut South. Kim and I basically followed Keith and Tom around the island the whole week, relying on their expertise of where to dive and when. Kim is generally good for two dives a day and I expected that she would be doing the morning dives with me and that I do the afternoons with Keith and Tom. To my surprise, she was often more enthusiastic about dives 3 and 4 than I was. Of the 21 dives that I did during the trip, she only passed on Three. Two were night dives, which she does not do.
While all the dives were fantastic, my favorite by far was La Dania's Leap. The entry is a 3 foot giant stride off the coral wall into 15 feet of water. The nearest exit is 1km north at Karpata. I was a bit hesitant but made the leap. death star in hand. The reef is spectacular. We had a very mild current, pushing most of the way to Karpata, just fast enough to cover the km in an hour.
I posted a link to a bunch of pictures in another thread but here are a few more.
Kim and I left from SeaTac at 8:30 am on Friday, flying through Huston. In Huston, we met up with Keith who was on the same flight from there to Bonaire. We arrived in Bonaire at 5:30 am Saturday and things looked hopeful. There was a driver waiting for us at the airport, complete with the little sign with our names on it. Off to the Golden Reef we went. The drive was downhill all the way there. First, we'd need to pay for the ride from the airport which was supposed to be included in what we paid. Second, the driver was supposed to be picking us up again to take us to the truck rental but he knew nothing about it. When we got to the Golden Reef, we hit the bottom of the barrel. The parking area was strewn with beer bottles and fresh vomit. Behind the rooms, the pool are was covered in more bottles, broken glass and vomit. Patio furniture was floating in the pool and tossed on the roof. After some quick deliberation, we decided that we would not be staying at the Golden Reef and we were going to put it behind us ASAP, and get on with the vacation.
We got a ride from the Golden Reef over to WannaDive where our dive package was supposed to be arranged. We told our long, sad story to Bob from Wannadive and he helped us find a place to stay and setup a complete package for us. He even personally, drove us over to get our rental trucks. We got settled into our room, went back to Wannadive to do our checkout dive and then head to the Airport to pickup Tom who arrived in the afternoon. Kim and I spent the rest of the day figuring out the local roads, grocery shopping, etc.
With all the mayhem behind us we started out day 2 with our first real dive at Fish Hut South. Kim and I basically followed Keith and Tom around the island the whole week, relying on their expertise of where to dive and when. Kim is generally good for two dives a day and I expected that she would be doing the morning dives with me and that I do the afternoons with Keith and Tom. To my surprise, she was often more enthusiastic about dives 3 and 4 than I was. Of the 21 dives that I did during the trip, she only passed on Three. Two were night dives, which she does not do.
While all the dives were fantastic, my favorite by far was La Dania's Leap. The entry is a 3 foot giant stride off the coral wall into 15 feet of water. The nearest exit is 1km north at Karpata. I was a bit hesitant but made the leap. death star in hand. The reef is spectacular. We had a very mild current, pushing most of the way to Karpata, just fast enough to cover the km in an hour.
I posted a link to a bunch of pictures in another thread but here are a few more.
"Well as much as this pains me I am gonna have to pull out" - pogiguy05
Re: Bonaire May 2011
Great report James! Thanks for taking the time to post. I'm still not back in the PNW and haven't had a free second to do more than a cursory scan of the board.
BTW, James got some awesome pics... make sure you check them out. I love the wide angle shots that his death star took, and the macro aren't too shabby either.
This was a great week of diving that started out as a nightmare. Kudos to Keith, James, and Kim for keeping their good humor and attitude, and HUGE thanks to Bart and Bob at WannaDive for understanding customer service and taking care of some sorry, stranded divers.
Keith and I spent some time looking at other lodging options for future trips and are tentatively planning on a return jaunt next May or June. It will be fun to branch out and we think we've found some good options - good being clean, comfortable, reasonable price, and good enough to not distract us from our diving.
I'll try and post more later, but for now I just wanted to mention how cool it was to see the coral coming back in the shallows after Omar's storm surge in 2008. For those who don't know, much of the shallows above 30 fsw was severely trashed by the waves and surge. It is "normal", but really sad to see, especially when that top 30 feet or so of the dive is some of the best. The Staghorn fields are getting started really well, and we saw quite a bit of young brain and elkhorn coral as well. I have a very few pics up on my FB page. We'll see if we get more up...
Most of our dives on Bonaire are what I call my "extended safety stop" diving - that is above 40 fsw. I've done whole weeks here where I never broke 60fsw. This trip was a bit different in that Keith and I decided to drop down to the bottom of the reef (100fsw to maybe 120fsw) at the beginning of the dive and then work our way back up fairly quickly. We didn't spend lots of time at depth, and were usually back to 60fsw or so within 5 to 10 minutes. What was fun about this was getting to see a panorama of the reef and seeing portions of the reef we hadn't seen before. My first sightings of Black Coral was one of the rewards, as were a few LionFish that we otherwise wouldn't have seen.
Which brings me to the last thing I'll mention - Bonaire's new denizens, the beautiful but invasive Lion Fish. We saw them on almost every dive, usually several. We found them from 12fsw to 100 fsw in all sizes. The good news is that we also saw several large Green Morays - a virus of some sort had seriously wiped out much of the population a couple years ago (we saw none our last trip). Here's hoping the Green's, Spotted's, and Groupers develop a taste for Lion Fish!
BTW, James got some awesome pics... make sure you check them out. I love the wide angle shots that his death star took, and the macro aren't too shabby either.
This was a great week of diving that started out as a nightmare. Kudos to Keith, James, and Kim for keeping their good humor and attitude, and HUGE thanks to Bart and Bob at WannaDive for understanding customer service and taking care of some sorry, stranded divers.
Keith and I spent some time looking at other lodging options for future trips and are tentatively planning on a return jaunt next May or June. It will be fun to branch out and we think we've found some good options - good being clean, comfortable, reasonable price, and good enough to not distract us from our diving.
I'll try and post more later, but for now I just wanted to mention how cool it was to see the coral coming back in the shallows after Omar's storm surge in 2008. For those who don't know, much of the shallows above 30 fsw was severely trashed by the waves and surge. It is "normal", but really sad to see, especially when that top 30 feet or so of the dive is some of the best. The Staghorn fields are getting started really well, and we saw quite a bit of young brain and elkhorn coral as well. I have a very few pics up on my FB page. We'll see if we get more up...
Most of our dives on Bonaire are what I call my "extended safety stop" diving - that is above 40 fsw. I've done whole weeks here where I never broke 60fsw. This trip was a bit different in that Keith and I decided to drop down to the bottom of the reef (100fsw to maybe 120fsw) at the beginning of the dive and then work our way back up fairly quickly. We didn't spend lots of time at depth, and were usually back to 60fsw or so within 5 to 10 minutes. What was fun about this was getting to see a panorama of the reef and seeing portions of the reef we hadn't seen before. My first sightings of Black Coral was one of the rewards, as were a few LionFish that we otherwise wouldn't have seen.
Which brings me to the last thing I'll mention - Bonaire's new denizens, the beautiful but invasive Lion Fish. We saw them on almost every dive, usually several. We found them from 12fsw to 100 fsw in all sizes. The good news is that we also saw several large Green Morays - a virus of some sort had seriously wiped out much of the population a couple years ago (we saw none our last trip). Here's hoping the Green's, Spotted's, and Groupers develop a taste for Lion Fish!
More Pics Than You Have Time To Look AT
"Anyone who thinks this place is over moderated is bat-crazy anarchist." -Ben, Airsix
"Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
"Anyone who thinks this place is over moderated is bat-crazy anarchist." -Ben, Airsix
"Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
- deep diver
- Pelagic
- Posts: 910
- Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:49 am
Re: Bonaire May 2011
what a bummer of a start ... glad it worked out. Great pictures, as usual
It's a good day.... nobody died!
Bonaire May 2011
Glad your accommodations worked out. Sounds like some great help and customer service from wannadive.
Great report, great pictures. I leave for Bonaire in 36 days but who's counting? Definitely will do La Dania's leap. Heard good things from multiple people. I got the shore dive book and will report back next month!
Jacob
Great report, great pictures. I leave for Bonaire in 36 days but who's counting? Definitely will do La Dania's leap. Heard good things from multiple people. I got the shore dive book and will report back next month!
Jacob
Re: Bonaire May 2011
I love to guys at Wannadive and will use them for our tanks every trip. They don't blink an eye when you fill a truck with 20 or so tanks.
Also, if you guys are going as a group again, you may want to check out a private condo or house at vrbo.com. Four of us (me, DBrown, Oregondiver, Funkydiver) went in February and stayed at a great 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo right on the water (http://www.vrbo.com/136643). It was great to start or end the day with a dive on our "house reef." We're returning next February and adding more to our crazy crew (JenBowes, Matt S, and another diver not on NWDC) and are getting a complete house on the water with a full diver set-up and outdoor BBQ (http://www.bonairesunsetvilla.com/house.html). It's very economical if you fill all of the bedrooms.
I can't wait!! Is it February yet?!?
Also, if you guys are going as a group again, you may want to check out a private condo or house at vrbo.com. Four of us (me, DBrown, Oregondiver, Funkydiver) went in February and stayed at a great 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo right on the water (http://www.vrbo.com/136643). It was great to start or end the day with a dive on our "house reef." We're returning next February and adding more to our crazy crew (JenBowes, Matt S, and another diver not on NWDC) and are getting a complete house on the water with a full diver set-up and outdoor BBQ (http://www.bonairesunsetvilla.com/house.html). It's very economical if you fill all of the bedrooms.
I can't wait!! Is it February yet?!?
Kelly
Re: Bonaire May 2011
mancub wrote: Definitely will do La Dania's leap. Heard good things from multiple people. I got the shore dive book and will report back next month!
Jacob
Hi, my name is Keith, and I'm a Dive Addict!
Re: Bonaire May 2011
This was a great trip after a rocky start.
James and Kim were a great addition, Thanks for being flexible. Just when the lodging conditions seemed less than what was planned, Kim (Gutholmj's Wife) said, "Well we are here to dive, aren't we?" What a trooper! Hang on to that one James!
Alice in Wonderland, Oil Slick Leap and Le Donia's Leap were a few of my favorite dives. After a while, it seemed so redundant to say, "That was a great Dive!" Because they all, were great in their own little way. Thanks Tom Nic, for being the perfect Dive Buddy, again! I have a bunch of pictures that I'm not sure what to do with or where to post them. Maybe on Flicker, facebook or something else. Here are a few ...
James and Kim were a great addition, Thanks for being flexible. Just when the lodging conditions seemed less than what was planned, Kim (Gutholmj's Wife) said, "Well we are here to dive, aren't we?" What a trooper! Hang on to that one James!
Alice in Wonderland, Oil Slick Leap and Le Donia's Leap were a few of my favorite dives. After a while, it seemed so redundant to say, "That was a great Dive!" Because they all, were great in their own little way. Thanks Tom Nic, for being the perfect Dive Buddy, again! I have a bunch of pictures that I'm not sure what to do with or where to post them. Maybe on Flicker, facebook or something else. Here are a few ...
Hi, my name is Keith, and I'm a Dive Addict!
Bonaire May 2011
Bassman,
Thanks for the tip on finding La Dania's leap! That info coupled with a picture I found online should get us pretty close. I plan to dive Karpata first, then on a following day do La Dania so we have a feel for the area. My navigation has returned me from every dive so far...
Thanks for the report. Hearing about your awesome trip is getting me pumped up!
Jacob
Thanks for the tip on finding La Dania's leap! That info coupled with a picture I found online should get us pretty close. I plan to dive Karpata first, then on a following day do La Dania so we have a feel for the area. My navigation has returned me from every dive so far...
Thanks for the report. Hearing about your awesome trip is getting me pumped up!
Jacob
Re: Bonaire May 2011
Damn that looks swanky. We may as well have been camping. Kim suggested that we might just move into one of the slave huts for our next trip but I think we'll go just a bit more upscale.ktb wrote:I love to guys at Wannadive and will use them for our tanks every trip. They don't blink an eye when you fill a truck with 20 or so tanks.
Also, if you guys are going as a group again, you may want to check out a private condo or house at vrbo.com. Four of us (me, DBrown, Oregondiver, Funkydiver) went in February and stayed at a great 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo right on the water (http://www.vrbo.com/136643). It was great to start or end the day with a dive on our "house reef." We're returning next February and adding more to our crazy crew (JenBowes, Matt S, and another diver not on NWDC) and are getting a complete house on the water with a full diver set-up and outdoor BBQ (http://www.bonairesunsetvilla.com/house.html). It's very economical if you fill all of the bedrooms.
I can't wait!! Is it February yet?!?
"Well as much as this pains me I am gonna have to pull out" - pogiguy05
Re: Bonaire May 2011
Yeah, DBrown and I did the Wannadive Huts for our first trip. As much as I love those guys for a dive operation, the accommodations at the Huts are . . . sparse. Personally, I like to make my own breakfast (on my own timetable) and after a long day of diving, I want a nice place where I can relax and unwind and not pay bar prices for my Polars. And with the convenience of walking into the water whenever we want . . . oh yes, it's soooo worth it.gutholmj wrote:Damn that looks swanky. We may as well have been camping. Kim suggested that we might just move into one of the slave huts for our next trip but I think we'll go just a bit more upscale.ktb wrote:I love to guys at Wannadive and will use them for our tanks every trip. They don't blink an eye when you fill a truck with 20 or so tanks.
Also, if you guys are going as a group again, you may want to check out a private condo or house at vrbo.com. Four of us (me, DBrown, Oregondiver, Funkydiver) went in February and stayed at a great 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo right on the water (http://www.vrbo.com/136643). It was great to start or end the day with a dive on our "house reef." We're returning next February and adding more to our crazy crew (JenBowes, Matt S, and another diver not on NWDC) and are getting a complete house on the water with a full diver set-up and outdoor BBQ (http://www.bonairesunsetvilla.com/house.html). It's very economical if you fill all of the bedrooms.
I can't wait!! Is it February yet?!?
Kelly
Re: Bonaire May 2011
First cold water dive after Bonaire was last Wednesday, 12 feet for 30 minutes, it was like I was in an aquarium.
Wait, It was the aquarium @ Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium!
A nice gentle return to the cold water. Tomorrow I get to do it again!
Maybe I'll be back to Thursday diving if I get my tanks back from being Vipped.
My schedule will be changing for a few weeks, so I might even dive on the weekend next week!
I sure miss Bonaire! :queenliz:
Keith
Wait, It was the aquarium @ Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium!
A nice gentle return to the cold water. Tomorrow I get to do it again!
Maybe I'll be back to Thursday diving if I get my tanks back from being Vipped.
My schedule will be changing for a few weeks, so I might even dive on the weekend next week!
I sure miss Bonaire! :queenliz:
Keith
Hi, my name is Keith, and I'm a Dive Addict!
Re: Bonaire May 2011
Great pics everyone. Sounds like a lot of fun Reminds me of the great trip I had there in December. Hopefully I will make it back someday.
mancub, just a quick note for you. That last stretch of road going north turns one way somewhere between Oil Slick Leap and Karpata. We had planned to do a morning Karpata dive and then work our way south, however we had to take a big detour around the island because we couldn't head back along the road once we made it to Karpata. If you are planning on doing a few dives on that same leg, I'd dive the sites along that road South to North and finish at Karpata. The roads getting you back from Karpata can be a bit confusing, we went back through Rincon, then to the other side of the island, and came up over Kuruburu before getting back to Kralendijk. Someone who knows the back-roads better might have an easier way. Anyway, something to consider as you are planning a trip North. Have a great time. Shameless plug, but I have some video up from my trip if you feel like checking it out (http://vimeo.com/19023350).I plan to dive Karpata first, then on a following day do La Dania so we have a feel for the area.
My video page: https://vimeo.com/aarongifford/videos/
Bonaire May 2011
Aaron
Thanks for the heads up on the road near Karpata! Definitely a good note to remember. I will be sure to plan accordingly.
Jacob
Thanks for the heads up on the road near Karpata! Definitely a good note to remember. I will be sure to plan accordingly.
Jacob
Re: Bonaire May 2011
one more...
Although, I would advise you not to press your forehead or mask against the big concrete block, as you are taking your fins off!
Sorry Kim, just calling it as it looks, in this picture
Although, I would advise you not to press your forehead or mask against the big concrete block, as you are taking your fins off!
Sorry Kim, just calling it as it looks, in this picture
Hi, my name is Keith, and I'm a Dive Addict!
- deep diver
- Pelagic
- Posts: 910
- Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:49 am
Re: Bonaire May 2011
looks like the walk in was pretty rugged, hope it wasn't far.
It's a good day.... nobody died!
Re: Bonaire May 2011
Naw it is all coral and is well travelled.
Hi, my name is Keith, and I'm a Dive Addict!
Re: Bonaire May 2011
Well, I poked at you a bit so I think it's only fair that you poke at Kim a bit. Post as many awkward pictures of her as you would like .BASSMAN wrote:one more...
Although, I would advise you not to press your forehead or mask against the big concrete block, as you are taking your fins off!
Sorry Kim, just calling it as it looks, in this picture
"Well as much as this pains me I am gonna have to pull out" - pogiguy05
- funkydiver
- Frequent Bubbler
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:43 am
Re: Bonaire May 2011
Those were my exact thoughts when I read through the post... can't wait!!!!ktb wrote:I love to guys at Wannadive and will use them for our tanks every trip. They don't blink an eye when you fill a truck with 20 or so tanks.
Also, if you guys are going as a group again, you may want to check out a private condo or house at vrbo.com. Four of us (me, DBrown, Oregondiver, Funkydiver) went in February and stayed at a great 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo right on the water (http://www.vrbo.com/136643). It was great to start or end the day with a dive on our "house reef." We're returning next February and adding more to our crazy crew (JenBowes, Matt S, and another diver not on NWDC) and are getting a complete house on the water with a full diver set-up and outdoor BBQ (http://www.bonairesunsetvilla.com/house.html). It's very economical if you fill all of the bedrooms.
I can't wait!! Is it February yet?!?
Growing old is mandatory... Growing up is optional