| SCUBATREKKERS Bonaire 2004 Story |
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| It was bloody cold, gray skies and snow was just around the corner, when we left Switzerland at the beginning of December, embarking for another Scuba Dive Adventure on one of our favorite islands in the Caribbean: Bonaire! Two weeks in diving paradise... here is our trip report. |
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| It was the 4th of December 2004 when our plane touched down on Flamingo Airport in Bonaire. Bruno had a huge cold he fighted most of the previous week back home. I mean it is the worst that can happen to you... shortly before you go on a once a year dive trip, right?! Other than that the spirit in our little group from Switzerland, consisting of Sandra, Ursi, Mike, Mario and Bruno, was very good. We couldn't wait to meet up with the rest of our crew Tanya and Daniel, who flew in from Los Angeles and to jump into the turquoise blue water full with our little fish friends. Upon arrival we picked up our rental truck from ABC Rentals. Those pickup's are just perfect for the diving on Bonaire. But they certainly show some of the heavy duty treatment from every day shore diving people. Lots of rusty spots and tires with not much left on the rubber. But then again - if the rental car looks like that, you don't have to be so careful yourself with it. |
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| One of the nicest things on a trip to Bonaire is to arrive at the Belmar Oceanfront Apartments just south of the airport. This is truly a home away from home! The diving upfront is so relaxing and great... you could spend two weeks just on this spot. The amenities of the Belmar are perfect for the traveling diver. Comfortable bedrooms, a convenient kitchen and a nice patio which was our meeting point every evening to have some beers and to fill in all the adventures of the day into our logbooks. And last but certainly not least... I want to mention the incredible location right at the gate to the Caribbean Sea. |
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| After settling down in our apartments the diving could start. Oh yeah... we were so desperate to get some nitrogen into our lungs. SCUBATREKKERS geared up and jumped into the action! All in all we did 33 dives on Bonaire and every single one was great. The typical diving day on Bonaire works like that: you trow your gear into your pickup truck, then quickly decide, where you want to go diving, a short drive to the spot, parking your "dive boat on wheels" right at the edge of the ocean, gearing up and go...! Is there an easier way than that? We always especially appreciated, that you decide your own time, there are no crowds at all and most of the time you will have the reef and all its inhabitants all to yourself. |
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| After the first dive you'll have a look at the map once again and then drive to the second site for another relaxing dive. Then its time for lunch! Often we went to one of the many restaurants in Kralendijk and enjoyed a salad, sandwich or burger in paradise. On some days we also went back to our appartment and indulged on our self made food while sitting under a shady umbrella watching the ocean. The only problem with that was the fact, that the Belmar Iguanas wanted to join in and tried to snatch some meal for themselves. One Iguana certainly hit the top when it took a suprise attack on a cup of coffee... taking a rather murky dive. In the afternoon we either went for another dive at the Belmar Reef in front of our appartment or waited until dusk to enjoy a night dive. So many choices... so little time! |
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| It is very hard to pick a favorite dive spot on Bonaire. But to mention a few memorable sites we give two thumbs up to our house reef the Belmar. This is the place where we observed an octopus feeding for almost 30 minutes while on a night dive. On another occasion we were suprised by the largest Green Morray Eel ever. That sucker was at least 10 feet long with a head as big as a double sized football. But the screamer of the year must have been the Manta Ray... that flew over our heads! And who said, that Bonaire has only small critters to see? Some other great spots are Karpata, 1000 Steps and the Hilma Hooker wreck. Or how about the reef just in front of the Buddy Dive Resort? In a single dive we discovered so many animals such as two little seahorses, turtles, porcupine fish, tarpons and much much more. |
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| Topside there was plenty of action too. Besides the funny shows the iguana's always delivered in pursiut of food or a sunny spot, there where also the donkey's staring at you on every corner of the island. A nice but shaky drive through Washington Slaagbai National Park or the T-Shirt shopping stroll in Kralendijk kept us busy during survace intervals. But the highlight of the week was the stopover of the worlds largest ocean liner: The Queen Marie II. |
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| SCUBATREKKERS also love to enjoy good food! So mealtime was either had at the appartment with the international cuisine of our members. Marios scrambled egg specials every morning, Daniels shrimp feast or Ursi's suprise Swiss X-mas cookie event... ginger bread in paradise :-) |
| There is also a wide variety of restaurants on the island. Our top favorite is the La Guernica with a very nice atmosphere and incredible Tapas. Bruno only felt very sorry for the lobster, which was prepared superbly... |
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| Other good choices are the Casablanca, if you love huge piles of meat or the City Caf�, with its nice drinks. A very bad experience was the Swiss Chalet... Despite being Swiss ourselves this place gave us the creeps --------> Susi - the owner & waitress - tried the temperature of the wine with her finger in the glas in front of us... just to give an example! |
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| And so the story goes... the two weeks went by way too fast. The SCUBATREKKERS crew had to pack their bags with all the great memories, lots of cool diving t-shirts and sad feelings. Oh... and something else too: Ursi and Sandra - both did not dive on this trip - collected about 5 - 6 pounds of shells while combing the beaches. They packed them all carefully in plastic trays in their luggage inbetween clothes etc. to take them home to Switzerland. But the custom people at Flamingo Airport apparently did not like the idea of having so many shells deported and took them all out of the bags. As you can imagine... the frustration was quite large upon discovery of the lost treasures back home! So heed our advice... collect only a few and leave the rest on the island! |
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| Bonaire... we will be back sometime! Another incredible dive trip was over. It was so nice to have many of the SCUBATREKKERS members in one place again and to enjoy the underwater world together! Where will the next meeting be? And who will join our international crew of divers? Bonaire is always a great option and it feels already a little bit like the dive clubs home in the Caribbean. Keep on checking our "What's Bubbling" section to find out about the next adventure. Have you Scuba gear ready at all times... |