Bonaire 2006


	This was our first dive trip in 2 years due to the cost of travel last year. We were excited because there is now a direct flight from Houston International airport & Bonaire. Always before we have had to change planes in Miami or San Juan which is an issue with luggage, both for theft and just being assured it would show up. We drove to Houston in the afternoon to catch a Friday night 11:30PM flight which lands at 5:15AM on Saturday.

10/05/2008

The Travelers

Don & I went with his sister Nancy & Dave, her husband. This is our 5th or 6th trip to Bonaire, so you know we like it. Instead of staying at the Divi timeshares or hotel as we have done in the past, we elected to find affordable lodging outside of a resort hotel. We found a great solution and will definitely go back.

New camera to play with this year. We sold our underwater film cameras last year and bought an underwater housing and one strobe for our Canon Digital Rebel SLR camera. We still have to work on techniques with this camera, but the pictures come out much sharper.

Where we stayed

This is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment that is one side of a duplex. There were always people in the next side too, but we could never hear them. It was very private. All floors inside are all tiled and the kitchen & bath walls are too. This is great for divers as the cleanup is easy after tracking in all that sand and ocean. The entry is an 8 ft. deep, 30 ft. wide gallery/veranda/porch that goes across the entire front. There is a yard with nice landscaping, a charcoal grill and hanging space in the back with a tub that can be used for rinsing gear.

I should also mention that only the bedrooms were air conditioned and there is no maid service. I'm sure that is part of what keeps it affordable. We spent most of our waking time while at the apartment on the front veranda. It also came with a pair of resident birds starting their family in one of the ceiling lights on the veranda.

Eating / diving

If you know Bonaire, you know it is mostly shore diving. We did 3 dives a day for most of the 2 weeks and one day we contracted for a 2 tank boat dive over to Klein Bonaire. Our apartment came with a car, which was actually a 4 passenger pickup. This let us take out 12 tanks at a time so that we could stay out until we had finished our 3 dives.

We ate breakfast at the apartment (cereal, toast or fruit) and ate dinner out. Bonaire has some of the best restaurants we have been to anywhere. Our favorites were LeFlamboyant, It Rains Fishes and Croccotinos.

Here are some shots of us eating at a couple of restaurants