Jan 19 - Last day of the vacation

Today is the last day of the vacation. We had our account to settle with Yellow Submarine, and again they gave us a very good deal. We did a little island touring to some of the dive sites that we were at. We also went out to Lac Bay for a late lunch.

Jan 18 – Last Dive day on Vacation

Today is the last day that we can dive on this vacation; we need to allow 24 hours after our last dive before we can fly. Today is very calm and we have wanted to dive Atlantis which has been the Kite Boarders’ location for a while. The reason we haven’t done it is because of the dangers of diving at the same spot as the kiters. They are supposed to stay in the deeper blue water, but frequently they sail in the shallows. We have heard of one near miss between a diver surfacing and a kiter, so we have been reluctant to dive here. As today is calm there is a good chance that no one will be kiting at the location, so we dove there. We ended up seeing a Spotted Eagle Ray and I managed to get some video of him swimming by. On this dive I was taking mostly video, so I only have a few shots.

For a complete set of photos and a link to the Ray video, follow this link.

Jan 17 – Tennis and Dive

With the vacation winding down, we only have one dive day left after today. We started early with some tennis, first singles and then some doubles, which was nice. We played in the heat for about two hours. Later in the morning we went for a dive at Yellow Submarine again; still looking for the Sea Horse. I did manage to get some nice shots of the Porcupine fish.

For a complete set of photos follow this link.

Jan16 – Donkey Sanctuary

Today we sent out the last email blast back to friends in Ottawa. After the internet café visit we did a little exploring and found ourselves at the Donkey Sanctuary, so we took the drive through the park. This is the first year that they have the drive through; in the past you could walk with them. There were a few picnic areas where you could get out and walk with them.

For a complete set of photos visit the vacation web site.

Jan 15 – Just another dive day

Today we dove at a site called Andrea II. This was a nice dive; we saw the usual collection of fishes. Before the dive we did some shopping and a short internet run. The afternoon was spent napping. In the evening we had dinner at our unit with Pat and Nathalie followed by a game of cards.
For the complete set of photos follow this link.

Jan 14 – Tennis and Dive day

The day started out at about 7:00am with some planned tennis. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side; it was raining and the courts were wet. We headed back to the unit to continue our sleep. A little later in the morning we decided to do a dive. We had two locations picked out--Bachelor’s Beach and Bari’s Reef, so I had Trudy choose the location. We were then off to Bachelor’s Beach, which was my preferred location. We started the dive, and the water was very murky; it didn’t improve much by the time we got to depth which was about 40ft. I was struggling with my mask and the visibility was bad, so I called the dive off. We then headed over to Bari’s Reef still in our wetsuits. It turned out to be a very easy entry/exit and a nice dive.

For a full set of photos, follow this link.

Jan 13 – Tennis and vacation home shopping

Today I finally got caught up with my web site, and sent out a quick email. We did a quick drive up to the Santa Barbra area to look at a few homes that were for sale. After seeing the local homes our hopes were dashed a little; I think we will be waiting for a reasonably priced vacation income property before we take the leap into Bonaire real estate. For a full set of photos, follow this link.

Jan 12 – Another veg-out-day

Today we did an almost total veg-out. We managed to get to the Internet Café for a quick check of our mail, and a little research into purchasing vacation property in Bonaire. The reason that we vegged out today was because we were terrorized last night by a few mosquitoes that kept waking us up.

Jan 11 – Double dive day

We started the day at 8:00 am by meeting with Phil and Brian to go on a dive at Karpata. This was a nice dive and lasted almost an hour. I think our dives are starting to last closer to the hour, rather than the 45 minute mark. After lunch we went for another dive at Yellow Submarine. I wanted to try a dive with 2 pounds less weight to see if my buoyancy control would be better underwater. It was perfect. I think this was the first dive I truly enjoyed; I had tightened my mask, so I had no leaks, and I had excellent buoyancy control. At the end of the dive Trudy found the largest Porcupine fish (or puffer) that we have ever seen. According to one of the fish identification books we have, they typically grow to a maximum of 3ft, and I think this guy was that or more. For the complete set of vacation photos follow this link.

Jan 10 – Another day of rest

Today we got up early and enjoyed about an hour of tennis--any longer and it gets way too hot to play. The rest of the day was spent lazing around the unit. I did spend many hours working on the web site catching up with today.

Jan 9 – Another Boat Dive to Kein

For this boat dive we were on the public boat, and our group was 4 divers and 3 snorkelers; the other group was 7 divers. We did two dives sites on this trip, and we managed to see another turtle. I got a couple of shots, and then switched to video and got a nice close-up video of the turtle. When we got into the water at the first site we were greeted by a school of silver fish, and one French Angel. These fish were obviously used to being fed by divers, even though you are not supposed to feed the wildlife. One of the fish actually bit Phil when we got into the water and one bit me when we were exiting. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at a restaurant called “Swiss Chalet”.
For a full set of photos, follow this link.

Jan 8 – Dive at Oil Slick

While the dive site name sounds bad, it is a nickname given the site, as it was going to be the planned oil container port; fortunately the port was built at the far north end of the island. On this dive we saw our first Flamingo Tongue. In the afternoon we did a little shopping. We met up with Pat and Nat at Karel’s Pier for happy hour and then had some dinner.
For a full set of pictures, follow this link.

Jan 7 – True day of rest

Today we did absolutely nothing. We did however get up very early (5:15 am) to take Erin and Scott to the airport for their flight back to reality. We then lazed around the unit for most of the day, with one short trip into town for money and the Internet. In the evening the gang came over and we enjoyed pizza and salad on our patio.

Jan 6 – Boat Charter

Today was Erin and Scott’s last full day on the island, so we chartered a boat to take us over to Klein Bonaire for some diving and snorkeling. Trudy and I did two dives and the kids did snorkeling at two different sites while we dove. The reef system is very healthy on Klein and we saw a few new corals and a cleaning station manned by multiple Banded Coral shrimp. In the evening the entire gang came over to enjoy Bobbiejan’s takeaway on our patio.

For a full set of phots follow this link

Jan 5 – day of rest, sort of

While we did one dive, we did manage to get some shopping done, but mostly spent the day relaxing. We got to the dive location called “The Cliff” at about 3:30 pm and had no problem getting into the water; however, getting out was another story. We swam into the shallows too far and had difficulty getting up, which means the surf had time to pound us a little. Trudy got bashed up a little and had a small stumble as she was getting out--nothing serious, other than a couple of minor scrapes and bruises. At the beginning of the dive we saw two Cowfish mating; it was the first time for us to witness this behavior. I tried to get some shots but they were a little too far away.

For a full set of photos follw this link.

Jan 4 – Washington National Park

We got to the Washington National Park at about 10:00 am and started the day's trip. The roads were in very good condition because the rainy season has been fairly dry. This is good for a couple of reasons: fewer mosquitoes and the roads in the park are not washed out. Because the roads were good, we were able to take the long route and enjoyed seeing some things that we had not seen before. We ended up having lunch and doing some snorkeling at Boka Slagbaai, which is a very nice bay, with some historic buildings, and one of the few beaches on the island. To see the full set of photos for this day follow this link.

Jan 3 – Second Discover Scuba

Today Erin and Scott had their second Discover Scuba dive. This time we were able to follow along for part of it and got a few photos. We had lunch/breakfast back at our unit, and then headed out for a second dive/snorkel at Witches Hut. Erin and Scott were on the hunt for a Seahorse. The guide from the Woodwinds trip told them what type of coral to look for in order to find them. We all went off looking but had no luck. For all of the vacation photos follow this link.

Jan 2 – Woodwinds snorkel trip

Today started early as we had to get to the Divi Divi resort by 9:00 am to catch the Woodwinds sailboat. The boat took us over to Klein Bonaire for a drift snorkel. Now I hear the words “drift snorkel” and I assume we simply let the current take us from the start to the end; not so. The entire group got into the water and took off like a shot. I eventually caught up, but it took a while. The snorkel was good; I saw three turtles, and managed to get a video of one. The boat then took us to a snorkel location on the main island. It was a much slower snorkel, and I enjoyed it much more. After this snorkel they served us lunch as we sailed back to the Divi Divi resort. The remaining afternoon was spent laying about the unit, as some of us (me) didn’t use sun screen and got a little burnt.
Follow the this link to all the Vacation photos.

Jan 1, 2007 – Happy New Year

Today was another slow day that started early. I went for a snorkel in front of our unit to test the camera, and the operator. I still don’t know why yesterday’s shots were out of focus, as today everything was fine. You can find the full set of photos on my web site. We enjoyed a dinner in of chicken stir fry.

For all of the photos from vacation please follow this link.