Bonaire

Ah, we have finally started making headway westward. We are so happy that we didn’t bypass the Venezuelan islands. They were beautiful and no hassles what-so-ever!


We are equally excited about reaching Bonaire where time after time we have heard people describing the incredible diving and snorkeling. This is why we told our friends to meet us there because their son, Jake, wants do scuba dive…for the first time. He is 15…turned 16 while in Bonaire…and a bit hesitant. The minute we arrived we knew it wouldn’t be a problem.

After dodging another regatta race (why do we seem to enter islands in the midst of regattas?) we hailed our friends on Celtic Dream that were already in Bonaire. After instructions to not take the mooring balls (required as the entire island is a park) close to shore in case the wind backs, we are nestled in for the next few weeks. The mooring field is right on the edge of the drop off from shallow water to very deep putting our boat on the edge of the beautiful color shift that accompanies the change in depth. So, the first thing we do is pull out the snorkel gear and plunge in. Spectacular! Jake (and Gretchen and Harvey) are going to LOVE this place! We arrived a week ahead of their arrival so it is time to prepare for company, check out the cool things to do and snorkel, snorkel, snorkel!

We took a mooring ball just in front of Dive Friends Bonaire in case Jake decides to get certified. While convenient, we decided to take the bikes out and go up the coast to check out the other dive operators and of course Captain Don’s was a must see as he is the pioneer of diving in Bonaire. In his 80s you can still meet the captain when he comes to the resort on Monday evenings. The resort is beautiful and we decide this would be a nice place for Gretchen to hang out while the rest of us went scuba diving. They also offered us a ‘yachie’ discount which was $43.00 for all the gear and a half day of rental. Not bad! While there Ed captured one of my favorite pictures of an Iguana. They hang out and beg for table scraps at the restaurant!

The next day we hopped on our bikes and went to the grocery store with the dog carrier in tow. The food is lovely here with amazing pastries, pates and cheeses. We love the Dutch food!

While the bikes were out we went out to investigate the 3 hotels the Olson’s sent us. They plan on taking a hotel room for the last few days of their vacation to have some family time. We decided that Divi Resort was the quaintest of the three; old but lots of charm.

Well, it is time for our guests to arrive! We sat watch in the cockpit because they are taking a taxi from the airport that will drop them at Dive Friends Bonaire where they will get the dinghy shuttle to the boat! They arrived and the first order of business was to go snorkeling. You simply jump of the back of your boat and the scenery is spectacular. That, of course, was followed by happy hour and then dinner.

Jake should be happy because we put the blow up mattress on the settee berth (table made into a bed). He is now 6’3” tall (yes, a basketball player) and every inch in a berth helps!

The next day we hopped in the dinghy to go over to Klein Bonaire for some snorkeling. The first stop was amazing. There were turtles, tons of fish and right along the drop off edge was unbelievable coral! We stopped on the north end of Klein Bonaire for another nice snorkel. Next stop, Captain Don’s where we will sign up for diving the next day. We decided to have some rum punch and a late lunch while we were there. Yummy.



Jake taking the plunge!

 Monday…today we go scuba diving. Ed dove in Grenada but Vicky hasn’t gone since the Bahamas…she can’t wait. While Jake took his lesson, Harvey, Ed and Vicky went up the coast and back down for the first 45 minutes. We came back and did another 45 minutes to the south. Jake was just getting back from his lesson with a HUGE grin on his face. He loved it and the instructor said he was a natural. He now wants to get certified when they return to Minnesota. Not a bad introduction to diving in one of the premiere diving spots!



Kite Boarding on Luc Bay



Tuesday we decided to go to Luc Bay where Harvey and Jake will take kite boarding lessons. Gretchen and Vicky sat on shore under a thatch umbrella, sipping our beverages, watching the boys try to kite board in very little wind! The world champion kite boarder (nope, can’t remember his name) live and practices in Bonaire so we were treated to one heck of a show.



Swinging on Boto



Wednesday the gang went into town to do the typical tourist exploring and shopping. It was a lazy day with, of course, more snorkeling. The hammock was even brought out from the lazarette. The Olson’s packed everything into the dinghy and off to the Divi Resort for the rest of their stay.

Thursday, Happy Birthday Jake! Jake turns 16 and we have rented scooters for the day to tour the island. We are off early as we want to see it all! The first stop is snorkeling at 1,000 Steps. Every location is unique and this spot was as beautiful as the rest!

Next we head north toward Go Meer Lake (a large pond actually) and then lunch in Rincon at the Rose Inn…awesome!



The Olson Gang on their Hogs!

After a reviving lunch we went to the museum at the entrance to the park and then along the north coast which is volcanic and rough. There were wild donkeys everywhere along this stretch.



Hundreds of pink flamingos!



Birthday Smoothie!



The next stop was the lookout overlooking the island to the south, east and west. Then, on to Luc Bay for the world’s best smoothies. Just to the west of Luc Bay is a protected area where flamingos congregate…hundreds of them. Stunning! The Olson’s continued on south to the salt flats as we had to have our scooter back that day.



Friday was going to be our sailing day. We were going to eat some

 Wahoo, compliments of Alex on our return. That is…until the

 weather turned…west, southwest. This is not a good wind direction for this anchorage at all. It was only a bit bumpy when we started seeing the ‘local’ boats start dropping their mooring balls and heading into the marina. It doesn’t take us long to decide that they probably know best so in no time we called off the sailing trip and were secure in the marina.



It only takes a second....



It wasn’t until we went to the Divi Resort that evening that we realized how happy we were to be in the marina. There were 6 boats, on mooring balls, that were rocking and rolling…forwards, backwards, side-to-side! The waves were coming in over the main road along the beach and the officials had shut down traffic. When we got to the Divi Resort the Olson’s showed us photos of another boat, by the resort, that had broken free from the mooring ball and was on shore. By the next day it was broken in half. Yep, sometimes marinas are nice to have around!

The next day the Olson’s are back to Minnesota and we will start looking for weather to head to Curacao. Come back soon so I can beat you again at Farkel!