Hey Gang-We’re starting to get back from Bonaire!!! I was lucky enough to be the the first to get home because of where I live soooooo….I get to post the first trip report!! I’m going to focus on the start of the trip so that others can pick up & add on as they come back on line.
I arrived in Bonaire at about 7 PM last Sunday, all by my little ol’ lonesome. Kamala had arranged for one of our four pickup trucks to be ready for me so I headed over to the rental car place, commandeered a red Toyota pickup, got directions & headed to the Hamlet. The Hamlet is a grouping of condos just north of town. It’s relatively near a great dive location, Cliff (more later), & has a nice little dive shop right next to it. I only got slightly lost on the way & eventually found the office, threw my stuff in the room, & headed back to the airport to pick up the last group arriving that night- my roommate Marla, Walter, Carolyn, & Nancy. I had picked up their keys with mine so we got everyone situated in their rooms & then went in search of the rest of the gang. We found a bunch in one of the rooms- Jamie, â€Chie, Marc, Buzz, Bobby K & Gloria (I think). If I forgot anyone, please forgive me all- kind of chaotic! The rest were out to dinner & we were to meet up around 9 PM for intros, briefing, getting computers, etc. Well, yours truly & a few others staged one of the very first of many mutinies (sorry Kamala & Mike) & headed over to Captain Don’s Habitat next door to hang out & have a drink. We hadn’t been there long when Gar & Mike (Marc showed them the way) showed up with the onerous task of dragging us back for the briefing…..kicking & screaming all the way!
We met in Kamala’s & Mike’s condo, which was to become dive central & met the rest of our motley crew- Kamala, of course, Scott, Jim, & Robert- the only one missing was Michael (Sweeper)- he experienced some flight problems & did not make it to Bonaire until Tuesday. We got the formal intros & briefing. Due to the size of the group, it was decided to split us into two separate groups mainly to manage the boat trips- our boat was not big enough to accommodate all of us at once. We then all dispersed to our various rooms. I was lucky enough to get Marla for my roommate & we hit it off spectacularly!!
Monday morning, after dispensing weights, locker keys, etc., the “A” team headed out for a boat dive while the rest of us geared up for our first dive in Bonaire, the Cliff, adjacent to our quarters. A bunch of us headed down to the shore for our first entry into the waters of Bonaire. It was quite a change from the sand beaches in Ft Lauderdale where I was used to diving! The beaches are very rocky, both in & out of the water & it sometimes made for some interesting entries & exits throughout the week. There were a few times that I (& some other souls who will go nameless) wound up looking like a turtle on its back, often prompting hysterical outbreaks of laughter amongst ourselves, with the beached diver being the one laughing loudest!
We kicked out a few yards, put on our fins & dropped down to the bottom with the reef already starting. A short swim out &....it was amazing, simply amazing. Reef followed by a wall sloping down 130 feet. I cannot describe the feeling that I got seeing this for the first time. We started to drop down & I simply had to do what became my pattern over the next week- I kicked out off the wall & just spread my arms & let the water take me away. Somebody later made reference to Wendy & the children following Peter Pan to Neverland calling “I’m flying, I’m flying!” That was me. I spent most of my time the entire week floating out in the void off the wall doing somersaults or just gazing around in wonder & awe. Everyone had something like that that excited & thrilled them throughout the week. For some it was the prolific fishes; for others, the coral; for still others, the micro life on the reef. But, we all shared our view of the ocean with the others throughout the week which, in my opinion, only served to bring us all closer together as a group.
So, we finished the dive & we all came out of the water just talking about our favorite things- lots of “Did you see…?” & “Was that a …?” The books started coming out & I can assure you that they did start getting a little worn by the end of the trip. Of course, we were all rarin’ to go dive some more & soon enough, we had tanks loaded on the trucks & off we went to the next dive site. That started a week-long diving frenzy among most of the group. I personally made 16 dives during the week & only stopped Friday afternoon because I had an early morning flight today plus, all the diving was making me too cold.
Now, as to my favorite dive? Well, four of us (Kamala, Gar, Jamie & I) were lucky enough to get to go dive on the east side on Friday. The name of the site was something like “Cai” & it was an amazing path winding through various currents at the mouth of a bay. We had a guide, Bass (sp), who took us to the site. He spent about 20 minutes briefing us before we entered the water because the dive we were doing was going to be going through all these different currents & environments around the mouth of the bay. He took the time to sketch it out in the sand, telling us what we would be seeing & experiencing all along the way. Sort of “When we get here, you’ll see…” So, we geared up & went in the water.
Everything was just as he said! Tarpon, turtles, eels, a huge parrot fish, & best of all- eagle rays. We came over the reef & there were two groups of them off in the distance swimming around. Bass counted a total of twelve, he later told us. Just an incredible dive- Jamie got several beautiful pictures of an eagle ray. I took a shot of a turtle heading straight toward my face from less that a foot away. I use film, so I have no idea if any of my pictures turned out yet or not. We were in the water for an hour and 45 minutes & ended right where we started, at a rock wall loaded with lobster. Gar had the best time playing with a baby lobster just letting it back up his arm, dropping it & catching it again.
Whew!! I could go on writing all night & never tell the half of the diving! Some other notable dives- we did a photo shoot underwater holding the Cochran computer banner. Afterward, we presented Walter with his own home made banner for his 1500th dive!!! After the photos, many of us accompanied him on the rest of the dive which lasted over an hour. Walter is truly well named “Yoda”- he is so very serene underwater with nary an unnecessary movement & perfect buoyancy from start to finish. Our small group liked Ol' Blue so well that we did it twice. We did boat dives, shore dives, night dives, a wreck dive- that was really cool. I was first down & came around the back of the stern to see a school of huge tarpon swimming in a circle. About 10 feet above them was the HUGE tarpon just hanging motionless in the water. It looked as of the others were worshiping him. Unfortunately, the school swam off before anyone else got to see that view.
Finally, I want to mention all my fellow single divers on the trip. I just had the best time getting to know all of them- First, Kamala, with her enthusiasm & exuberance- great trip girlfiren’!!!. Marla, the best roommate I could have had with a heart the size of Wisconsin. Walter, the Yoda of the dive who was always there to lend a helping hand to anyone who needed it. Gar, who absolutely loves life & is a pretty good diver to boot (& underwater dance partner). Jamie, the consummate gentleman, helping everyone with their gear & getting in & out of the water. Nancy, who was the best at finding things for us to look at underwater. Adorable, bouncy â€Chie, who brought a smile to everyone’s face as soon as she entered the room. Marc, who impressed me with his desire to learn as much as possible on this trip. Robert, who wanted to dive with us all & got his wish (I think). Bobby K, the bongo player in the newly formed group- Bobby, Gar, & Marvel. Michael (CyclingMike) for doing such a fabulous job leading dives, managing logistics & still managed to log his 100th underwater hour in Bonaire. Jim, our professor, who didn’t get to dive as much as he would have liked but still seemed to have a great time. Scott, another one who didn’t get to dive much but did manage to be in the right places at the right time. Buz, our quiet observer who just dove, dove, dove. Carolyn, a lovely lady who came down too exhausted from work to dive as much as she wanted to. Gloria, the best Margarita maker on the entire island of Bonaire. Michael (Sweeper), who was so graceful about his flight issues that caused him to miss two days of the trip- nary a complaint out of his mouth about it.
I would also be remiss if I did not mention our three new singledivers.com members whom we recruited on our trip- Dion, a beautiful young lady from the Netherlands traveling & diving on her own. John, an American (born in Holland) but living in Amsterdam flying for KLM. Finally, Jazz, another adventurous (& beautiful) Dutch woman who has just moved to Bonaire to work & dive. Their names are probably spelled wrong but these three just jumped right in to the fray & we had a great time hanging out with them as well.
That’s it. That’s all I can write (at least in this post). Saying that it was a great trip would be an understatement, but there it is. We will, no doubt, fill you in on more of the diving & I haven’t even begun to touch on the fun we had going out to dinner, clowning around, happy hours, BBQ- you name it! Now, I have to try & catch up with all the posting while I was away- I heard there was a mutiny here, too?????
Edited by WreckWench, 24 June 2004 - 05:49 AM.
