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This was our(my cousin and I) 6th dive trip, and by far the best one. Bonaire has so many dive sites to hoose from both by boat, and by shore. You will not be sorry if you choose Bonaire and Buddy Dive as your next trip. My u/w pics are being developed and I will add them here when I get them back.
The Hotel: A true dive resort that caters to your every need. But
one thing you might be aware of, all the beds are twins unless you
get a suite. They are way to narrow for me! Pool was kinda small but
I didn't hang out there to much. Whenever you needed help, they were
always there. They made sure everything was to the guests
satisfaction. Say hi to Lisa(operations manager) if you go. She will
never forget us I'm sure.
The restaurant: Breakfast buffet in the morning is the same
everyday, which was fine by me. I loaded up at breakfast to get the
needed energy to do all my daily dives. Lunch was a varied
American/Caribbean menu, and good. Dinner had a big, mixed menu. I
never had a bad meal at the hotel. The bar had happy hour everyday
from 5-6pm with 2 for 1 drinks and appetizers. Say hi to T.C. and
Anouk if you partake in the bar scene. Friday night they have a BBQ
on the beach. $20 gets you an all you can eat buffet dinner that is
well worth the price.
The weather: 85-90 degrees everyday, with a breeze to cool you down.
A few days it felt really hot when the breeze wasn't that strong,
but I'm from Seattle so I'm not complaining. It rained overnight
once and no more. We had perfect weather for the time we were there.
The town: Kralendijk is Dutch looking town. Very colorful buildings
and small enough so you could walk it all in an hour or so. Some
pretty good places to eat. Ask the hotel for restaurants to eat at.
We asked them 4 or 5 times and were happy with their choices.
Kralendijk is located about 2-3 miles South of Buddy Dive.
Dive op: All the d/m's knew their business, and they made sure you
knew yours too. They had all the divers put their own bc and
regulators on the tanks. I liked that, but some people may not. The
d/m's checked your air(is it on?) before you leaped off the boat,
but other than that, they didn't touch your gear. The boats are in
Freeport In The BahamasFreeport in Grand Bahama Island is the closest of all the Bahamas to the USA. A quick 45 minute flight from Fort ..... very good shape, always had a crew of two(driver and d/m), and left
on time. When you get "wet" the d/m let's you dive your own profile,
within reason. As long as you stayed in sight of him/her, you were
ok. There was never a problem with anyone in the 14 boat dives I
did. There is a drive thru next to the front of the hotel where you
pick up your tanks for shore diving, along with rinse tanks for all
your gear when you return. A 1st class dive shop all around. No
complaints from me with those guys.
Shore diving: This is what made the trip for me. Talk about the
Oahu Vacation IdeasThe island of Oahu in Hawaii is both beautiful and diverse. A majority of people are drawn here to the excitement of Waikiki Beach ..... freedom to dive anywhere you want, anytime! Just load up your truck,
get some tanks, and go. All shore dives are marked by yellow stones
on the road. Do a little research on the dives you want to do. It
will make everything go a lot smoother. We did 9 shore dives along
with the 14 boat dives for a comparison. Some hints on shore diving:
Make sure you have all your dive gear(no gloves allowed), check the
air in the tanks before you leave, don't bring any valuables with you
(only the truck and hotel keys, wear good booties because some of
the dives have very rocky shores, go slow when suiting up(rocky
shores again), when you finally get "wet" surface swim out to the
reef(usually 25 yards or so) then descend, have your map with you so
you know where you're going, and look for those yellow stones.
The dive sites:
Buddy Reef/La Machaca This is the reef right at the hotel. We did
as a shore dive and a boat drop off dive. A very good dive so close
to the hotel. Both sites have incredible reef color and fish life.
La Machaca has a wreck in 45' that has a pretty big green moray eel.
A great night dive. Max depth 70'
Karpata An awesome shore dive! One of the best dives I've ever
did. Everything was spectacular on this dive. Huge sea fans and
purple tube sponges. Vis was at least 100 to 150'. We saw a massive
Loggerhead turtle that looked like it came from another planet. The
size and how close we were to it kinda mesmerized me for awhile.
Many spotted moray eels, and the color was amazing. Bring your
camera and experience what everyone said was the best dive they did
in Bonaire. Max depth 60'
Andrea 1&2 Good shore dive with the color and fish life of
Karpata. Since we did this after Karpata we were kind of spoiled.
But don't miss this one. And be careful of all the fire coral! Huge
amounts of that stuff. A lot of anemones and big schools of parrot
fish. Max depth 50'
Buddy Reef/Bari Reef This I did as a solo shore dive. Saw all the
reef colors and fish life you see everywhere. Max depth 40'
Sampler A night boat dive at Klein Bonaire. It was an ok night
dive, but nothing spectacular. Not many people on the boat liked it.
I did see some spotted moray's and a big lobster. Max depth 45'
Hilma Hooker A boat wreck dive. The Hooker is 235' in length. It
was a so-so dive. My mask kept filling up with water at depth(95')
and I couldn't clear it at all. So I ascended to about 60 feet and
the leaked slowed considerably. So I stayed at that depth and looked
around while the others were down below. Saw a few big tarpons, but
to me the reef was better than the wreck. Max depth 95'
Small Wall/Cliffs/La Machaca A long shore dive back to Buddy Reef.
We had someone drop us off there while they were going farther
North. Massive coral growth and color here and fish life that has to
be seen to believed. Schools of fish(in the hundreds) would follow
you the entire time. That was so cool! I even had a trumpet fish
follow me for several minutes right next to my head. We saw a small
turtle here that swam between us, then stopped and looked, then went
on his way. Max depth 55'
Town Pier You need permission to do this dive, and a guide. But it
is well worth it and the $20 it costs. The best night dive I've ever
done. The pier pilings are alive with purple and yellow sponges,
orange tube coral, and red fire sponges. Fish life includes crabs,
several spotted moray eels, seahorses, frogfish, and banded coral
shrimp. Bring your camera and experience it. Max depth 25'
Forest Boat dive to Klein Bonaire. Massive amounts of black coral
here(hence the name). Great color and another great dive. Max depth
75'
Front Porch A boat drop off South of Buddy Dive. Saw a pretty big
green Moray eel, a school of 30 squid, and several spotted morays
eels. Max depth 50'
Salt Pier A shore dive to the pier of the Salt Works. Incredible
sponge and coral life on the pilings. And the color was awesome. A
lot of fish life here. Wish I did a night dive here to compare it to
my day dive. Max depth 50'
Dalton's Law And DivingDalton's law refers to the effects which partial pressure might have on divers. This law says that the pressure of .....
Rock Piles A boat dive to Klein Bonaire. More of the same: coral,
color, and massive fish life. A very good dive. Max depth 50'
Jerry's Reef Boat dive to Klein Bonaire. Color, color, and more
color. The coral growth was amazing to see. Max depth 45'
South Beach Boat dive to Klein Bonaire. Big coral formations and
very colorful. Just another great dive to see. Max depth 55'
The Lake/Hilma Hooker My last dive of our trip(23rd). We met up
with some people we knew from last years Roatan trip and decided to
do this as a farewell to Bonaire. Our group of 6 took a little while
to get "wet" so we waited for them at the bouy. Wish I had my
snorkel on this dive! Very good shore dive with lots of color and
fish life. Spotted moray eels, Angel fish, and barracuda were all
spotted. I also pointed out what looked like a sea snake. It was
gray with white spots on it. None of us ever seen on before. Later
back at the dive shop they showed us a picture of it and it was an
eel. I can't remember the name. We dove until we came upon the Hilma
Hooker and turned around and came back along the reef. On the way
back I was playing with two angel fish and they were swimming
between my legs, and my arms when I made a circle. That was a memory
not to be forgotten. Max depth 70'
Author: Mark from Seattle.
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