Our annual dive trip this year was a return to Bonaire. This time we stayed at the Divi Flamingo Beach Resort and dove on their boats rather than from the shore as we had done in 2007. We were in room 106 along the water, which was very nice. Next time, and it sounds like there will be a next time, we'll try to get a room upstairs. And hopefully we won't also be joined by the US military.
During our dive brief, the manager told us that the stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was endemic and that some corals learned to live with it, while others did not. This appeared to be true. I was quite pessimistic about the state of the corals when I arrived, but it wasn't so bad. While some areas were completely devastated, other areas had a mix of healthy and dead coral or completely healthy coral. All areas had healthy soft corals, sponges, fish, and other critters.
We would dive twice in the morning and then relax all afternoon. As you will soon see, I was so relaxed I didn't bother diving with the camera and barely took any photos topside.
The resort was located downtown, so we walked downtown for lunch and dinner if we didn't avail ourselves of the two restaurants in the resort. Although slow, the service was usually good and often fun. A couple of our waitresses were very sassy.
The cool breezes kept us from getting too hot. Mosquitoes or sand flies were not a problem. We all had a really good time.
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A fun slide during our dive briefing - dive police |
Brown-throated parakeet |
Steven and Denise at Karel's Beach Bar |
Lori and Steven at Karel's Beach Bar showing more of the tables over the water |
Pier Dos and Karel's Beach Bar at dusk |
Our balcony provided a nice view. |
The view from our balcony to the left |
The view from our balcony to the right, which usually had a large cruise ship in it |
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We watched the sun set nearly every night before heading downtown for dinner. |
This is the Hilma Hooker dive site that we had dove from shore in 2007. This time we didn't dive the wreck, but just to the north where we found lots of cool critters. |
A green iguana keeps watch from the roof. |
We were treated to lots of beautiful monarch butterflies all week. |
We had a delicious 5-course meal with wine pairings at Joe's Restaurant starting with this dainty opener. |
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Steven and Michelle enjoy a joke while I enjoy another lovely sunset. |
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Looks like we had two fish dishes, two meat dishes, and a dessert, not pictured. |
Lunch at Chibi Chibi in the resort. The other restaurant where we had our buffet
breakfast was called Pureocean. |
Dinner at Bon Tapas. The waitresses here seem to be unusually "sassy and
adorable" and Danielle was no exception. |
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