Bonaire by Susan Taylor

Bonaire, 1999
Author: Susan Taylor

Okay, Bonaire lovers--and ALM haters--there's soon gonna be another way to get there. Effective December 1, Delta will start non-stop service to Aruba (and St. Martin) from Atlanta. So start collecting those miles, add on a puddle hop, and you're there. I don't know flight times yet, but let's hope it's something civilized.

Let me say this, though, in ALM's behalf. We just completed an itinerary that was fraught with peril--Atlanta-Aruba-Curacao-Bonaire--which we opted for to get a bargain fare of $299 RT. In the face of all that, ALM left the gate early on every leg, didn't lose a piece of our luggage (and we don't travel light), provided brisk, courteous service in clean, roomy planes. I can't remember the last U.S. flight I had that I could say that about. In fact, every aspect of our blissful week on Bonaire was pure pleasure.

This was our 6th trip to Bonaire, and we stayed at a new place (for us), the Bonaire Beach Bungalows. The good news is, we liked it better than any place we have ever stayed, anywhere; the bad news is, it will be torn down in March to be replaced with 17 luxury units. Between now and then, it's pretty much booked solid with repeat guests saying farewell to an old friend. Now, it's not for everyone. There are 6 units, two in detached bungalows, four in two duplex units, and they're a little frayed around the edges. But they have two air-conditioned bedrooms, a nice-size living room, a fully equipped kitchen, a huge front porch with an unbelievable view of Klein Bonaire, town, all the way to the mountains beyond. It's very popular with Dutch families, such as the ones who were our neighbors for our week. And the price is certainly right. They provide tanks and weights, which are readily available any time you need them, but no boats. No problem for us; we go to Bonaire for the shore diving. It's heaven to dive your schedule and nobody else's. Speaking of which, the diving right out front of our bungalow was as good as any we did all week; we liked it so much we did 5 dives right out there. Just grab a tank, gear up, and jump in. We saw squadrons of squid, a cornet fish, a huge free-swimming moray, slipper and spotted lobster, a tarpon--Don even found a tiny nudibranch--all right out front.

The BBB provides rental cars, but since they were all taken that week, we reserved a Suzuki Carry-All with Netty's. She is fantastic (and gorgeous!), and I highly recommend her. She met us at the airport, handed over our keys, and off we went, no standing in lines, no BS. Same with the return--it couldn't be easier. Our car was brand new, though we really prefer the older, funkier ones--harkening back to the VW buses of our misspent youth, I guess. Netty provides the club and advises that you leave windows open while diving, which we did, leaving our sunglasses, T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops out in plain view. Nobody bothered a thing, thankfully, though it was a little unnerving to see shattered window glass at almost all the dive sites we visited.

Because of the location of our bungalow, south of the airport, we ended up doing most of our diving on the southern sites, Red Slave, Margate Bay, Pink Beach, Invisibles, Angel City, Alice, etc. We drove north to Nu Kove one day, stopping at Jeff Davis and 1000 steps along the way. The air was so clear we could see Curacao. That day, we packed a picnic in a styrofoam cooler, which we ate on the cliffs above Nukove while watching two kinds of hummingbirds, Bonairian parakeets, yellow warblers, even two Bonairian parrots. In fact, we enjoyed the bird watching on this trip almost as much as the fish-watching.

As for dining, we only ate out once the whole week, at Mona Lisa, which was absolutely fantastic, sitting at the bar, listening to veteran bartender Douwe's vintage rock CD collection, downing glass after glass of fresh draft Amstel, then savoring their perfect food. I had the barracuda in dill sauce, Don had the pork tenderloin stuffed with wild mushrooms, accompanied by beautiful vegetable garnishes, hot bread and herbed butter, and a big bowl of garlicky lyonnaise potatoes. Dee-vine. And when he handed us the bill, it was only about $35 for both of us. Including beer. Other nights, we preferred to dine in, enjoying our spectacular sunset view, over carry out, such as goat stew and spareribs from Cindany, stewed and curry conch from a Chinese carry-out (I can't remember the name; the food wasn't memorable either), I cooked pasta a couple of nights. The best part was eating a long, leisurely breakfast of eggs, cheese, fruit from the Venezuelan market, cold-cuts, good, strong Dutch coffee, watching the bananaquits and trupials, gazing out across those serene waters, planning our day. After temperatures and humidities in the high '90s here in Atlanta, it seemed downright cool in the tropics, with the fresh trade winds blowing away all my cares and woes.

And now I'm back at work. It all seems like a dream.