Bonaire by Dave Guccione

Bonaire, 8/14-8/21, 1999
Author: Dave Guccione

Preview?

Maybe God did not want us to go on this trip. If we were so inclined, we could have concluded that. 10 days before leaving, I came down with an ear infection which normally takes a month to heal. Doc fixed me with some super powerful stuff and we barely won that race. Lisa had oral surgery a week before we left and the dentist found a cist "probably benign, but we'll just send this in for some tests." The night before we left, she severely twists her right knee at karate practice; doesn't think she will be able to carry her gear or dive. It eventually works out. The cist is benign and the diving soothed the knee but there were severe misgivings before we left.

The plane rides Why do my vacation plans always involve an exhausting day of travel to and from wherever I'm going. Both to and from Bonaire we had to start the day at 0 dark thiry hours and on the way back we did not get home till midnite. Delta seats are definitely bigger than ALM's. We were so concerned about ALM's reputation for losing luggage that we checked it only to Atlanta and then rechecked it on ALM and did the same on the way back. The next morning at the initial mandatory dive briefing, half the people said that their gear had not arrived on ALM. Buddy's dive honchos lent them gear till theirs arrived. I got the impression at no cost. Caradonna Agency booked our flights with lots of waiting time between then and it turned out that that was a good idea since we waited on the runway at Curacao for over an hour, waiting for one person whose plane was late. I had printed out Waverunners latest novella and read that on the plane down. What a great story.

Buddy's Resort Cant say enough good about Buddy's. The free transport from the airport saved us $12. Carol, the marketing manager, explained that we had not paid for that in our package but that it was just a freebie they provided if you arrive during normal business hours. The staff was invariably helpful. Considering the volume of people they deal with, I expected some staff reluctance or "island" attitude and I never detected anything other than a sincere willingness to be helpful, very refreshing compared to some other resorts. Their unlimited diving and drive thru air station are unbeatable. I got the unlimited nitrox for the week for $100 and ended up getting my money's worth with 17 nitrox dives. All the DM's were competent but Alex was the most interested in showing us critters and I tipped him accordingly. He is a great little guy, always smiling. You certainly dive your own profiles and we liked that a lot. Some people at the resort rented cars on their own at the airport but we got a pickup truck from Buddy's as part of the package and it was definitely the most convenient way to do it. A truck is much more suited to hauling gear and tanks than a car.

The rooms were quite good. An air conditioned bedroom with a ceiling fan was a godsend cause it was definitely hot. During the day we left the front and back doors open and had a breeze but it was sometimes like being in a blow dryer. The skeeters got rough at dusk so we closed the doors and suffered the heat or left or went to bed. I had noticed that the islanders left their doors and windows open at night and on the last night a long time resident told me that the critters dont bother you after about 8:30. We tried it and she was correct. The apartments have a kitchen with sink, frig, dishwasher, stove, microwave, toaster, coffee pot and dishes and silverware.

There is a nice bar with a thached roof and a great view of the ocean where most guests gather at dusk to try to see the green flash. I had seen it before on a sailboat in Bimini but it was really brilliant on Buddy's bluff. The Thursday night manager's party is also worth sticking around for. The rum punch and the musician are both fun. One young Dutch beau proposed to his future bride publicly during the party. Very romantic. Booze is not cheap here or anywhere else on the island. 8.5 oz Amstel beers are $2 and any mixed drink is $3 +. The local Amstel is brewed from desalinated sea water and is quite good and strong at 5%. All water on the island is potable, a nice benefit. If you plan to drink a lot, get the duty free as you leave the states.

The only complaint we had was that we got stuck several times on a dive boat with no bimini for shade and air temps were in the high 90's. Then that boat broke down once, so we were stuck for another 1/2 hour for repairs. We refused to go on that boat anymore.

Food

General impressions: food was generally hearty, usually too much to eat, well prepared and expensive. Be sure to check the bill to see if the 15% tip has already been added.

I had read some advice to avoid Buddy's breakfasts but they were part of our package and we were very happy with them. Buffet style, all you could eat: squeeze it yourself fresh orange juice, home fries, sausage, bacon, eggs to order, pancakes and cinnamon french toast, several types of bread. Then there was the continental breakfast section: bagels, sliced ham, salami, cheese, fruit and juices. Excellent strong coffe, of course.

We made every lunch in our apartment kitchen both because we dont like to eat every meal at a restaurant and because the food is quite expensive on the island. Maybe if you were used to New York City prices it would not seem so but it sure did to us. We brought some easy to prepare food with us, eg macaroni and cheese, and we bought some food at a local supermarket. We saved about $200 doing this.

Our dinners went like this on a scale 1 to 10, 10 being the best: Buddy's twice, since we were tired and did not feel like going into town. Service 10. Food was one salad and one entree, $32 US, taste and presentation was an 8. Second time was a fresh fish buffet. We arrived late and should not have ordered it since most of the buffet food was gone but we were really hungry. Service 10. Food 7, $40 for two.

Amadeus, a new restaurant, highly recommended by others on the board. A place to dine very liesurely. Took about a 1/2 hour to get the check. Service very, very friendly but very slow to American pace. Food was very well prepared but incongruous, an odd fusion of Dutch and Caribbean. Lisa had fish and I had conch in garlic sauce, excellent, but the side dishes were "interesting". A large scoop of white rice, a bowl of homefried potatoes, a bowl of calliflower with cheese sauce, a bit of home made very delicious pickled cabbabe and a slice of melon. The accompanying fresh warm bread and garlic butter made for a very filling meal. On the house was an appetizer of the best callimari I have ever tasted. I would go there again and just order appetizers. Price was $5o. Compadres Mexican restaurant in Captain Wook's resort. Service 10, food 5. Toughest meat I have eating in some time. Avoid. Nachos and tacos, price $50. At least they had Off repellant available for customers.

Croccantino's Italian restaurant. Some misgivings since we were the only ones there at first. Appetizer was buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes and cilantro. Excellent. Lisa had lobster pasta and I had fresh fish and pasta. The best grilled fish I have ever had. Service 9, food 9. Price $60.

Green Parrot for cheese burgers and fries. Service 10, food 9, price $40

Richards restaurant is not to be missed. Service 10, food 10. Lisa had filet and shrimp in bernaise sauce, excellent and I had conch also excellent. Large portions. Price $72

Diving Suggest you read Lydia and Rags report for a thorough reef by reef account. This will be generalizations.

The diving is the easiest diving we have ever done, anywhere. A perfect place for beginners. Experienced divers should be prepared to enjoy the small creatures and try to find the rare and elusive. Seahorses, frogfish, drumfish, octopus are all there but you really have to know how to look to penetrate their camouflage. A night dive right off Buddy's pier is not to be missed just so you can see Charlie the tarpon zoom out of the gloom. He and two large snook followed us for about 40 minutes. Neat. Only large creatures we saw were tarpon both at night and on the Hilma Hooker, also not to be missed. One diver said he saw a reef shark on the Hooker. Pod of dolphin while we were on the boat. Water was 83F and viz was 100+ most of the time. I dove Tshirt for the last 10 dives. We thought the best diving was right off Buddy's pier, next best was the shore diving, and last was the boat diving although it was not bad, just superfluous.

Summary

We are glad we went to Bonaire and we are glad we stayed at Buddy's and had the package we did. Would I go back? Probably not just because there are so many other places I want to dive and I really enjoy large animal encounters. I would heartily recommend it for beginners. A week for hardcore divers is plenty.