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Larry's Log'Bon bini', welcome, as they say in Bonaire in the local dialect called Papamiento. We got up once in the night to put bug spray on as we were getting mosquitoes (maybe sand flies) but got back to sleep fine although it was very warm as the wind was really down. In the morning, we got the dinghy in the water, put everything on and went to shore at the dinghy dock near Karel's Bar. We saw Kimberly and Kevin, from Sea Swallow, who were moored right next to us; we talked with them a while and then walked to Customs. We had met them at Bahia Redonda Marina in PLC and they had been in Bonaire for almost a year - they really liked it. We got to Customs and filled in the standard form similar to those from other islands. However, the official was very nice, the office was air conditioned and there were padded seats for both Diane and I to sit on during the process. There was also no waiting. It had to have been the easiest Customs visit ever and it was free! We then went to Immigration at the Police Station. That was also very painless although we did have to wait a few minutes for someone to come over. He stamped our passports and we were now legally in the country. We later found out that we should have gone to the Immigration office across the street but nobody said anything at the time. We will need to go back though in 2 weeks to get our 3-month clearance. Once that was done, we walked around the town a bit and window-shopped - Diane hadn't seen stores in weeks and was going through withdrawal. We then found a restaurant recommended by Allen and Sherna, as well as other cruisers, so we ate lunch there. More expensive than Venezuela certainly, but not too bad and the food was good. We saw Allen and Sherna there as well as some other cruisers we knew, so it really must be a cruiser hangout. After lunch, we walked to the Budget Marine store and I bought some things we needed and then we got some ice cream. We had both been really wanting some good ice cream for a long time and the store we found, also recommended, was excellent. As luck would have it, we ran into Allen and Sherna again and talked with them while we all had our desserts. The ice cream was made in Curacao and was great, especially the tiramisu flavor. We still had errands to run though so we went back to the boat and got dropped off our purchases and went to Harbor Village Marina, the one that maintains the moorings. While Diane paid for the mooring, I walked to a large hardware store and bought a replacement sink drain for the galley sink. Walking there, I saw some of the semi-tame donkeys that wander around Bonaire. It was a small group of about 6-7 individuals and as I walked closer, they walked off but when I stopped to look at them, they came closer, presumably thinking I was going to feed them. Sorry guys, nothing today. The store had the part at a reasonable price so I got it and walked back to the marina. Diane and I looked through the little chandlery there and went back to the boat, having dropped off the accumulated garbage of 3 weeks at the marina earlier. We were both pretty tired from running around all day so we had a light dinner and just chilled. A strange thing, at first glance anyway, happened after dinner though. I had run the engine to charge the batteries and had just turned it off. I was below and heard water gurgling around the hull. Now usually, if this happens, it means something is wrong or we have a leak. But now, when I went into the cockpit and looked overboard, I saw lights in the water and bubbles coming up - there were divers on a night dive looking around on the reef directly beneath the boat. We both looked at them for a while, something to get used too. The next day was also busy. Diane went shopping with Sherna around 9 since she very kindly offered to take her in their car. I stayed aboard and fixed the galley sink drain, finally replacing the one that broke (from when Diane poured candle wax down it). That took about 2 hours since I had to eventually use silicone around the seal - it leaked otherwise and I was afraid to tighten it too much as it was just a plastic drain. I then put up the Netherlands Antilles courtesy flag we bought yesterday. Timing was good though since as I was finishing that, Diane called me to say that she would be at the dock in a minute. I had picked up Cherne that morning and dropped them both at the marina, where they kept the car. Cherne had other errands to do but she dropped Diane off and waited until I was on my way - the dock was just in front of the boat. We got back, put everything onboard and relaxed a little. After lunch, we put up the awning and since the wind was up a bit, it was more difficult than the last time. Afterward, we just did some odd chores until we went to shore to see the reef fish slide show, presented at one of the local restaurants in town. It started at 6 but we went in early to get some ice cream and walked over. Allen had said it was just a 10-15 minute walk but it turned out to be more like 30, but we got there in time and got good seats - there were about 15 people attending, including the family on the boat moored next to us, Revelation. They had 3 children on board and the wife's mother was visiting so they had a full crew. The slide show, given by one of the local guides and a member of REEF, an organization dedicated to preserving coral reefs and the organisms living there, was very good. This week's presentation was on the sex lives of fish, not 'graphic' but very interesting. Since she does a different show every week, we'll probably try to go every Tuesday. Patty, from Galadriel, was there and told us that she and her husband had been in Bonaire for a year and have gone every week so it must be pretty good. We walked back to the dinghy at Karel's bar and had a late (for us) dinner on the boat. The next morning was occupied with chores but the afternoon was great. In the morning, Diane took the dinghy and went shopping and to the bank. She also called our bank in NY (collect) to find out some things while I stayed on the boat, ran the engine for 3 hours to charge the batteries (no wind and little sun) and also emptied the 4 diesel jerry jugs into the main tank. The jugs had to be untied from the board attached to the stanchions and then hauled aft into the cockpit. Thank goodness for the self-starting siphon and the Mr. Funnel fuel filter. We had bought some of this diesel in Gran Roque from the supply boat, and it had a lot of dirt in it although no water. Anyway, Diane got back around noon and we had lunch and finally went snorkeling at a dive mooring just a little bit away from the boat, just outside the Harbor Village Marina entrance. I hadn't been in the water here and could see the clarity was good. But when I got in and could see 60-75 feet down, and with excellent visibility so late in the afternoon, I was amazed. I was also thrilled with the fish life just in this area. We saw about 8 new species for our list and thoroughly enjoyed it. One of the new fish was a 4 foot Nassau Grouper - most impressive! I must admit I didn't expect much, since the site was so close to the marina entrance, but I was wrong. Allen and Sherna came by around 6 to pick us up to go out for dinner. We went to the marina and walked to the pizza place and it was really pretty good. Diane and I managed to finish a large pizza by ourselves. We then took their car to an ice cream place that was also excellent. They dropped us off at the boat around 9 after a very nice evening. Unfortunately, numerous rain showers wakened us overnight and since there was no wind, it was very hot the rest of the time. Regardless, after we got up, the morning was occupied with first going to see someone about a scuba course from the dive shop in the marina and then we went snorkeling at some sites about a 20-minute dinghy ride north of the boat. We enjoyed them and the water clarity was excellent again. The variety of fish was very good and we saw another new species - a Bluespotted Cornetfish about 5 feet long - very interesting. I had brought the camera this time but the light wasn't great as it was cloudy. I did get a nice picture of a flounder though, as he changed color from bright purple to tan - an amazing display. We got back to the boat around 1, ate lunch and went to see some other dive shops about their courses. We hadn't decided definitely to take a course but wanted to get enough information so we could make an informed decision. It wasn't going to be cheap; about $320 each for the PADI certification course and then we would need to rent or buy the remaining SCUBA gear like the regulator, BCD and tanks. We would have to see. We had just gotten back to the boat when Allen and Sherna stopped by to see if Diane wanted anything from the store - they were going so she asked them to get some lettuce. We just relaxed and I did some odd jobs around the boat like put up the 'Breeze Booster' (like the Windscoop that broke last night during a rain shower) and tied down the diesel jerry jugs that I had emptied the day before. And finally, since the wind was so light and there had been some cloud cover, we had to run the engine again for 2 hours to keep the batteries charged. Allen and Sherna dropped off the lettuce; we paid and thanked them for their consideration, and just relaxed for the evening, although Diane made a very interesting dinner of chicken with peanut sauce. Friday was another busy day in Bonaire. In the morning, around 9:30, Diane went to another cruiser, Ray on Precocious Gale, to ask about teaching us the PADI course. He is a certified instructor and he said he would do it and would get back to us later about prices and such. A little later we went to Klein Bonaire to a dive mooring called "Rock Pile" and enjoyed it tremendously. As we entered the water, there was a school of Black Durgon, a type of triggerfish that were there. I had seen one, from a distance, in the Tobago Cays but now there were about 6 just swimming around. We could see very clearly down to the bottom in the 50 feet where the mooring was and we swam around just gazing at the beautiful coral and fish. The trip there was a bit rough in the south to southeast breeze as the small island of Klein Bonaire was exposed to the south but it wasn't too bad and we enjoyed it. The trip back was rough for the first few minutes (probably current against the wind) but after getting past the end of the small island, we were in the lee of Bonaire again and the waves calmed down immediately. As we were coming back, we saw Halliday Girl coming out of the marina and going to the mooring we had saved for them. I had put a large orange fender on the mooring next to us that morning once they told us that they would be coming out from the marina around 1. We got back just in time to help them get on the mooring as Allen had helped us. After lunch, Diane rested while I read but around 2:30, Ray came over with some BCDs he had gotten from a local dive shop to see if the sizes were OK. We talked to him about the course and the price and we decided to have him teach us the class. He could rent the equipment for us and the total cost would be much less for the same class and we both felt he would be a good instructor. So we made arrangements to start on Monday and he went back to the shop and got us a book to study in anticipation of Monday's start. Since they only had a metric dive planning card, he lent us his card in 'imperial' measurements. So, we would finally learn how to SCUBA. A little later, Peter and Vicky came over for drinks and some snacks. All of us had planned to go to a barbeque place for dinner but I decided to stay aboard since I don't care for ribs, I needed to run the engine some more to charge the batteries and I could use a nice quiet evening. So we had drinks and they took Diane in their dinghy and I just went back to my book (the peanut butter sandwich was excellent!). Most of the next day was spent studying for the dive course we signed up for on Monday. In the morning though, Diane went to the store while I studied and did some little things around the boat. I noticed a boat going by with decorations and heard a band marching somewhere and asked Diane when she got back from shopping if she knew what holiday it was. It seems they celebrate a St. Nicholas Day, but the significance is still unknown to us. That afternoon we both read the PADI book; Vicky from Halliday Girl had lent us their book so we could both read one at the same time. Around 3 though, I went in the water around the boat and cleaned the waterline. I was pretty amazed that the fish there had actually cleaned the bottom of much of the growth. The only algae growing was slightly above the waterline and the soft growth on the bottom was almost gone except on the rudder but even that was better than it had been in Las Aves. There were also small fish that had taken up residence near the rudder and skeg - I guess the recesses gave them a good hiding spot. There was also a Sergeant Major that seemed to have taken over the strut and prop shaft as his property. The bottom certainly fell off quickly; the bow was in 20 feet while the stern was in about 35 to 40 feet, and I could easily see the bottom and further out. |