We returned to our favorite condo on Bonaire - Sand Dollar Condominium. Although it had rained the previous 2 weeks, we enjoyed the desert climate and recent greening of the environment. It was hotter than we've experienced before. Next trip, we will try for a unit with A/C in the living room, too. After visiting the dive facilities at Buddies Resort next door, I was reminded how much better the setup is at Bonaire Dive and Adventure, adjacent to Sand Dollar.
Every morning, we sidestepped the iguana and blue tail lizards along the path to the dive shop. Surprisingly, around the neighborhood where we were staying we saw a herd of well-fed goats and a few feral donkeys grazing. Iguana and pelicans were frequent visitors at the dive dock. During our briefing, a pod of dolphins swam through the channel between the resort and Klein Bonaire.
Most of our dives were from the shore on Bari Reef, starting around 11 am and 5 pm, lasting about an hour each. Bari Reef is a short swim from shore directly in front of the resort. The reef starts at 18 feet, and descends to a sand shelf at 105 ft, with a few sand chutes along the way. The dusk dive is especially fun, we call it “the changing of the guard”. Creole wrasses are madly pairing off while other fish are scrambling to find a place to hide for the night....We returned to our favorite condo on Bonaire - Sand Dollar Condominium. Although it had rained the previous 2 weeks, we enjoyed the desert climate and recent greening of the environment. It was hotter than we've experienced before. Next trip, we will try for a unit with A/C in the living room, too. After visiting the dive facilities at Buddies Resort next door, I was reminded how much better the setup is at Bonaire Dive and Adventure, adjacent to Sand Dollar.
Every morning, we sidestepped the iguana and blue tail lizards along the path to the dive shop. Surprisingly, around the neighborhood where we were staying we saw a herd of well-fed goats and a few feral donkeys grazing. Iguana and pelicans were frequent visitors at the dive dock. During our briefing, a pod of dolphins swam through the channel between the resort and Klein Bonaire.
Most of our dives were from the shore on Bari Reef, starting around 11 am and 5 pm, lasting about an hour each. Bari Reef is a short swim from shore directly in front of the resort. The reef starts at 18 feet, and descends to a sand shelf at 105 ft, with a few sand chutes along the way. The dusk dive is especially fun, we call it “the changing of the guard”. Creole wrasses are madly pairing off while other fish are scrambling to find a place to hide for the night. Meanwhile, the night hunters are waking up and beginning to cruise the reef. For example, Charlie the 5-foot tarpon likes to tail the divers who may inadvertently scare up a snack for him. Emerging from the dusk dive, you are just in time to toast the sunset with a cocktail before dinner! We had some great food at various restaurants, as always, although a couple of our favorite places have disappeared.
Unfortunately, permits for the Salt Pier and Town Pier are still not being issued until the damage done by rogue waves from Omar is repaired.
As we have in the past, we dove with the naturalist (Jerry) one day. He always has an interesting land presentation and diving with him is reliably worthwhile.
I brought my computerized reference guide to Caribbean reef fishes. Browsing through the reference guide helps to jog your waterlogged brain, or give a name to a species you didn’t know before. We saw two or three different turtles a number of times during the 2nd week, and even while snorkeling during the last day. We also saw an octopus, usually hiding out in a crevice next to the dock during many of our dives.
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