Tropical Inn Bonaire Kralendijk

Our last day of snorkeling, and we saw an octopus! How cool. It wasn't hiding in a hole, either. We watched it launch itself from a rock, glide a few feet, and stick to the next one, over and over.

Reflecting on our favorites..... Last Bite Bakery, Gary, Linda's dive instructor at Carib Inn, pumpkin ravioli at Capriccios, diving ...

... they were 6. Needless to say, I figured they would pretty much show me up. Our instructor, Gary, was fantastic. He had a good sense of humor, was respectful, explained everything clearly, and made us feel comfortable every step of the way. I had already read the book, and there were a few things I was nervous about, but when they actually came around, it was not as hard as I had imagined.

Efter en helt igennem skøn uge her på Bonaire, hvor vi blot har hygget, svømmet, nydt og fundet os selv igen, går turen til DK i morgen formiddag. I løbet af de sidste to dage har vi haft et godt dyk på Buddy's Reef, hvor vi sa mange fine fisk, og desuden har vi haft et natdyk ved pillerne under øens Salt Pier, hvilket var en rigtig stor oplevelse. Det er noget helt andet at dykke, når mørket har sænket sig, og vi så fx. en eagle ray, spine ...

... we were setting up our gear again, my tank with all of the gear fell off the back of the truck.  After that, it had a big air leak…and when Paul’s gear was all set up we found that he also now had an air leak.  Somehow we both managed to damage our gear (specifically, the regulators) within 30 minutes!  We really wanted to re-do Tori’s Reef, so we rented regulators for the ...

... found a flounder.

After that dive, we went to the condo for lunch and decided to dive off the condo’s beach, which isn’t an official dive site.  The reef here was magnificent like the other two dives of the day.  The most exciting find for me was a Hawksbill turtle, about 14 inches long, feeding on algae.  I got to watch him for quite a while.  Emily, with the good eyes, found what looked exactly like a snake.  Further ...

So this was my second time in Bonaire. The last time was back in 2000. I wanted to take Steve to experience kayaking through the Mangroves. I loved it the first time, and it didn't dissapoint the second time around.

Bonaire is part of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao). Aruba is the more touristy brethern. Bonaire is small and very, very flat ...

... a few minutes, a rainbow could be seen in the background. The houses are painted in bright colours

Along the shore, she pointed to us various points of interest such as sights as Devil's Mouth which is a big hole in the mountain. Another sight was 1,000 Steps which are actually steps leading down to the ocean. A lot of divers use these steps.

The ocean along the drive was a majestic ...

... love the remote, shallow salt ponds. We haven't seen huge numbers of them; for that you need to be there in March-April, and you still mostly see them from a distance. They're extremely shy. We did manage to get relatively close to some a couple of times. They're fascinating birds. The entire northern third of Bonaire is a 13,500-acre national park, called Washington-Slagbaai. It's a wonderful, remote place with dirt roads and very little traffic. We only drove up ...

... that Dad and Kathy got all snarky at each other which was kind of lame, and they left me alone for the night; I was a little disappointed because I wanted to go up to the casino with them and then hang out together in the Disco. It really isn't much fun going to a nightclub alone...I ended up playing Caribbean stud poker for a while (couple hours) and then just walking around the ship for a while before turning in for the night. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

... scurrying around, and I got one to come right up to my hand - it licked my finger! Very friendly little creatures!

We then returned back to the ship. It was a great tour and made us want to come back to the island for more!

After returning to the room for a short while, we got off the boat again to look around the shore. We went to a small craft marketplace where the locals sold their wares. Poolie bought me a ...