BONAIRE

I was happy to be going to Bonaire, because I could then be able to brag about how I have gone diving on all three ABC islands. Bonaire is much less sophisticated than her sister islands. There are hotels, fine restaurants, and shopping, but in much less quantity.

We stayed at the Plaza Resort, which was conveniently located near the airport and the town of Kralendijk. Our diving was taken care of by Toucan Diving, which has a terrific operation. Be forewarned, that the first dive you do with them is a shore dive off the beach in front of the resort, during which you must prove to them you can handle your equipment and that your bouyancy is under control. Photographers should also know that they will jump all over you if you touch anything, and I do mean anything, other than sand or dead spots on the coral. Bonaire is a marine sanctuary and the dive operations take this very seriously. That said, Toucan Diving allowed us plenty of bottom time, and didnt baby sit us constantly. As you can imagine, with the constant watchfulness of the divemasters, the reefs are in fantastic shape. The sponges, soft corals and hard corals are alive and beautiful.

Two terrific night dives are the Town Pier and the Salt Pier. You need to have a divemaster with you, who has obtained permission from the harbormaster, to dive these sites. The Town Pier is considered the "must dive" spot in Bonaire, but personally I enjoyed the Salt Pier much more and thought there was much more to see. Keep in mind that Bonaire is a terrific macro dive destination. You will not see many big fish, but you will see frogfish, scorpionfish and seahorses, to name a few of the small critters. Bonaire is famous for its shore diving, and they make it easy for you. Dive sites are clearly marked and very accessible. Some, like the 1000 Steps(really only 64) are more difficult to get to, but the trouble getting to the sites is worth the energy you expend. I enjoyed my time in Bonaire and would dive there again.

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