The Good: Dushi Bonaire. 18 shore dives solo. No rain, no mosquitoes. Accomodations were great. Would stay with Coco Palm Gardens again. Did mostly my own cooking and ate great on very little money compared to eating out. Went to two buffets at CPG. Both were good. Saw no lionfish and only two markers.
The Bad: Truck rental was way pricey. CPG arrainged it and I could have done much better with another rental company. I was not terribly happy with the "unlimited air" package (again through CPG). Price was right but tanks were only available during limited hours. Maybe that's normal but to me unlimited air 24/7 is round the clock. Also the boat dive I took with them sucked big time. Email me at
frdbates@gmail.com for details and name of dive op. Also, visibility was really poor compared to what I expected. As low as 10-15 feet in some places and never more than 30-40 feet. The excessive rain was supposed to be the cause.
The Ugly: No one told me to park with the gas fill opening tight against a wall and $50+ of gas was siphoned from my tank the second night there. I quickly learned to park within inches of the wall. Going through Aruba airport and staying overnight on the way back was a nightmare. I would never travel to or through Aruba again.
In short, the shore diving was great though a bit tricky to get in the water with the surge and waves. Not bad once I got the hang of it. Snorkeling was poor, at best, compared to Dominica, for example. I'm glad I spent two weeks on Bonaire. I don't think I'll be going back.
Pictures and short videos here:
http://community.webshots.com/album/579706075VutLJC
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