Sunday 24th January

Bonaire

Bonaire is part of the Netherlands  Antilles with Kralendijk  as its capital, the two main industries here are salt and tourism especially diving. To dive in Bonaire you have to get a marine park admission ticket which costs $25 US , the park is so well organized that nearly everyone dives without local guides. Luckily for us Debbie on ‘Scott Free’ is a dive instructor, so along with Debbie, Pete and Hans we set off mid-day in the dinghy’s  for Klein Bonaire a small island opposite Bonaire. We tied up to a mooring buoy at a dive site called ‘No Name’. I didn’t stay down very long because I had a problem with my mask but the others enjoyed a dive lasting 50 minutes. After lunch we were joined by Mark and Chrissy.  We had a fabulous dive at a site called ‘Something Special’ close to the marina entrance. You just tie up to a mooring buoy and dive straight off your dinghy. When you dive you buddy up and Pete was my dive buddy, he is very good, always checking on me and pointing out different fish. The water was very clear and the coral and sea life were just outstanding, we saw a moray eel, a huge turtle, sea snakes, flounders, puffer fish, parrot fish and dozens of other fish I could go on and on it really was ‘something special’, even Debbie with over 1,700 dives to her name said it was fantastic.

Unfortunately our underwater camera has broken, so for the moment we can’t take any photos.

The following morning we had a long leisurely breakfast at the Harbour Village Beach Club where iguanas moved about between the tables and a pelican was perched just behind us. We later did some maintenance jobs on the boat and I caught up with the washing.

Sharing breakfast with the iguanas

....and pelicans

Now you see me, now you don’t!

Harbour Village Beach Club