Back to School...in Bonaire!

We’re back…back in beautiful Bonaire!!  David enjoyed his Dive Master internship last fall so much he decided he wanted to give being an instructor a go. We arrived on the island a week and a half before David’s classes officially began to have some fun, dive and settle in.  After setting up our rental apartment with groceries and essentials, we went to the Dive Friends dive shop and booked some boat dives/snorkel trips.  David put his name on the ‘buddy board’ at the dive shop and received a call from a solo traveler who was looking for a dive buddy.  The dive shop mentioned that they knew David and had positive things to say about him.  We did a meet up during which we felt the beginnings of a friendship forming with our new friend, Sophie from the Swiss Alps. She and David did some dives together and I joined a few times to snorkel above them. Sophie and I also did a 5 hour boat snorkel together after David started his classes.  We enjoyed a lovely evening dining and visiting the day before she left.  Sophie is a strong, confident, badass female who loves to travel and isn’t afraid to go on adventures by herself (ie:  3 months solo in Indonesia, Japan & Malaysia).  We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her.  Here’s hoping we stay in touch even if only by social media.

When we weren’t diving or snorkeling, we made time to connect with friends we made last time we were here.  I also returned to the glass shop, Molten Wolf Glass, to spend time with my friend and art mentor, Jessica.  She continues to show me new glass fusing techniques and projects and is helping me refine some of my rudimentary knowledge in this area.  I enjoy spending the days with her in the shop creating and helping customers.  It’s somewhat of a hoot as we always have to explain that I don’t really work there..even though it sure would be fun.  I’ve included a few pics of my recent creations.  

Instructor Development Course

Ok, back to David’s ICD (Instructor Development Course) classes.  This time, his training and preparation is only 14 days.  Well, that’s not entirely accurate.  He had been doing his on-line pre-work for a good month or so before we left home.  As the Course Director aptly said, ‘he kissed his weekends away” and his on island prep was every day from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm both in and out of the water.  

During the preparation, he had a teammate from Holland, Mark.  He and David were both in the similar age ballpark and enjoyed training and doing their test prep together.  Mark's son, Delano, was also on island pursuing his dive master certification.  After much effort, late nights, early mornings, I’m so proud to say that David is now a PADI certified dive instructor!  So is Mark!  Delano also became a dive master.  We had a fun celebration the day they all passed their exams.  Enjoy pics from party # 1.  Party number 2 moved to a new outdoor bar and restaurant later in the evening and as I understand went on quite late.  Note:  we weren’t the first or last to leave.  ;)

Our apartment complex was a beautiful place to watch the sunsets.  It was also by one of the dive sites David had to map last time we were here.  I took many pictures each night as we watched the sunset. I’ve compiled them into a video with one picture for each day.  I did not use filters or editing as the pictures were beautiful as is.  Though no picture really captures the true magnificence of the sunsets and their brilliant colors.   It was on this trip I learned of the ‘green flash’ a visual phenomenon that is said to occur when the sun sets without interference of clouds or atmospheric changes.  It’s something that only lasts a second or 2 as the sun disappears beyond the horizon.  Photos of this remind me of the flash of green color as seen in the aurora borealis.  Sadly, we never say the green flash while we were here.  

Underwater

The underwater world continues to amaze us with its beauty.  The coral looked as though there had been some improvements since we were last in the water this past November.  We didn’t observe as much bleaching.  You could still see where the Stoney Coral Tissue Loss Disease killed a lot of the brain coral and some other hard coral species.  We saw a few baby brain corals which was encouraging. We also saw lots of microorganisms and a lot of baby fish.  We hope that is also a good sign.  The water temperature was around a constant 80-81 degrees which is both good and bad. Good in that the water felt comfortable without a wetsuit but bad in that it’s a really hot temperature at this point in the year…it’s not even ‘hot’ yet so a lot of folks are wondering what that might mean for the corals when the temps inevitably rise. Most likely, it will cause more bleaching.  Climate change is real! 

We took a TON of pictures of the underwater marvels.  I’ve tried to limit them to some of our very favorites to include turtles, eagle rays, morays, hidden octopuses and some of our, or my, favorite fish…the parrotfish (these are the fish that eat dead coral and poo out sand).  I should also note that during one dive (on the east side of the island), David said he counted 36 turtles in his field of vision (sadly, no photos of that).  

I’ve now made it to 42 of 76 of the island snorkel sites on my list.  I’d hoped my completed number would be higher but I’ve spent a fair amount of time revisiting some favorite sites.  I had an awesome snorkel buddy from Amsterdam last year, my friend Marjory.  We had a lovely time snorkeling together and I just didn’t feel like reaching out for a new buddy so my snorkeling has been on a boat when David dives, from the shore when he’s diving or off the house reef by our apartment.  I’ve decided not to rush or push myself to complete the list..it will give me more to look forward to on our next visits.  

As our time on the island comes to an end, we find it a bit bittersweet.  Happy because we are moving on to the next adventure (Colombia to visit Ashley) and will then head home to see family (including our beloved cat) and friends soon.  We feel a little melancholy as we will miss the beauty of Bonaire and the friends we have made here.  It’s safe to say that Bonaire has absolutely captured a piece of our hearts and feels like a home away from home.  

Fun Facts:

• The temperature here is hot…85 to 87 ish degrees with 80-90% humidity which makes the ‘feels like’ temp in the low 90’s.  Despite the humidity, it is the dry season with lots of wind.

• The wind is pretty awesome…it makes the temps feel much more pleasant.  HOWEVER, with wind comes an incredible amount of dust.  Like a crazy amount of dust (see picture of dustpan with 2 days worth of dust from our balcony).  We also had a dust cloud from the Sahara Desert cross the island for a few days.  I’m pretty sure I’m still working on expelling that dust from my lungs.  So what happens with dust and a drop of sweat, water or damp shoes??  Answer:  muddy spots, dirty footprints, dirt in the shower, dusty dirt everywhere, etc.  I had no idea dust would impact me as it has.  ;)

• I remain ever so grateful for airco in our bedroom.  That room has become our ‘clean zone’ as we leave the door closed at all times to minimize dust…and it’s working (a little). 

• Gasoline is more expensive than diesel here.  Also, the pumps are the exact opposite of those at home.  A black nozzle is for diesel and a bright yellow one is for gas.  The diesel nozzle can also fit into the vehicle's gas tank so you have to be careful. 

• US brand foods are at least 3 times more expensive than Dutch brands.  For example:

  • A standard size package of Chips Ahoy cookies costs $10.50 (no, I didn’t buy any).

  • An average size watermelon will run anywhere from $14-$20 (yes, I did buy one..sadly it turned bad about 2 days after slicing it.  I assume it had a long journey to get here).

  • An average size bunch of red grapes is roughly $10 (yep, I’ve bought those…twice).  

• I’ve showered with a gecko…not by choice.  He got into the apartment and liked the corner of the bathroom…right above the shower.  A day or 2 later we saw him in the kitchen.  David was able to catch him and take him back outside. 

• Parrots are quite common around here.  They are very loud and chatty early in the morning (sigh).  

• People honk horns here to say hello or indicate that you can turn in front of them or merge.  It’s nice.  :)

All in all, it’s been another fabulous trip with my favorite travel guy.  We remain so incredibly grateful and thankful for the gift of travel and ability to have these awesome experiences.  

Much love.