April 9, 2012
Unfortunately, I came down with a bit of a cold yesterday so I decided to sleep in and Eric went and did the shark dive with the rest of the group. They saw three or four thresher sharks and one of them circled around them for quite a while.
After he got back from the shark dive we had some breakfast and got ready for the next two dives of the day which were at Gato Island which was about an hour away.
The first dive at Gato was a cave/tunnel. We got in the water and dropped down and entered the mouth of the tunnel and headed toward the other end which opened into a cave where the sharks usually sleep and hang out. It was neat seeing the light shining into the tunnel silhouetting the sharks swimming around.
The current was trying its best to suck us out of the tunnel and into the open water. We all had to fight to stay in place to take pictures/video. After we swam out of the tunnel there was an area where the sharks sometimes rest/sleep. There were three or four sharks laying there. Eric crept up really slowly on his belly and got some good pictures. I took a vantage point above him and when they started swimming around one of them swam right at me as I was recording. I got some really good footage.
After we left the tunnel/cave area we swam around to the left and up along the wall.
We saw tons of clownfish. I bet every five feet there was an anemone with some type of clownfish/anemone fish in it. We also saw a very nice cuttlefish and several different nudibranchs.
After the first dive we got back on the boat to have our lunch and of course a nice Filipino rain shower moved in and lasted almost our entire hour plus surface interval. By the time we got back in the water for the second dive it had cleared off, of course.
The second dive was also at Gato but was just along the wall. There was a pretty good current most of the dive and we drifted along pretty good for a while. Right as we got in we saw a sea snake below us swimming off into the blue. The visibility was not the best for this dive but there was lots of colorful soft coral to see.
The dive guides here are really good. One of them is from Vermont and I can’t help but like her, her name is Shelagh (the traditional Irish spelling of Sheila). The captain of the boat confirmed that is the first time they have ever had two Sheilas on board the boat. She is an excellent dive guide and all around a lot of fun. She has been here at Evolution since October of last year. I told her I would leave her our solar shower when we leave since she has not had a hot shower since she got here--she was very excited.
The first day we got here I put out my solar shower and it got so hot I had to add a bunch more water to it to bring it to the point where I could attempt to use it. It felt really good though. The last two days it has clouded up and rained in the afternoon so it has not had a chance to get as hot, but still feels pretty good after a day of diving.
Eric and I were just commenting today we have not had a pair of shoes on since we got here. We walk everywhere barefoot. It is really nice.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Malapascua 2012, Day 3
April 8, 2012
Today was an early start. We woke up at 4:15 a.m. to do the 5 a.m. trip to Monad Shoal for the thresher shark dive. We dove with 11 other people. We had a quite diverse group of divers. Some from Sweden, Switzerland, Philippines, Canada, Germany, Holland and of course us from the U.S.
We got lucky and had quite a few shark sightings. Someone who was on the dive the day prior said they came in much closer this time. Unfortunately, I don’t think I got very good video today, but I am sure we will be going back. However, Eric got some good pictures of the sharks.
After the shark dive we came back to Evolution for breakfast and then headed out again for a longer two-dive trip to Kalanggaman Island. Both dives were wall dives. We started out shallow, then went over the edge of the wall and made our way along the wall for a bit and then came back up onto the top of the wall. We saw nudibranchs, tons of clownfish, lionfish, several pigmy seahorses and all the other usual specimens.
After the first dive we did our surface interval on the island and had our lunch, then went out to do the second dive. After the second dive we headed back for Malapascua and got into a heavy-duty Philippine thunderstorm. Only Eric and I and one other person on the boat had rain jackets. We were glad we had the jackets. They kept us dry but did nothing for warmth. It was a COLD, hard rain.
We made it back to just off shore and huddled together on the boat waiting for it to let up, but there appeared to be no end in site. It was low tide and so we were waiting for the small boat to come out and pick us up, but apparently it had flooded and they could not get it started. So the captain maneuvered the large boat around all the rocks and got us up close to the shore. We all got off the boat in the pouring rain and headed for shelter.
After we took a shower and got cleaned up we came over to the Craic House (the Irish pub at Evolution) to check out our photos/video from the day and get some dinner. Eric ordered the black and white chicken chili with tortilla chips--which he said was very spicy and I ordered the wild mushroom pancetta fettucini with pesto bread which was of course awesome.
Today was an early start. We woke up at 4:15 a.m. to do the 5 a.m. trip to Monad Shoal for the thresher shark dive. We dove with 11 other people. We had a quite diverse group of divers. Some from Sweden, Switzerland, Philippines, Canada, Germany, Holland and of course us from the U.S.
We got lucky and had quite a few shark sightings. Someone who was on the dive the day prior said they came in much closer this time. Unfortunately, I don’t think I got very good video today, but I am sure we will be going back. However, Eric got some good pictures of the sharks.
After the shark dive we came back to Evolution for breakfast and then headed out again for a longer two-dive trip to Kalanggaman Island. Both dives were wall dives. We started out shallow, then went over the edge of the wall and made our way along the wall for a bit and then came back up onto the top of the wall. We saw nudibranchs, tons of clownfish, lionfish, several pigmy seahorses and all the other usual specimens.
After the first dive we did our surface interval on the island and had our lunch, then went out to do the second dive. After the second dive we headed back for Malapascua and got into a heavy-duty Philippine thunderstorm. Only Eric and I and one other person on the boat had rain jackets. We were glad we had the jackets. They kept us dry but did nothing for warmth. It was a COLD, hard rain.
We made it back to just off shore and huddled together on the boat waiting for it to let up, but there appeared to be no end in site. It was low tide and so we were waiting for the small boat to come out and pick us up, but apparently it had flooded and they could not get it started. So the captain maneuvered the large boat around all the rocks and got us up close to the shore. We all got off the boat in the pouring rain and headed for shelter.
After we took a shower and got cleaned up we came over to the Craic House (the Irish pub at Evolution) to check out our photos/video from the day and get some dinner. Eric ordered the black and white chicken chili with tortilla chips--which he said was very spicy and I ordered the wild mushroom pancetta fettucini with pesto bread which was of course awesome.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Malapascua 2012, Day 2
April 7, 2012
Yesterday after we got somewhat settled in we did our first dive of the trip. We just wanted to do an easy dive off the house reef to check out our equipment and weighting, etc. We saw cuttlefish, ornate ghost pipefish, moray eel, catfish, just to name a few. By the time we got back we were pretty tired.
They were doing a thresher shark dive this morning at 5 a.m. but I told Eric I was just too tired and thought it would be best if we slept in instead, which is what we did. Of course they ended up seeing three threshers and three different rays on that dive. Oh well.
We did the 9:30 a.m. dive and the 1p.m. dive. The first dive had some good current and the visibility was not too good but we ended up seeing some nudibranchs, clownfish, batfish, a cuttlefish and most importantly we saw our first pigmy seahorse. Eric actually got some good pictures of it too. The second dive was much shallower, but we saw lots of interesting stuff like several different types of pipefish, nudibranchs, crabs, clownfish, etc.
Then, of course the food...I have been having mango juice with just about every meal. Last night we had a chicken and eggplant fettucini with pesto sauce that was really good and today for lunch we had the roast lemongrass chicken sandwich with garlic aioli. For an afternoon snack before dinner I had the deep fried camembert with a walnut crust and mango salsa that was awesome and we ordered the chicken escalope in a butter lime sauce, “fireslaw” and Asian potato cakes that was also good.
Yesterday after we got somewhat settled in we did our first dive of the trip. We just wanted to do an easy dive off the house reef to check out our equipment and weighting, etc. We saw cuttlefish, ornate ghost pipefish, moray eel, catfish, just to name a few. By the time we got back we were pretty tired.
They were doing a thresher shark dive this morning at 5 a.m. but I told Eric I was just too tired and thought it would be best if we slept in instead, which is what we did. Of course they ended up seeing three threshers and three different rays on that dive. Oh well.
We did the 9:30 a.m. dive and the 1p.m. dive. The first dive had some good current and the visibility was not too good but we ended up seeing some nudibranchs, clownfish, batfish, a cuttlefish and most importantly we saw our first pigmy seahorse. Eric actually got some good pictures of it too. The second dive was much shallower, but we saw lots of interesting stuff like several different types of pipefish, nudibranchs, crabs, clownfish, etc.
Then, of course the food...I have been having mango juice with just about every meal. Last night we had a chicken and eggplant fettucini with pesto sauce that was really good and today for lunch we had the roast lemongrass chicken sandwich with garlic aioli. For an afternoon snack before dinner I had the deep fried camembert with a walnut crust and mango salsa that was awesome and we ordered the chicken escalope in a butter lime sauce, “fireslaw” and Asian potato cakes that was also good.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Malapascua 2012, Day 1
April 4, 2012
The trip to Malapascua, Philippines begins. We left Phoenix around 7:45 a.m. for our flight to San Francisco. We had a couple hour layover in San Francisco before our approximately 12 hour flight to Inchon, South Korea.
We flew business class on Asiana Airlines and boy what an experience. We had the lay flat seats and in theory could have gotten a good amount of sleep, but I think both of us only got a couple hours. The electric multiposition seats in this plane put the seats in Jody’s Lexus to shame.
Right after take off we started the journey through our two-hour, six-course meal. I actually skipped the main course and am glad I did. By the time I got to the end I was about to explode anyway. We started off with an appetizer of artichoke, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes and cheese, then moved on to salad with shrimp, then potato leek soup, the main course, a cheese and fruit platter, then tiramisu cake for dessert.
I have never had a meal on a plane where they come around and put a table cloth out for your meal, put individual salt and pepper shakers out on your table cloth and a porcelain plate and dish for every little thing, and used real silver-plated silverware. Pretty high class. I think there were about six flight attendants just taking care of business class alone.
The plane also had to have had the cleanest airplane bathroom I have ever seen. After every couple people used it one of the flight attendants would go in and clean it. They also had L’Occitane body spray and lotion for use and complimentary combs, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. We also got complimentary slippers and a complimentary toiletries bag.
About two hours before the end of the flight the second meal time came around. This meal only consisted of a salad, the main course (Eric and I chose the spicy chicken with rice) and then a fruit plate for dessert.
I watched a couple movies on the flight, Despicable Me and Eat, Pray, Love, and the time actually went by pretty fast. We made it to South Korea where we had another couple hour layover before our flight to Cebu, Philippines. The Inchon airport is an amazing place. We walked around a little bit, but will do more exploring on the way home when we have about a 10-hour layer and have reservations at the transit hotel inside the airport.
Our flight to Cebu was delayed about half an hour as the plane coming into Inchon was late. We made the four hour flight to Cebu without any problems and collected up all our bags which made it successfully. We had reservations to stay at a hotel very near the airport as it was 1 a.m. and we did not want to make the rest of the three hour trip by car to the end of Cebu in the dark. The hotel had a car waiting for us at the airport to pick us up and take us to the hotel. We were both exhausted and slept pretty well.
We got up about 7:30 a.m. in the morning to get cleaned up and eat breakfast before our driver was to pick us up at 9:30 a.m. and drive us to the end of Cebu. Our driver picked us up and managed to deliver us to the end of the island in only 2-1/2 hours instead of the usual 3-4 hours. He actually arrived before our boat had gotten to the dock. It was just a short wait for our boat to arrive and then we were on our way for the approximately 1/2 hour boat ride to Malapascua.
We got off the boat in Malapascua and since it was lunch time Eric had a Thai Red Chicken wrap with peanut sauce and I had a mango shake at the Craic House at Evolution before we got settled into our room. Our plan was to get settled in and then do a dive in the afternoon to get our equipment and weighting all figured out.
The trip to Malapascua, Philippines begins. We left Phoenix around 7:45 a.m. for our flight to San Francisco. We had a couple hour layover in San Francisco before our approximately 12 hour flight to Inchon, South Korea.
We flew business class on Asiana Airlines and boy what an experience. We had the lay flat seats and in theory could have gotten a good amount of sleep, but I think both of us only got a couple hours. The electric multiposition seats in this plane put the seats in Jody’s Lexus to shame.
Right after take off we started the journey through our two-hour, six-course meal. I actually skipped the main course and am glad I did. By the time I got to the end I was about to explode anyway. We started off with an appetizer of artichoke, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes and cheese, then moved on to salad with shrimp, then potato leek soup, the main course, a cheese and fruit platter, then tiramisu cake for dessert.
I have never had a meal on a plane where they come around and put a table cloth out for your meal, put individual salt and pepper shakers out on your table cloth and a porcelain plate and dish for every little thing, and used real silver-plated silverware. Pretty high class. I think there were about six flight attendants just taking care of business class alone.
The plane also had to have had the cleanest airplane bathroom I have ever seen. After every couple people used it one of the flight attendants would go in and clean it. They also had L’Occitane body spray and lotion for use and complimentary combs, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. We also got complimentary slippers and a complimentary toiletries bag.
About two hours before the end of the flight the second meal time came around. This meal only consisted of a salad, the main course (Eric and I chose the spicy chicken with rice) and then a fruit plate for dessert.
I watched a couple movies on the flight, Despicable Me and Eat, Pray, Love, and the time actually went by pretty fast. We made it to South Korea where we had another couple hour layover before our flight to Cebu, Philippines. The Inchon airport is an amazing place. We walked around a little bit, but will do more exploring on the way home when we have about a 10-hour layer and have reservations at the transit hotel inside the airport.
Our flight to Cebu was delayed about half an hour as the plane coming into Inchon was late. We made the four hour flight to Cebu without any problems and collected up all our bags which made it successfully. We had reservations to stay at a hotel very near the airport as it was 1 a.m. and we did not want to make the rest of the three hour trip by car to the end of Cebu in the dark. The hotel had a car waiting for us at the airport to pick us up and take us to the hotel. We were both exhausted and slept pretty well.
We got up about 7:30 a.m. in the morning to get cleaned up and eat breakfast before our driver was to pick us up at 9:30 a.m. and drive us to the end of Cebu. Our driver picked us up and managed to deliver us to the end of the island in only 2-1/2 hours instead of the usual 3-4 hours. He actually arrived before our boat had gotten to the dock. It was just a short wait for our boat to arrive and then we were on our way for the approximately 1/2 hour boat ride to Malapascua.
We got off the boat in Malapascua and since it was lunch time Eric had a Thai Red Chicken wrap with peanut sauce and I had a mango shake at the Craic House at Evolution before we got settled into our room. Our plan was to get settled in and then do a dive in the afternoon to get our equipment and weighting all figured out.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Bonaire Day 7
July 8, 2011
We had every intent of getting up and doing a dive in the morning, but Tim said he thought he would skip it because his one ear was getting a little tender and he did not want to push it. Eric and I then decided to skip the morning dive also as I did not think we would be able to get all of our days activities done if we did a dive anyway.
So after breakfast we went down to the office and settled up our bill at the Bellafonte and then returned the three full dive tanks and weights back to Dive Friends and checked out there. After that we headed out for our day-long tour of the island.
First we headed to the Donkey Sanctuary. The last time we were in Bonaire was in 2009 and they had been telling us that they were going to have to move because they were too close to the airport (for security reasons). This was the first time we had seen their new facility. They really have a nice store and palapa set up for taking a picnic lunch or having a cool drink in the shade while enjoying the breeze.
We drove all around the santuary and must have petted 100 donkeys. They actually run along side your car and chase you down (hoping you have food to give them). They will stick their whole head in the car for attention. We went up on the viewing tower they have built that gives you a birdseye view of the area. They now have a wetland area for flamingos too, a new tortoise area, and a new iguana forest.
After the Donkey Sanctuary we headed on down the road to Lac Bay and had lunch at a beach bar there and watched the windsurfers in action. After lunch we walked down the beach a short distance and then headed back to the car to continue our tour. We continued our drive on around the south end of the island, past the lighthouse, slave huts and salt pans and headed for downtown to do our T-shirt shopping.
However, we first had to stop into the Gelateria downtown to have a sweet treat so we would have enough strength for our shopping adventure. Eric was looking for another diver dog T-shirt, but we did not have any luck finding one. Tim ended up getting a shirt and I also got a shirt. Then we headed on down the road to the other end of the island. We drove along the coast and by Goto Lake (where there are supposed to be flamingos) but we did not see a single flamingo. We were also looking to photograph parrots and/or iguanas, but after our experience in 2009 we had pretty much decided that was a losing proposition (and it was again this time also).
We drove through the town of Rincon and then back toward downtown. We had decided to try Pasa Bon Pizza again (our third try), but we decided to get there early this time so we could make sure and get a table. We ended up getting back into town a little after 4 p.m. so we decided to go ahead and gas up the rental car and then stop by the Bellafonte real quick and drop some stuff off before we headed to dinner.
We got to Pasa Bon Pizza right about 5 p.m. and we were the first customers to be seated. I'm glad we finally got to try them out. Their pizza and garlic cheese bread was EXCELLENT—the best pizza we have had so far on the island. Since we were not going to be able to take any leftovers home, we thoroughly stuffed ourselves, but boy was it good.
We waddled our way out of the restaurant and headed back to the hotel to begin packing for our early morning flight home on Saturday. Tim had to keep pointing out the fact that it only took him a few moments to pack. Needless to say, it took us a bit longer to pack all of our stuff.
We had a fabulous trip. We were all sad to see it come to an end. Eric and I enjoyed having Tim along—he made the trip a lot of fun. Plus I enjoyed having another person to haul my gear around for me. Tim was a big help when it came to getting us in the water and getting all our camera gear in the water safely. No one ended up falling down on our shore entries or exits this trip.
We had every intent of getting up and doing a dive in the morning, but Tim said he thought he would skip it because his one ear was getting a little tender and he did not want to push it. Eric and I then decided to skip the morning dive also as I did not think we would be able to get all of our days activities done if we did a dive anyway.
So after breakfast we went down to the office and settled up our bill at the Bellafonte and then returned the three full dive tanks and weights back to Dive Friends and checked out there. After that we headed out for our day-long tour of the island.
First we headed to the Donkey Sanctuary. The last time we were in Bonaire was in 2009 and they had been telling us that they were going to have to move because they were too close to the airport (for security reasons). This was the first time we had seen their new facility. They really have a nice store and palapa set up for taking a picnic lunch or having a cool drink in the shade while enjoying the breeze.
We drove all around the santuary and must have petted 100 donkeys. They actually run along side your car and chase you down (hoping you have food to give them). They will stick their whole head in the car for attention. We went up on the viewing tower they have built that gives you a birdseye view of the area. They now have a wetland area for flamingos too, a new tortoise area, and a new iguana forest.
After the Donkey Sanctuary we headed on down the road to Lac Bay and had lunch at a beach bar there and watched the windsurfers in action. After lunch we walked down the beach a short distance and then headed back to the car to continue our tour. We continued our drive on around the south end of the island, past the lighthouse, slave huts and salt pans and headed for downtown to do our T-shirt shopping.
However, we first had to stop into the Gelateria downtown to have a sweet treat so we would have enough strength for our shopping adventure. Eric was looking for another diver dog T-shirt, but we did not have any luck finding one. Tim ended up getting a shirt and I also got a shirt. Then we headed on down the road to the other end of the island. We drove along the coast and by Goto Lake (where there are supposed to be flamingos) but we did not see a single flamingo. We were also looking to photograph parrots and/or iguanas, but after our experience in 2009 we had pretty much decided that was a losing proposition (and it was again this time also).
We drove through the town of Rincon and then back toward downtown. We had decided to try Pasa Bon Pizza again (our third try), but we decided to get there early this time so we could make sure and get a table. We ended up getting back into town a little after 4 p.m. so we decided to go ahead and gas up the rental car and then stop by the Bellafonte real quick and drop some stuff off before we headed to dinner.
We got to Pasa Bon Pizza right about 5 p.m. and we were the first customers to be seated. I'm glad we finally got to try them out. Their pizza and garlic cheese bread was EXCELLENT—the best pizza we have had so far on the island. Since we were not going to be able to take any leftovers home, we thoroughly stuffed ourselves, but boy was it good.
We waddled our way out of the restaurant and headed back to the hotel to begin packing for our early morning flight home on Saturday. Tim had to keep pointing out the fact that it only took him a few moments to pack. Needless to say, it took us a bit longer to pack all of our stuff.
We had a fabulous trip. We were all sad to see it come to an end. Eric and I enjoyed having Tim along—he made the trip a lot of fun. Plus I enjoyed having another person to haul my gear around for me. Tim was a big help when it came to getting us in the water and getting all our camera gear in the water safely. No one ended up falling down on our shore entries or exits this trip.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Bonaire Day 6
July 7, 2011
We slept in a bit this morning and after we all got up I fixed us some omelets. Then we sat around and chatted a bit and planned out our day. Today would be our last full day of diving before flying home on Saturday morning. We had to first run down the road to Dive Friends to get fresh tanks. After we got some new tanks we headed down south with the intent of diving Tori's reef again since that was one of our favorite dives. However, once we got there, there were about 10 people just about to get in so we decided to go somewhere else less busy.
We decided to go back north just a short way to Alice In Wonderland. There was only one car there already and just two other people going in at the same time as us. It was a nice dive. Tim got to experience a double reef system here. He said he thought we were taking him out into the blue for a bit because after we left the first reef you could not see the second one until you got fairly close to it.
After that dive we ran our used tanks back to Dive Friends and got some fresh ones and then stopped by the hotel so Eric could change to the wide angle lens on his camera. Then we took off back south to hit the Hilma Hooker again. We all enjoyed that dive the first time, but Eric wanted to do it again as an afternoon dive. We lucked out and did not see any other divers on this dive. It was another great dive.
Then we made a third trip to Dive Friends to change out our used tanks again so we could do a third dive off the pier of the hotel and still have three fresh tanks for in the morning. So when we got back to the hotel we then went down to the pier and Tim and I attempted to be scuba models for Eric whilst he attempted to get an over-under shot of us swimming underwater and the hotel and pier above water. He was not having much luck so we finally gave up and Eric ran back up to the room to change from his wide angle lens to the macro lens.
Once Eric made it back to the pier we all dropped down in the hunt for macro life (flamingo tongues, arrow crabs, cleaner shrimp, blennies, etc.). Eric did get some good flamingo tongue shots and we also saw a juvenile spotted drum and a huge puffer fish.
After our pier dive it was definitely time to get cleaned up and head out to find some dinner. We decided pizza sounded good so we headed for Pasa Bon Pizza (which we had stopped at once before but it was the day they happened to be closed). Unfortunately, this time they were open but they were full up so we decided to go somewhere else instead. We headed down the road a short way to Rum Runners bar and restaurant at Captain Don's Habitat.
The waitress that greeted us happened to be our waitress from 2009 at El Mundo when we were here with Eric's parents. She got us a prime table right by the water and Eric and I ordered some pasta dishes and Tim ordered a pizza. The pasta dishes were both awesome. Unfortunately, we all ate too much and had no room for dessert.
We made our way back to the hotel and watched most of my video from the day and checked out some of the photos from the day and then headed to bed.
We slept in a bit this morning and after we all got up I fixed us some omelets. Then we sat around and chatted a bit and planned out our day. Today would be our last full day of diving before flying home on Saturday morning. We had to first run down the road to Dive Friends to get fresh tanks. After we got some new tanks we headed down south with the intent of diving Tori's reef again since that was one of our favorite dives. However, once we got there, there were about 10 people just about to get in so we decided to go somewhere else less busy.
We decided to go back north just a short way to Alice In Wonderland. There was only one car there already and just two other people going in at the same time as us. It was a nice dive. Tim got to experience a double reef system here. He said he thought we were taking him out into the blue for a bit because after we left the first reef you could not see the second one until you got fairly close to it.
After that dive we ran our used tanks back to Dive Friends and got some fresh ones and then stopped by the hotel so Eric could change to the wide angle lens on his camera. Then we took off back south to hit the Hilma Hooker again. We all enjoyed that dive the first time, but Eric wanted to do it again as an afternoon dive. We lucked out and did not see any other divers on this dive. It was another great dive.
Then we made a third trip to Dive Friends to change out our used tanks again so we could do a third dive off the pier of the hotel and still have three fresh tanks for in the morning. So when we got back to the hotel we then went down to the pier and Tim and I attempted to be scuba models for Eric whilst he attempted to get an over-under shot of us swimming underwater and the hotel and pier above water. He was not having much luck so we finally gave up and Eric ran back up to the room to change from his wide angle lens to the macro lens.
Once Eric made it back to the pier we all dropped down in the hunt for macro life (flamingo tongues, arrow crabs, cleaner shrimp, blennies, etc.). Eric did get some good flamingo tongue shots and we also saw a juvenile spotted drum and a huge puffer fish.
After our pier dive it was definitely time to get cleaned up and head out to find some dinner. We decided pizza sounded good so we headed for Pasa Bon Pizza (which we had stopped at once before but it was the day they happened to be closed). Unfortunately, this time they were open but they were full up so we decided to go somewhere else instead. We headed down the road a short way to Rum Runners bar and restaurant at Captain Don's Habitat.
The waitress that greeted us happened to be our waitress from 2009 at El Mundo when we were here with Eric's parents. She got us a prime table right by the water and Eric and I ordered some pasta dishes and Tim ordered a pizza. The pasta dishes were both awesome. Unfortunately, we all ate too much and had no room for dessert.
We made our way back to the hotel and watched most of my video from the day and checked out some of the photos from the day and then headed to bed.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Bonaire Day 5
July 6, 2011
This morning we decided to get up a bit earlier and find somewhere on the way to our first dive to have breakfast. There was a small supermarket/bakery downtown where we ended up stopping in and got some donuts and juice. Then we made our way down the road to do our first dive at a dive site called 1000 Steps (there are really only 72 steps--it just feels like a thousand hauling all the gear and cameras down and then back up). It was well worth the effort, though.
I spotted another small turtle who proceeded to swim off, as most turtles do when they figure out they have been spotted. However, I decided to follow behind at a leisurely pace, hoping I might eventually get close enough to get some good video. Boy did I get lucky. The turtle stopped and started chowing down like you would not believe on some algae. The damsels that the algae belonged to were not too happy to say the least. The turtle stayed there eating for what felt like an eternity and did not even care that I had the camera in it's face. Then it went on it's merry way. We also saw a giant lobster, a barracuda, and all the other usual suspects.
After we hauled ourselves back up the 72 steep steps to the car, we headed down the road a ways to Karpata--a dive site we have been wanting to do for a while. This too was another good dive. We saw a giant parrot fish and a lot of other fish and there was a lot of diversity as far as the coral goes.
After that dive we decided to head back to the hotel, but first we stopped to get some ice cream. Then we made it back to the hotel and rinsed off a bit and had a snack before we went down the road to get some more tanks at Dive Friends. Then we came back and decided to do our third dive at Margate Bay. Right after we dropped down at that dive site, we saw a large free swimming green moray. Other than that it was the usual sea life.
After that we headed back to the hotel and had some dinner and then Eric and Tim decided to head out and do a night dive off the hotel pier. I decided to sit this one out and rest up. They had a good dive and then came back up to the room to have some popcorn and a few beers. The perfect ending to a perfect day of diving.
This morning we decided to get up a bit earlier and find somewhere on the way to our first dive to have breakfast. There was a small supermarket/bakery downtown where we ended up stopping in and got some donuts and juice. Then we made our way down the road to do our first dive at a dive site called 1000 Steps (there are really only 72 steps--it just feels like a thousand hauling all the gear and cameras down and then back up). It was well worth the effort, though.
I spotted another small turtle who proceeded to swim off, as most turtles do when they figure out they have been spotted. However, I decided to follow behind at a leisurely pace, hoping I might eventually get close enough to get some good video. Boy did I get lucky. The turtle stopped and started chowing down like you would not believe on some algae. The damsels that the algae belonged to were not too happy to say the least. The turtle stayed there eating for what felt like an eternity and did not even care that I had the camera in it's face. Then it went on it's merry way. We also saw a giant lobster, a barracuda, and all the other usual suspects.
After we hauled ourselves back up the 72 steep steps to the car, we headed down the road a ways to Karpata--a dive site we have been wanting to do for a while. This too was another good dive. We saw a giant parrot fish and a lot of other fish and there was a lot of diversity as far as the coral goes.
After that dive we decided to head back to the hotel, but first we stopped to get some ice cream. Then we made it back to the hotel and rinsed off a bit and had a snack before we went down the road to get some more tanks at Dive Friends. Then we came back and decided to do our third dive at Margate Bay. Right after we dropped down at that dive site, we saw a large free swimming green moray. Other than that it was the usual sea life.
After that we headed back to the hotel and had some dinner and then Eric and Tim decided to head out and do a night dive off the hotel pier. I decided to sit this one out and rest up. They had a good dive and then came back up to the room to have some popcorn and a few beers. The perfect ending to a perfect day of diving.
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