Bonaire 2018
The Donkey Divers Celebrate 20 Years of Diving
In 1998 I went to Bonaire for the second time and met a great group of people who enjoy diving as much as I do. Some were getting their Open Water certification. Some of us were taking an Advanced Open Water certification course. Most of us had less than 100 dives at the time.
We enjoyed diving and got along really well. We decided to stay in touch and plan some dive trips together. We formed a group and called ourselves The Donkey Divers. We have been diving together ever since and have added new members to our group along the way.
Four of the original Donkey Divers, along with 5 more members that we have picked up over the years, were joined by 3 first timers to return to Bonaire and celebrate the 20th anniversary of our formation.
One of the things I like about Bonaire is that you can dive any time you want and as much as you want.
We usually eat breakfast and lunch in the room to save time and get in more dives. This week we made two night dives and one dawn dive. If you have never made a dawn dive, you should try it at lest once. We get into the water about half an hour before sunrise and watch the ocean wake up. It is interesting to see the night creatures start to hide and disappear and then the day creatures and fish seem to appear out of nowhere. Some species appear all at once in large numbers and others seem to come out one at a time.
Here is my dive log for the week.
Dates: June 2, 2018 to June 10, 2018
Airline: Delta
Accomidations: Belmar Oceanfront Apparments
Dive Operation: Buddy Dive / Belmar
Gas: Nitrox (included at no extra charge with our package)
Booked through:
The Travel Shop
Click on the Thumbnail picture below to see a short video of some of the things we saw diving on this trip to Bonaire.
While we usually eat breakfast and lunch in the apartment to save time, we like to eat out for dinner. We have our favorite group of restaurants on the island that we usually eat at and we like to find new ones. Here are some of the places we ate this year.
Bobbejans BBQ: We always eat at Bobbejans at least once while we are on the island. They are only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Normally, we eat at their petit backyard restaurant but this year we took advantage of their take away service and ate back at the apartments so that we could catch up and share pictures we had taken over the last 20 years.
Cuba Compagnie: Great food with indoor or outdoor dining.
Zeezicht Restaurant: This place has great seafood and steaks included on their complete menu. It is right downtown on the water. You can eat outside and have a view of the marina while you enjoy your meal.
Mona Lisa: I always have to have a meal at Mona Lisa when I am on the island. The food and service is excellent but their apple strudel with cinnamon ice cream is my favorite dish there.
Hilltop Restaurant and Bar: We went to the Hilltop Restaurant at the Caribbean Club Resort on Wednesday for Krioyo Night. It is north of town just before you get to Oil Slick Leap and across the road from Stinapa offices. Every Wednesday at Caribbean Club they serve you a selection of delicious local dishes during Krioyo night, from sopi (soup), stoba (stew) to piska krioyo (fish). Krioyo means Creole in Papiamentu (the local language in Bonaire). They had a nice selection of local dishes including desserts that were served buffet style so that you could sample many different menu items.
Sebastian Restaurant, Bar and Lounge: Years ago this used to be the location of Richards. This was the first time I have eaten here since it changed. The restaurant has been updated. It is very nice and right on the water in a quiet area south of town. Great food and ambiance.
Patagonia: This is a very good Argentinian restaurant. Great food with an emphasis on steaks but other fine options are also on the menu. Excellent service.
Rum Runners: An outdoor restaurant right on the water at Captain Don's Resort north of town. Nice variety of foods with a great view of the sunset and Klein Bonaire.
One day we bought our lunch from the
Cactus Blue Food Truck which is usually at Donkey Beach Monday to Thursday. Thamara makes great burgers and lionfish sandwiches.
Connect With Me:
Email Me: