Thursday at the Divi

Pam's signature shotNot much done today. We had a lazy day around the resort. Dove in the ocean and paddled around out front of our room. That is a great thing about the resort – the walk to the beach is about fifteen seconds, and the only traffic you need to avoid is the stampede of people rushing to pet the cat!

Mural in Kralendijk We decided to eat out for dinner and decided on the Ribs Factory. On Curacao, the Ribs Factory is one of our favorite places to go. The one here on Bonaire is not connected with it, but we had to give it a go. It’s right on the downtown Boardwalk, up on the second floor. It’s a rickety walk up those steep steps, but the food was worth it!

Lovely birdThe ribs were very good, served with salad, fries or a baked potato. And the view was tremendous. The sun set as we dined. It’s not a glamorous place, kind of reminds you of a Senor Frog’s type of place. Prices were ok, about twenty dollars for a full rack, (Pam’s choice) and the same for a half rack/chicken combo (my choice).

Service was good, although the waitress was a little shy. Total bill was 49 bucks, with a beer and a pop. Pretty cheap deal.

Not open While driving downtown we saw this sandwich board sign up… if you can figure out what is not open, please let us know!

Here is a short video of a couple of birds of Bonaire. A Lora Parrot and a warbler, much like you’d see in North American cities.

Back to the Captain's

Fish in coralNice relaxing day today – a long sleep, then a late lunch. We really enjoyed being in the ocean around Captain Don’s so we figured, why mess with a good thing? It’s easy to get in there, and the water is wonderfully clear.

A big hindAnd it didn’t disappoint, with a terrific snorkel. We saw a couple of snooks cruising the shallow water. We saw another couple of tarpons, large mostly slow moving behemoths.

Large crabPam spotted a big crab, certainly enough for a couple of sandwiches! There were lots of coneys and hinds and parrotfish. Just a great swim.

Unusual coralAnd of course, there were turtles, turtles, rah, rah. This picture is of an unusual coral formation we saw. The circular shaped coral is called brain coral, and it’s growing on top of a type of “stove pipe” coral… kinda neat shot I thought.

Sunset We had dinner at home, watched the sunset, and spent a couple hours in the casino. And guess what? Pam won a big (biggish?) jackpot. Nice.

Here are a few clips strung together to give you an idea of what we saw today. Enjoy.

Back to the Captain’s

Fish in coralNice relaxing day today – a long sleep, then a late lunch. We really enjoyed being in the ocean around Captain Don’s so we figured, why mess with a good thing? It’s easy to get in there, and the water is wonderfully clear.

A big hind And it didn’t disappoint, with a terrific snorkel. We saw a couple of snooks cruising the shallow water. We saw another couple of tarpons, large mostly slow moving behemoths.

Large crabPam spotted a big crab, certainly enough for a couple of sandwiches! There were lots of coneys and hinds and parrotfish. Just a great swim.

Unusual coralAnd of course, there were turtles, turtles, rah, rah. This picture is of an unusual coral formation we saw. The circular shaped coral is called brain coral, and it’s growing on top of a type of “stove pipe” coral… kinda neat shot I thought.

Sunset We had dinner at home, watched the sunset, and spent a couple hours in the casino. And guess what? Pam won a big (biggish?) jackpot. Nice.

Here are a few clips strung together to give you an idea of what we saw today. Enjoy.

Our anniversary

The entranceToday (August 12) is our 36th wedding anniversary so we had a nice relaxing day. We slept in, had a late lunch then headed to place called Black Durgon Beach, but the owner of the inn would not let us use his dock. That’s the first cranky Bonairian we’ve encountered. (Beaches are all public in Bonaire, but using someone’s dock requires permission.)

Turtles, turtles Not to be deterred we went down a few doors to Captain Don’s place, and they welcomed us with open arms. The water was super clear and we saw just tons of stuff. Highlights included several large tarpons, a couple of turtles, various eels, and some ginormous rainbow parrotfish which were well over four feet long.

It's where?We had dinner at the Patagonia, an Argentinian steakhouse. To say it was fantastic is to understate the experience. The  restaurant itself is impeccable, clean crisp and welcoming. There was light jazz playing at a quiet level, quite nice. The waiter was impeccable. The food was divine. The experience was wonderful. We could not have planned  a better dinner!

Fish panoramaWe had a three course, dinner special. Soup or salad, steak with caremelized onions, fresh veggies, superb mashed potatoes, and a tiramisu Pam said was the best she ever had. Total price was 79 dollars, including two beer and  pop. When the owner discovered it was our anniversary, he treated us to a complimentary after dinner aperitif. Very cool.

Here is a brief movie, using several clips from various movies we took of some fish we saw today.

Our anniversary

Turtles, turtlesToday (August 12) is our 36th wedding anniversary so we had a nice relaxing day. We slept in, had a late lunch then headed to place called Black Durgon Beach, but the owner of the inn would not let us use his dock. That’s the first cranky Bonairian we’ve encountered. (Beaches are all public in Bonaire, but using someone’s dock requires permission.)
It's where?
Not to be deterred we went down a few doors to Captain Don’s place, and they welcomed us with open arms. The water was super clear and we saw just tons of stuff. Highlights included several large tarpons, a couple of turtles, various eels, and some ginormous rainbow parrotfish which were well over four feet long.

We had dinner at the Patagonia, an Argentinian steakhouse. To say it was fantastic is to understate the experience. The  restaurant itself is impeccable, clean crisp and welcoming. There was light jazz playing at a quiet level, quite nice. The waiter was impeccable. The food was divine. The experience was wonderful. We could not have planned  a better dinner!

Fish panoramaWe had a three course, dinner special. Soup or salad, steak with caremelized onions, fresh veggies, superb mashed potatoes, and a tiramisu Pam said was the best she ever had. Total price was 79 dollars, including two beer and  pop. When the owner discovered it was our anniversary, he treated us to a complimentary after dinner aperitif. Very cool.

Here is a brief movie, using several clips from various movies we took of some fish we saw today.

Mondays aren't so bad

The local cat(We’re back home and I have access to a computer that can process our pictures and videos so we’ll start posting over the next few days.)

Pam's new clothesWhile reading and having our morning coffee we were joined on the sunporch by the local cat. I think he preferred to sleep on our chairs because we used e-readers, while the people next door were making all sorts of noise by turning their pages. Disturbed his sleep don’t you know?

We decided to just swim out front of our place today and we saw some fun things. Pam got a bit of a sunburn, something she very rarely does. So we got her a rash guard and now she’s a convert.
Purple mouth morayWe managed to get a couple of cool shots of a purple mouth moray that I thought deserved two different looks. He was a busy little guy, darting across the sand and along the coral like he had somewhere to go.

Cool houseWe took a nice drive around the island and I saw what I thought was a pretty darn cool house. Not your typical Caribbean home, that’s for sure.

The diving birdDoes this bird look like he’s about to jump in the pool? And he’s glancing nervously around to see if security will see that he is not a registered guest and toss him out. Thought it was a pretty fun shot!

 

Mondays aren’t so bad

(We’re back home and I have access to a computer that can process our pictures and videos so we’ll start posting over the next few days.)

The local catWhile reading and having our morning coffee we were joined on the sunporch by the local cat. I think he preferred to sleep on our chairs because we used e-readers, while the people next door were making all sorts of noise by turning their pages. Disturbed his sleep don’t you know?

Pam's new clothes We decided to just swim out front of our place today and we saw some fun things. Pam got a bit of a sunburn, something she very rarely does. So we got her a rash guard and now she’s a convert.

Purple mouth morayWe managed to get a couple of cool shots of a purple mouth moray that I thought deserved two different looks. He was a busy little guy, darting across the sand and along the coral like he had somewhere to go.

Cool houseWe took a nice drive around the island and I saw what I thought was a pretty darn cool house. Not your typical Caribbean home, that’s for sure.

The diving birdDoes this bird look like he’s about to jump in the pool? And he’s glancing nervously around to see if security will see that he is not a registered guest and toss him out. Thought it was a pretty fun shot!