Thursday, April 12, 2012

Karol Meyer, Free-diving Champion, Returns to Bonaire for Fourth Consecutive Year

For the fourth consecutive year, Buddy Dive Resort is proud to organize the Buddy Dive Free-diving Event in 2012 hosted by Brazilian free-diver, Karol Meyer. Karol broke seven world records in her career, and she is considered one of the most complete athletes in the sport’s history.

Karol will host two weekly events, the first of which is April 30 through May 5, and the second of which is May 7 through May 11, 2012.  Karol will host evening presentations to share her exciting adventures, where you’ll share special moments with the champion and also a Free-diving Clinic, for those interested.

Karol’s schedule for the two weeks is as follows:

WEEK 1
Monday 4/30/2012 8:00 PM Speech 1 - Karol Meyer “Free-diving Adventures”
Tuesday 5/1/2012 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM Free-diving Adventure
Wednesday 5/2/2012 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM Free-diving Clinic A.I.D.A.*
Saturday 5/5/2012 t.b.a World Record Attempt 1 - SKANDALOPETRA

WEEK 2
Monday 5/7/2012 t.b.a. World Record Attempt 2 - SKANDALOPETRA
Monday, 5/7/2012 8:00 PM Speech 2 - “Free-diving History Skandalopetra”
Wednesday 5/9/2012 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM Free-diving Clinic A.I.D.A.*
Thursday 5/10/2012 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM Free-diving Clinic A.I.D.A. Level 2**
Friday 5/11/2012 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM Free-diving Clinic A.I.D.A. Level 2**
Friday 5/11/2012 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM Free-diving Adventure

Details for the two levels of free-diving clinics include:

*Free-diving Clinic A.I.D.A.
8:30 AM - 11:30 AM, classroom session
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, swimming pool session
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM, Buddy’s Reef sea practice
- Total price for Buddy Dive guests only US$150 (others pay US$215)
- Apnea tournament / record homologation during the practices

**Free-diving Clinic A.I.D.A. Level 2
8:30 AM - 11:30 AM, classroom session
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Buddy’s Reef sea practice
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM, Buddy’s Reef sea practice
4:15 PM - 5:15 PM, Written test
- Total price for Buddy Dive guests only US$150 (others pay US$215)
- Apnea tournament / record homologation during the practices

Free-diving Adventure (boat dive)
Total price US$50

Please note: Minimum number of participants per event (clinic and adventure dive) is 4.

Complete packages for the event, including accommodations at Buddy Dive Resort, are also available.  For more details, click here.  (Source:  Buddy Dive Resort, Karol Meyer)

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

LaTina Divers Offers Week-Long Lionfish Culling and Cooking Event, May 19 through 26, 2012

The invasive Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans), native to the Indo-Pacific Region, were first confirmed in Bonaire on October 26th, 2009. Since then, they have continued to increase in size and abundance occupying a wide range of habitats and depths. Since 2009, the Bonaire National Marine Park has trained numerous volunteers to safely remove lionfish and Bonaire continues to be at the forefront of efforts in the Caribbean region to control these fish.  LaTina Divers is taking this one step further by organizing a week-long lionfish culling and cooking event from May 19 through 26, 2012. 

The six-day dive package includes:

•Six days unlimited air-fills including the use of weights.
•Daily delivery of full tanks to your rental home.
•Full Marine Park orientation and nature fee.
•One 2-tank afternoon lionfish culling boat dive to the sites in Washington Slagbaai National Park.
•One guided east-coast culling dive with THE Bas.
•One guided culling shore night dive.
•Friday afternoon Belgium Beer Happy Hour with lionfish snacks at Bistro de Paris.

Package price is only $395.00 per person with a minimum of two divers and can be booked by those staying at a private rental vacation home or villa.  Those who have booked or will book their accommodations through RE/MAX/Paradise Rentals, will receive a $45.00 discount on the diving package.  Nitrox upgrade is $40.00 per person, but will be provided free of charge for all reservations confirmed and deposited by May 1st, 2012.

Participants who book the package do need to be aware that only registered lionfish hunters will be allowed culling privileges. However, the week’s events will be educational, providing in-depth information on how to remove lionfish properly and humanely, how to clean them and prepare them for cooking, and then of course, there’s the fun of actually eating fresh lionfish at the week’s ending Happy Hour.

For additional information or to book the dive package, visit their web site by clicking here or email info@latinadivers.com.  (Source:  LaTina Divers and CIEE Newsletter)

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Join in Bonaire’s Underwater Cleanup, Saturday, April 21, 2012

The underwater cleanups have become very popular activities, with over 100 participants joining in together on each event to keep Bonaire beautiful. The next cleanup is scheduled to take place at Club Nautico Pier (in front of It Rains Fishes Restaurant) on Saturday, April 21, 2012.

Everyone is welcome to participate--divers, snorkelers, and those who wish to lend a hand with shore support. Anyone interested in participating should check in at Dive Friends @ Yellow Submarine at 9:30 AM, and the dive briefing will begin at 10:00 AM. All participants are welcome to return at 6:00 PM for the event’s customary BBQ at Dive Friends @ Yellow Submarine; drinks and main courses will be provided by Dive Friends, but participants are asked to bring a side dish to share. Those planning on attending should advise Dive Friends Bonaire by calling 717-2929 to make a reservation. For additional information about the cleanups, click here. (Source: Dive Friends Bonaire)

Thursday, April 05, 2012

We Wish Joan Zale, Frequent Bonaire Visitor, Good Luck in Her Photo Competition

Frequent Bonaire visitor, Joan Zale, has just received word that her photo of a squid shot on Bari Reef in Bonaire has been accepted as an entry in the Westchester County Amateur Photo Contest hosted by The Greenburgh Public Library Foundation.

The photo was taken on Joan’s most recent trip to Bonaire in February with a Canon PowerShot SD700 IS in a Canon housing equipped with an Ikelite AF-35 flash. Joan started taking underwater images back in 2004, and, since then, has never entered the water without her camera. Joan, and her husband Alan, own a condo at Sand Dollar, and they have been coming to Bonaire since 1995 and do 99% of their diving on Sand Dollar’s house reef, Bari Reef, one of the noted reefs in the Caribbean for its fish diversity.

The selected entries for the contest will be on display from May 2, 2012 to June 14, 2012 in the library’s Howard & Ruth Jacobs Family Gallery located in Elmsford, New York. The contest winners will be announced at a reception on Saturday May 12, 2012, with the first prize winner being awarded $500. We wish all the best of luck to Joan and hope that she brings more fame to Bonaire! (Source:  Bonaire Insider Reporter)

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Bonaire Oceanfront Villa 9 Offers 20 Percent Discount for Stays May 5 through June 1, 2012

Bonaire Oceanfront Villa 9 is pleased to announce that those making a new reservation for travel May 5th through June 1st, 2012 will receive a 20 percent discount off the already low rates the villa offers. 

Since the villa can accommodate up to ten persons, the 20% discount makes for an economical stay while still enjoying oceanfront vacationing on Bonaire.  Costs are as low as $50.66 per person per night (plus tourist tax and cleaning fees) for a group of six staying for a week, while a group or family of ten will enjoy a per person per night rate of only $34.40 (plus tourist tax and cleaning fees) for a weekly stay.  Oceanfront living has never been easier or more economical than during such a special.

The property completed major renovations in 2009 and again in 2010, and those vacationing at Bonaire Oceanfront Villa 9 will have the use of up to five bedrooms and five bathrooms, a large and fully equipped kitchen, a third-floor roof-top terrace, facilities for washing clothing, and a cable TV/DVD player and WI-FI access.

Located at Hamlet #9, Bonaire Oceanfront Villa 9 offers the ease of diving from your own property, as the famous “Cliff” dive site is only 100 feet from the property’s beach.  Two diving facilities are within a short walk of the villa: Dive Friends Bonaire @ Hamlet to the north, and Captain Don’s Habitat to the south.  When making a reservation, please reference “May Savings” to receive your 20% discount from the normal rates.  All reservations must be booked and deposited no later than May 1, 2012; new reservations are subject to availability and this special cannot be combined with any other promotion or special.

Bonaire Oceanfront Villa 9 is one of Bonaire’s premier oceanfront properties offering villa-style vacationing.  It offers affordable accommodations for any Bonaire visitor, but especially caters to those coming to the island to dive.  For additional information or to check availability, visit their web site at www.bonaireoceanfrontvilla.com, or e-mail: info@bonaireoceanfrontvilla.com.  (Source:  Bonaire Oceanfront Villa)

Monday, April 02, 2012

Coral Spawning Predictions for 2012 Now Available

Many visitors in the months of August, September or October are pleased and surprised to find they are on Bonaire during spawning activities of corals and other invertebrates.  Other visitors plan their trips to Bonaire specifically for the chance to glimpse this unique event. 

Although certainly not an exact science, it is well documented that various species of coral and other marine invertebrates spawn in cycles that are closely tied to the full moons in the months of August, September, and October each year.  After years of studies, we have predictions which are the best guesses as to which species will spawn when.  The best way to enjoy this unusual phenomenon is to plan to spend lots of time making night dives when here during the spawning season.

STINAPA has just added their 2012 spawning predictions to their web site, so if you have a visit planned for the months of August though October this year, do check out the schedule to see if you will be on Bonaire during forecasted spawning times.  Click here (available in PDF format) to view the 2012 predictions schedule.  (Source:  STINAPA web site)

Friday, March 30, 2012

United Airlines (Continental) Announces 2012 Seasonalization of Flights to Bonaire

United Airlines, which now operates the flights previously provided by Continental Airlines, has just announced their planned seasonal breaks from service to and from Bonaire.

The Friday Houston service will be on hiatus from August 31, 2012 to September 28, 2012. This service will resume on October 5, 2012.

The Saturday Houston service will be on hiatus from August 25, 2012 to November 3, 2012. The service will resume on November 10, 2012.

The Newark service will be on hiatus from August 18, 2012 to November 3, 2012. Service will resume on November 10, 2012.

From August 31, 2012 to September 28, 2012 there will be no United service to the island.  United is in the process of re-accommodating passengers, so if passengers to Bonaire have ticketed reservations, they should be hearing from United/Continental, or their booking agent.  Passengers can also always inquire with the booking agent, whether it is the airline directly or a travel agent or wholesaler.

The Bonaire Insider will advise of any further developments in seasonal airlift changes.  (Source: TCB-NY)

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Bonaire’s First Dive Hotel Celebrates Sixty Years

The Divi Flamingo Beach Resort and Casino was Bonaire’s first truly dive-dedicated hotel, and the property is now celebrating sixty years of welcoming visitors to Bonaire.

Many divers know the name of Peter Hughes, and it was Peter who developed the hotel’s capacity and amenities to cater to the diving tourists.  Peter started work on Bonaire the day after Christmas in 1975 to take over what was the island’s first dive operation, situated at the Flamingo Beach Club.  At the time, there were only two hotels:  The Flamingo Beach Club with 26 bungalows and the larger, but now-defunct, Hotel Bonaire.  When he started, Peter was handling four to six divers a day.  Ten years later, they were taking 275 divers a day, six days a week, out to Bonaire’s waters.  The original and tiny dive shop became a laundry office and was replaced several times under Peter’s management, expanding each time to accommodate the ever-increasing number of divers.  The property also greatly expanded to its present size of 129 guest accommodations, added two restaurants, a spa and casino and acquired its charming, colorful Caribbean style.  To this day, the resort attracts travelers from around the world.

In June, Divi Flamingo Beach Resort will honor Peter Hughes, who will return to the resort for “Legends of Divi Past,” a week of celebration, dives, parties and reminiscing. The hotel will inaugurate the Peter Hughes Room, a meeting and reception room located at the Divi dive shop.  A ribbon cutting and champagne reception is set for Thursday, June 21st at 5:30 PM.

Divi Flamingo Beach Resort in Bonaire is celebrating the property’s 60th anniversary throughout 2012 with a calendar of monthly events and specials.  The celebration includes a number of dive packages, a one week master digital underwater photography class, one night free packages, free room upgrades and free dives. Dive packages start at $844 per person double occupancy for a seven-night stay with 11 boat dives, unlimited shore diving, daily breakfast, airport transfers and all taxes and gratuities included.  For additional details, click here.  (Source:  Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino)

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Still More New Options in Grocery Shopping on Bonaire

There’s been lots of changes in recent months in availability of grocery products and fresh goods, and yet, there’s even more news.  The Real Dutch Bakery has opened offering truly the freshest of bakery goods, and Top Supermarket has opened in Kralendijk.

The Real Dutch Bakery has opened its doors at Kaya Cacique 16C in Nord Salinja.  They offer “just-out-of-the-oven” bread in a multitude of varieties--multi-grain, ciabatta, brown, wheat, sugar-loaf, just to mention a few--as well as muffins and other pastries.  The bakery is open Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 11:00 AM and again from 2:00 to 6:00 PM.  Saturdays, they are open from 6:00 AM straight through to 3:00 PM, but Sundays they are closed.

Top Supermarket has opened in the central Kalendijk location where Cultimara Supermarket was operating for many years.  They have a large supply of liquors, drinks, packaged snacks and dry goods, cleaning supplies, and other non-perishables.  They also offer meat, bakery, and produce departments.  Their central location makes it convenient to pop in for a few needed items or to do your main shopping.

Click here to view a listing of all food shopping venues on Bonaire.  (Source:  Bonaire Insider Reporter)

Monday, March 26, 2012

The Week Holds a Variety of Unique Events for Bonaire’s Visitors

There’s no lack of fun and interesting things to do this week on Bonaire.  Here’s a rundown on just some of the unique events being held this week on the island.

Bon Bida Spa & Gym is offering a free children’s sport clinic this Wednesday from either 2:30 to 3:30 PM or 4:00 to 5:00 PM.  This clinic will provide a fun and safe atmosphere where kids can learn how to be fit and strong from a young age onward, while parents can also enjoy a presentation about the importance of fitness for kids and how the gym’s Fitkids Program works.  All children aged 7 through 11 are welcome to join in, and those who are on island for a longer period can sign up for the weekly clinic and get the first month free.  Sports clothing is necessary for participation. For more information, email info@bonbida.com or call 717-7224.

For those who know the basics of salsa dancing, but always wanted to improve, this week on Bonaire is the perfect opportunity.  Geared to those who already know the basics, the 2012 edition of the Salsa Flash Course is targeted for the intermediate level and will spice up your salsa dancing while on Bonaire.  The course will be three hours of classes over three days (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday), and will end with a Latin dance party at Tropical Rancho.  Those interested in attending need to be at Sense Restaurant on Thursday and Friday from 7:00 to 8:00 PM, and then Saturday the course will complete at Tropical Rancho from 8:00 to 9:00 PM, with the party beginning directly afterward and going until the wee hours (3:00 AM).  Cost per participant is $30.00 for all three classes, and the party is free.  For more information or to sign up, telephone 795-0496 or 785-0027. 

On Friday, March 30th, Club Roomer will hold their next fundraiser, the proceeds of which all go to help Bonaire’s youth enjoy a Kids’ Easter Playday, when over 400 children, aged 4-12, will have a day of games, singing, and playing, with the cooperation and supervision of Jong Bonaire volunteers.  To help out with this laudable effort, simply spend Friday evening at the Jazzy Happy Hour at Hotel Roomer, when Andreina and Friends will serenade those attending.  There is no cover charge, and dinner specials are only $10.00 per person, and include pasta, Stamppot, or fried rice entrees.  The evening begins at 7:00 PM.

On Saturday, March 3, start your day early at the Go Green Monthly Farmers’ Market.  Held from 8:00 AM through 12:00 Noon, the market is at Pakus di Pruga, at Kaya Lib. Simon Blv. #17.  For additional information, telephone 717-2222.

Then, continue the day in Rincon, as the Women’s Club RinFa invites all to the First Rincon International Food Festival from 10:00 AM until 8:00 PM.  The event will take place at the Plaza Commers in Rincon, and will feature local and international cuisine, music, dance, poetry, and much more.  All are invited to sample Rincon’s unique heritage and culture.

And finally end the weekend on Sunday, April 1st by stopping by the 34th Annual Kite-Flying Contest in Kralendijk.  The contest will begin at 9:00 AM in the morning, and there will be music and stands selling food and sweets, and drinks will be available for purchase as well.  It’s a fantastic opportunity to get great images of kids having the time of their lives, as sometimes their kites are bigger than they are!

No matter which event you choose, be sure to enjoy all that Bonaire has to offer!  (Source:  Bonaire Insider Reporter)