Bonaire – one of the premier diving locations in the Caribbean; indeed, in the world.   Not only due to the clarity of its waters, but also because of the diving infrastructure, a key component of which is the diving freedom available.   Wanna pick your own dive sites and pick your own times to dive?  No problem:  rent a pickup to drive along the western shore and pull over at one of the yellow stones used to mark the named sites.  Or arrive by boat and use to a dinghy to tie to one of the many dive moorings similarly marked.   Wanna use Nitrox to minimize fatigue or maximize bottom time?  No problem: Nitrox is available at the same reasonable price as normal air.

We have been doing a lot of diving with Roberta & Michael (Celilo), and so it seemed only fitting that I began this article with a reference to diving and began the photo section with pictures of us diving.  (Our next post will focus on some of the fish/creature pictures I have taken below the surface.)  But diving is not the only thing Bonaire has to offer.  We have also been socializing with old and new friends.  Indeed, our galley has almost fallen into disuse.   Old friends Pam and Don (Dorothy Ellen) were here until recently, and we joined them at a number of local eateries, including Burger Night at Zazu on Wednesday nights.  New friends, Ron and Nancy, who have homes in the States and also on the island, have also joined us for diving and dining at a whole host of locations.  (Not at the same time.)  They have introduced us to a number of restaurants and other experiences, including a remarkable wine tasting held, believe it or not, out of a shop located in two adjoining units of a storage facility.

On January 17 we all participated in a reef cleanup sponsored by the dive shop we use.  That evening the shop (Dive Friends, also known as YellowSubmarine) provided grilled chicken, fish and sausages at a cookout bountifully supplemented by potlucky dishes provided by the participating divers.

We got all spiffed up for an elegant dinner at Chez Madeliene.   Barb had jumped into our dinghy without any shoes and didn’t realize her mistake until we arrived at the marina where Ron & Nancy were to pick us up to give us a ride to the restaurant.  She decided not to go back for footwear.  No one seemed to notice.   We all enjoyed the meal so much we went back a week later to celebrate Mike & Roberta’s anniversary.  Barb wore shoes.

In other news, we realized shortly after we got to Bonaire that the water maker was not working correctly.  EchoTec helped me by phone and by using their suggestions I was able to conduct a series of re-plumbing experiments and determine that one of the three membranes was not working correctly.   They promptly sent a replacement at no charge, and after I installed the new one, we are happily making water at a lovely rate of 55 gallons per hour.

Our Trojan L16-HAC batteries began to fail after we got here.   We were down to 4 instead of the full complement of 8 when the new ones arrived.  The owner of the local gym, where Barb and I exercise almost every day, helped us find husky helpers to install the new beasts, which weigh in at 125 lbs. each.

And speaking of batteries, we have found that with the new solar panels, we now need to run the generator for only a little over an hour every other day, so long as the weather is not too cloudy.   For those who have forgotten the details, we have 435 watts on the pilot house roof and 500 watts on the new T-top.