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Bonaire Dive Vacation

A Bonaire dive vacation is not just a vacation, it's a pilgrimage. Over 80 top diving sites call to you from Bonaire. The water temperature averages 80 degrees. Over 355 species of fish and over 20 species of stoney coral are found there, to say nothing of the 170 species of marine and inland birds spotted in residence or on migratory visits. The air averages 82 degrees and the island is out of the Hurricane Belt and swathed by gentle trade winds meaning the waters are clear and the air is clean, and that you do not have to schedule your quest around the weather. Best of all, the people are welcoming and devoted to their home. And you do not have to deny yourself anything on this pilgrimage. Harbour Village Beach Club rests on the western shore, and, through its Great Adventures program, provides full-support marine adventures, instruction, and equipment rentals, not to mention gracious accomodations for weary pilgrims.

Bonaire, one of the Netherland Antilles, is about 24 miles long and 3-7 miles wide, big enough to offer lots to do but small enough to keep life easy. There are no traffic lights and only two population centers. Kralendijk is the island's capital where boutiques, art galleries, diving shops, and restaurants and bars line the main street. Nestled on the southwest coast, it provides beautiful views of the Caribbean and Klein Bonaire, just offshore. Rincon, the other town on the island, is situated inland in the north and is not far from Lakes Goto Meer and Salina Slagbaai, salt ponds in Washington-Slagbaai National Park and home to preening flamingoes who eat the brine shrimp found there to acquire their pinkish hue. And if you'd like to take on a pinkish hue yourself during your Bonaire dive vacation, there is always Sorobon Beach, Bonaire's naturalist resort (clothing optional) just south of Lac Bay, one of the Caribbean's premier windsurfing locations. Rental cars, taxis, and tour buses are all readily available making travel to all these sites, and every other corner of the island, convenient.

But for those on a Bonaire dive vacation, it's what's under the water that's holy. Top diving and snorkeling sites are found off the coastline of Bonaire, mostly off the southwest coast, and around Klein Bonaire, the small island tucked in southwest of Bonaire's crescent-shaped shoreline. Over 355 species of fish have been counted by researchers in the waters around Bonaire. At three meters, Black Durgeon, Blue Tang, Longjaw Squirrelfish, Princess Parrotfish, and Seargent Major fish are common. At ten meters, Peppermint Goby, Tiger Grouper, and Yellowtail Snapper fish add to the list, among many others. And groves of stoney corals protect the island and are protected in return. Fire, Elkhorn, Massive Starlet, and Boulder Brain corals are common. Though Bonaire dive vacations are not usually about wreck diving, a number of smaller wrecks are found around the island including the Hilma Hooker, a drug-runner's vessel that met its fate at the hands of local authorities. It's little wonder that the readers of Scuba Diving Magazine named Bonaire the Top Caribbean Dive Destination for the third year in a row in 2005 and named Bonaire tops in Marine Life, Shore Diving, Snorkeling, Underwater Photography and Beginner Diving.

For all the island's beauty, it's the people that set Bonaire apart, and not simply because they are a friendly people with a cosmopolitan legacy, but because they realized how important their place of dreams really was and did something about it. In the 1970's they created the Bonaire National Marine Park protecting their coastline from the high-water mark to the 200 foot depth contour. And just to top it off, they set aside nearly 25% of their land, as well, mostly in the Washington Slagbaai National Park which includes the northern coastline.

The trade winds make sailing to a Bonaire dive vacation considerably more indulgent than your usual pilgrimage. Anchoring is not allowed in the Marine Park but yachts and pleasure boats are welcome at the Harbour Village marina which offeres full service, chandlery supplies and fine dining. Flights from New York, Newark, Atlanta, and Miami to Aruba connect by Air Aruba to Bonaire's Flamingo Airport, and from Europe, ALM and KLM both fly from Amsterdam several times a week. Airlines serve Bonaire out of Caracas, Curaçao, Aruba, Jamaica and St Maarten, as well.

OK, perhaps a Bonaire dive vacation isn't quite the stuff of a pilgrimage, but it is something every devoted diver should do at least once, and Harbour Village Beach Club is waiting to make the trip a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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