Uploaded - 1\12\09

Last Day in Bonaire

The diving in Bonaire is pretty spectacular. It is by far the richest and thickest with life that I've seen so far in my limited diving. Usually each dive has at least one standout creature -- so far I've seen a couple eagle rays, many eels, a frogfish, a squid, plus the normal triggers, angelfish (some giant), damsels, and tons of sponges and coral.

Most of the best diving seems to be between 25 and 35 feet. At around 25 feet begins the fringe zone where the bottom becomes more sandy and life a bit sparse, but this is where I've seen some creatures such as the squid as well as a hunting sharktail eel.

On the last day of diving (yesterday) I woke up a bit congested. I felt pretty good, and went out on the boat. The first dive was the wreck of Bonaire, the Hilma Hooker. Not the best condition to be in for a wreck dive, but I thought I'd give it a shot. At about eight feet, I felt the squeeze and couldn't equalize. I waved my buddies down and just decided to hang above the wreck and watch. It sits between about 55 and 100 feet of water from end to end. Eventually I slowly worked my way down to 35 feet by the end of the ship. On the way back I was able to descend slowly again, and was swimming along the top side of the hull towards the mooring line. I got to 65 feet which was right where the propeller assembly was, and where everyone was swimming at this point. I ascended slightly below the group, very slowly, letting the reverse squeeze slowly wear off before surfacing. I'm glad that I go to experience the Hilma, even though it's not a very good wreck in general (not much life).

On the second dive, it was more of the same, although it was a shallower dive to begin with. There was an eagle ray about 80 feet away at the bottom of the reef. I eventually worked my way down to 45 feet and then back toward the fringe zone. This is where I spotted the squid and swam behind it for several minutes. The squeeze was pretty bad on the way back up, but I had plenty of time to let it release slowly. But that marked the end of my diving for the day, and for the trip.

Today I woke up quite congested again. A bit after breakfast I found a scooter rental place in town and rented a scooter. After some initial shaky rounds in the parking lot I got the hang of it. I followed thee recommended route towards the north end of the island. I passed Radio Netherlands and its huge array of antennas (I used to listen to RN on my shortwave radio) and then onto Gotomeer (a lake) which is a designated flamingo preserve. Then I continued through the 'other' town on Bonaire, Rincon (the town we are near is Kralendijk). I stopped at the hotel for water and then lunch, and then headed south. Just past the airport is the Donkey Sanctuary, which was pretty cool. There is a drive through portion which I drove with the scooter, and the donkeys came right up. They were very docile but pretty aloof. They also had a lookout tower with a view over the sanctuary, and a nursery where the foals were eating.

After the sanctuary, I headed south past the salt pier and associated lagoons and salt works to the slave huts which is where the slaves (in the 1850s) used to live and store their things while working in the salt flats. The huts were tiny but picturesque against the turquoise water behind them. Rather than swing over to the east side of the island again, I turned around, filled up the tank, and dropped of the scooter. I was getting sunburned and the wind completely dried me out. But it was a blast!

Bonaire first full day

This morning we started with breakfast (like yesterday). It's a buffet and it's not bad. Then we had to be at the docks at 8:15 because the boats leave at 8:30, and it turns out they're pretty serious about it. I actually got on the wrong boat at first (we have three reserved) but it was no big deal because about half our group either couldn't dive this morning - they got here yesterday or today and had to do orientation - or they still aren't here.

The first dive was at "Andrea I". It went well and lasted about 45 mins. The deepest was 70ft but most of the dive was spent at 30 or below. I am glad to have the 3 mil wetsuit. The water is a constant 80 top to bottom, but it definitely feels cool. After three dives I was still very comfortable temperature-wise. The sea life is about as normal; we saw an eel of some sort. The divemaster was really good; she wrote things on the magnetic board and spotted all sort of things that we would not have normally seen.

The second dive was probably the best site, called "Little Wall". It was a wall starting at about 30 feet and dropping off vertically about 50 feet to another flat area. It was the least comfortable dive of the day; my buoyancy didn't seem quite right. We saw two turtles; one had a tag on its flipper.

Then we had lunch, and it was back on the boat for the afternoon dive. This time I went on the correct boat. I didn't care for either the captain of divemaster as much. We went to a site off Kline Bonaire called Bonaventure. There was lots of life as usual, and two things I haven't seen before: two tires. I assume they were placed deliberately but there wasn't any life on them. We turned around a bit early and swam under the boat for a while before surfacing.

Tonight a group of eight of us went back to an Argentinian steakhouse where we ate last night. Then Michael aka Neptuner played some music for us, and that's where we are now. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Bonaire Baby

Last night I met up with about 15 other divers coming to Bonaire. I knew Mike, Tiffany, and Beth from Belize, and we made friends with the rest very quickly. Pappadeaux at IAH was hospitable and we all had some beers and food. The flight to Bonaire went fine, but it was near impossible to sleep. Everyone arrived a bit tired this morning. By the time we got our baggage (very slow!) and made it to Divi, our leader informed us that the Marine Park orientation was scheduled for 9:15 sharp. We had breakfast (a buffet is included with the stay) and then went to do the dives.

We had a brief rundown by Alvin from the resort. It's set up well for diving, with lockers right on the pier and a giant stride away from the house reef, Calabras Reef. It's a steady 10-15 feet to the edge of the dropoff, where it quickly turns into a wall...transitioning from soft corals to sponges to harder corals, with fish all over. I went with Beth and Jim, and Beth bailed early because she was scheduled to go diving with Larry's Wild Side on the other side of the island. Jim and I worked through his issues (leg cramps, mask clearing, leaky reg) and mine (leaky reg) as we did a few descents and ascents, and even a little navigation back to the dock. I rinsed and purged my reg and it seems to be OK now; no leaks.

Afterwards I walked into town. It's kind of pretty, with very colorful buildings and Dutch-style 'colonial' architecture. But it seems very barren, almost empty. There aren't many people and lots of stores and restaurants are closed. Still, I was able to find a little market (turns out it's just a little way outside the entrance to the resort) and got some bananas for later. It's about 3:40 now and happy hour starts in a couple hours. Hoping to get to bed early tonight and up tomorrow to make the 8:30 boat for the morning dives.

Lambert St. Louis "International" Airport

Lambert is hopping this afternoon, especially with military types. I haven't been in the A Concourse in forever, but it's not bad. A-10 and A-12 don't appear to be used -- at least not at this time of day -- but there's a big waiting area several steps off the beaten path...and some free outlets, which I wasn't sure I was going to be able to snag.

The flight to IAH is on time as of now...and thanks to the wonders of the internets, I don't even have to get up and walk 20 feet to the monitors to check.

I take longer than anyone, it seems, to go through the TSA line. I even have everything ready beforehand -- the bag of liquids, the laptop, the shoes, and all my pocket stuff in the bag -- but after I'm through the line, I have to sit down and rearrange my personal possessions just so before continuing to the gates. Maybe some sort of an "airport coach" to get me through the finer parts of passenger preparation would be in order.

Speaking of coaches, on this trip I signed up for a divemaster buddy to help me improve my diving...air consumption in particular, and hopefully to learn some more efficient kicking..er...finning. My air usage has gotten way better, and most of the time (when warm) I can feel extremely relaxed and in control...breathing quite slowly, really...but am definitely in the highest third (as a guess) of air consumption whenever I dive with a group. I do little things...but maybe completely useless things....such as generally hovering about 5 ft above most other divers. So we'll see how the bottom time improves over the course of the trip.

Off to Bonaire!

I'm off to Bonaire for a week of scuba diving in what is considered one of the most well-preserved and rewarding dive locations in the Caribbean and in the world. My plane leaves in just over three hours, for a four-hour layover in Houston, and then a red-eye flight to Bonaire. We arrive around 5:00 am, and shortly thereafter, should be doing checkout dives in the Bonaire National Marine Park. There will be at least three available boat dives per day, and unlimited shore diving...including a reef just off the pier at the resort.

This time, I'm prepared with my laptop, so I hope to keep up during the trip. Internet rates are extremely expensive on Bonaire, but the resort where we're staying, Divi Flamingo, has free wi-fi.

Stay tuned...

Prague Photo

My photo of the Municipal Concert Hall in Prague was chosen for inclusion into the Schmap Prague Guide. The photo itself seemed kind of like a throwaway, but now I'm published.

Eatern Europe: Final Thoughts

This was one of my favorite trips; I wasn't sure what to expect, which is what made it exciting. While not delving deep into the cultures and sticking to the major cities due to their accessibility, I felt welcomed as a visitor to each country.

Here are my thoughts on each of the cities.

Vienna - clean, efficient, and full of history. The Viennese were very kind and cheerful, from their "Grüß Gott" ("may God greet you") hellos to their helpful natures. For the less adventurous traveler, I think Vienna has a smaller language barrier than almost any country I have been to, save the Netherlands or maybe parts of Belgium. It wasn't stuffy at all, just very orderly. In fact, one of the first things I noticed was that pedestrians absolutely obey crossing signals. Even at tiny little intersections over one-land alleys and no traffic coming, the Viennese line up and wait for the light. Recommended? Yes, especially as a gateway city to any surrounding country.

Bratislava - for the very short visit I made here, Bratislava was neat, even though I didn't venture much outside the Old Town. If nothing else, a 30-cent ice cream cone and some Soviet-inspired architecture make this a worthwhile side trip from Vienna, or more exploration if you have time.

Prague - no wonder it's so popular. I'm not an architecture fiend, but the city is stunningly beautiful. It's also friendly and, swarmed with tourists of all types, has little language barrier, although its alphabet and difficult-to-pronounce words make it seem a bit more exotic. I would definitely recommend black-light theater and just wandering the small side streets aimlessly. The idea that service is sour and snobby just did not surface for me, not even once. A must-see place.

Kraków - Go now! It's tourist-friendly, but as it's part of a poorer country, it's a bit rough around the edges. But the sense that it is ramping up to be a huge destination is palpable throughout the city. Services are getting added, small hotels are springing up, and overall there's just a sense of excitement. On all but the shortest visits, Auschwitz is a must. The language barrier (if any) is not at all intimidating. In fact, of all the different day-to-day transactions that I had to carry out in another language, I had the easiest time in Poland. It's a young country -- I believe the median age is over ten years less than surrounding countries -- and the country feels young and full of energy.

More to come in the fuure.

Day 8: April 19-Kraków to Home

I slept in a bit this morning, but did one final walk-through of the city and the Market Square before heading to the airport. The train leaves right from platform #1 of the train station (the closest one to the mall entrance), and there's a ticket vending machine right next to it.

The biggest issue to face today was the transfer in London. Not the airplane transfer, mind you, but the airport transfer. I land in Gatwick and take off from Heathrow. Many AA and BA flights (they are alliance partners) connect in this fashion and they have the wise idea to call them connecting flights. It is up to you to pay for transportation between the two. I knew there was a bus which is the cheapest option -- at almost $40 thanks to our exchange rate.

From my earlier reading, most people recommend a five-hour connecting time in order to comfortably make it, while the airlines' site says a minimum of three. I had just under 3 1/2. Every second would count, and things would have to work perfectly.

The BA flight from Kraków (737) took off a bit late, in fact almost a half hour late. All the flights up until now "made up the time" in the air, but on this one, they announced that the flight time would be exactly what was stated, i.e. we'd land late. Rather than worry about making the next flight, I resigned myself to staying in London until the next day; things could be worse!

We landed, and as I was near the front of the plane, I got off first and began running to the terminal to catch the bus. It wasn't so much a run the entire way, but a fast walk using the people movers whenever possible. Customs was pretty quick, as most people were in the UK passport holders' line. I went through the "nothing to declare" and right out into the main airport. If you ever have to make this transfer, there are signs at Gatwick saying "Heathrow" and pointing you in the general direction of the exit. Not all directional signs include the Heathrow arrow, but enough do that I think it would be hard to go the wrong way.

The National City bus desk was open and there wasn't a line. I bought the ticket, and they had us wait in a small area for about five or ten minutes. Then the guy came in, took our tickets, and we boarded. There were only about ten people. It started out well; if I had needed to pick up luggage, I would have missed this bus.

The ride was uneventful; good, as it is just over an hour, with no traffic. Had this been an hour or two later, the rush hour traffic would have slowed us. Also, there was a major bottlneck in the motorway in the other direction, but ours was smooth sailing for the most part. It was nice seeing the English countryside (relatively); I will have to visit here again soon.

The bus pulls into Heathrow, and first drops off at terminal 4. Most of the people got off their; I was going to terminal 3. The bus actually goes to the "central bus depot" which is where you get off for terminals 1,2, and 3 and then walk underground. The ride between 4 and the bus depot was incredibly long, going through many roundabouts and generally crawling along. Heathrow is giant.

Departing the bus depot, I ran again to T3. Because BA couldn't print my onward boarding pass from Kraków (maybe because it was an AA flight overseas?) I had to go to the AA desk and check in, again. The line was very short; no problem. Things were going well....

Then I hit security. It was probably the longest of the security lines so far, but not terrible -- maybe 15 minutes. Here, they made me consolidate bags -- even though I considered the day pack a personal item, they limited you to only one carry-on of anything. No problem, as that's what I packed for.

After security, there was another separate line where you took off your shoes for X-ray.

Then it was passport control -- another quick stop.

Then you get to the concourse and gates where flights bound for the U.S. are. Now this is ridiculous: they have signs saying that behind this security, there are NO services and NO restroom! So I hit the restroom and went through the third security line at the airport and had my passport looked over again.

I had made it ... with about ten minutes to spare. The plane (777) loaded on time. And great news -- it was less than half full. In fact, I think it was maybe 35-40% full if i had to guess. My assigned seat was next to another guy's assigned seat...so after the flow of passengers seemed to end, I got up and moved to the back cabin. Lots of people were already spreading around, but I finally got a seat on the aisle in the center section. The only other person in that row and section was on the other aisle. The flight attendants then announced that everyone was on board. Yes!

The flight home was enjoyable as I watched a movie on my screen and had another screen next to me to flip through. The flight attendants were obviously in a good mood and served us a round of free drinks.

We landed on time in Chicago, and as usual the flight to St. Louis (the last one of the day) was completely full in an old 757. I got to Lambert and took the Metrolink home, transferring at Forest Park.

I threw my laundry in the basket, took a shower, and then...played around on the internet for a while. It was late and I was tired, but glad to make it home in one piece and on time.