Bonaire Day 5

Got to sleep in until 9am this morning. When I woke the constant pain in my ear was gone but it felt like I had a wad of cotton shoved in there. I decided not to push it and fore go today's dive. I accompanied some of the group on their dive as they decided on only one dive today. We loaded up the tanks and headed to a dive site just north of 1,000 steps (can't remember the name right now). The beach was full of dead coral which looks like white petrified pieces of dog poo (no other way to describe them). They said the entry was much easier than Invisibles. While the 6 divers ventured out I hung out with 4 non-divers for about an hour working on my tan and taking a few pictures (which I'm too lazy to upload right now). After the dive we took a drive around the north side of the island. It turned out to be a mini safari.

We first ventured through the flamingo reserve. Now when I heard flamingo reserve I pictured hundreds of flamingos with turquoise water and white sandy beaches. Instead it resembled a Southern California lake with about 50 flamingos spread out over 20-30 acres. Got some good shots and continued on through the hilly, windy road. Along the way we encountered wild pigs, wild donkey and even a goat. There are also wild parrots EVERYWHERE. Those little buggers are loud!

We stopped in a little town called Rincon (next to another town called Santa Barbara, go figure) and had an Amstel light. We continued down the road and stopped at a place along the east shore where there are inscriptions from indians in the volcanic rock that date to 300 B.C. Although it was pretty neat to see the carvings in the rock, the local lizards stole the show. Someone in our group had a granola bar and fed on of the nearby lizards. All of a sudden what seemed like HUNDREDS of lizards came RUNNING from up to 30 yards away for their change at a snack. One of the group commented it felt like the movie the birds but with lizards.

After we ran out of food, we got back in our trusty four door Mazda rental truck (that I am driving because no0 one else in my room can drive stick) and headed back to our resort, Buddy Dive. Naps were of course in order before dinner.

We showered and had a couple beers on the patio before heading to an Argentinian restaurant just down the road in the harbor called Patagonia. I ordered the fillet (first non-fish dinner I've had) and it did not disappoint! Argentinians definitely know their beef. One guy in our group had to wait for his dinner and the chef came out personally to apologize. My sister and I shared a bottle of Argentinian Cabernet-Malbeck blend from the Mendoza region of Argentina and we enjoyed great dinner conversation with 5 others from our group. A fudge brownie with ice cream capped a great dinner.

I'm here in my favorite place the "Pool Bar" writing this post and winding down. Tomorrow we have a scheduled two tank boat dive to the little island Klien Bonaire and there is talk of one last night dive as tomorrow is our last day of diving (you must wait 24 hours to fly after your last dive). I'm hoping my day off from the water has healed my ear and that I am able to go on all 3 dives tomorrow. If I can that will be 11 dive in 5 days! On Friday Shannon and I plan on renting scooters and touring the south part of the island.

Although I am truly enjoying my time here, I am looking forward to returning home to my friends, loved ones and most of all my kiddos. Until tomorrow...