24/2014 A Birthday in Bonaire

Hi from Clare,                          Sunday 17th August 2014
It is now week five in Bonaire and we are very contented. This is most unusual as over the years we have become sea gypsies and we tend to get restless after a week in one spot. For us it really does prove the theory "time flies when you are having fun"

THE SIGHTS YOU SEE

Yellow Frog Fish

Eyed Flounder

Spotted Eel

Blue Tang

Yesterday we planned to have a day off from diving to varnish the bathroom door. The plan half worked, the door was sanded and two coats of vanish applied. So what else is there to do while waiting for the varnish to dry? Go for a dive of course. I photographed a yellow frog fish (see photo). The first time we saw this fish I couldn't make head nor tail of it. It just looked like a piece of yellow coral but yesterday it was out in the open more - what a strange looking creature. The flounder sleeping on the rock (see photo) was also wonderfully camouflaged; such sights are a thrill. Unfortunately my little camera is not up to taking panorama photos or you would see that often we are surrounded by many fish. It is truly a beautiful experience and one I doubt we will ever tire o

SIXTY TWO ??
This week we celebrated Andrew's 62nd birthday. According to him the bad news is, he is getting older. The good news is, Andrew thought he was already 62 so his birthday didn't change a thing. We commenced the day with an early morning walk along the boulevard by the waterfront followed by a leisurely coffee on 'Acapella' and an unexpected birthday gift from friends Ellen and Martin. We went for a dive in the afternoon and then out for the evening. We had pre dinner drinks at Karel's Beach Bar with Ellen and Martin and also Maria and Maurice from "Cattiva" followed by a very nice three course meal at the Patagonian Steak House (see photos).

Maria, Andrew, Clare, Martin, Ellen & Maurice

Dinner at the Patagonia Steak House

NEWSFLASH
So while I'm typing this newsletter Andrew has given the bathroom door another couple of coats of varnish. He is now pumping water out of the bilge as the hot water heater has a leaking seal or maybe its the watermaker. So rest easy folks - it's not all fun here, sometimes we work all day.

EXPERIENCE BONAIRE
When touring the island with Ellen and Martin they took us to a remote cave to see some rock carvings/paintings which date back to 300BC. This particular cave called "Mati" (meaning high up there) faces north and from there an 'ancient astrologer' looked at two northern horizon lines - the sea horizon and the horizon of the coastline. He then used the large rocks on the coastline, in combination with the stalactite points hanging in the outer edge of his cave, as star tracking co-ordination points. We thought this was pretty cool.

Ancient Astrologer

Ancient rock paintings showing the stars

SO WHAT'S NEXT
Andrew's son Matthew will be joining us for a few days later this week. He has a meeting in Bogota in Columbia and has organized (clever lad) a five day break before returning back home to New York. Unfortunately his wife Mim won't be joining us, which is a great pity, who's going to make the cocktails? However we are looking forward to Matt's visit and I'm sure he will enjoy a break from his busy professional life for some diving and a sail to Curacao.

We have an appointment with the rigger in Curacao on 25th August. We are hoping for a speedy, inexpensive and excellent job - what are our chances?

love Candy xx

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