Bonaire EcoSwim December 6, 2008

Hi Todd, My 5 day experience on Bonaire was incredible and the EcoSwim was a blast! Randy is a terrific host and race director. He and his crew make everyone feel welcome and comfortable. The race is very organized and safe with the cooperation and assistance of local authorities. There are also several social events...fine dining, sailing on the Samur, scuba, group snorkeling or just hanging out with new friends. Bonaire is surrounded by a marine park. It is truly one of the best places on this earth to snorkel or dive. You can't go wrong with the Bonaire experience! Dani LaFrance

I've done it the last 3 years. Most fun race of them all. Beautiful scenery above and below water. Great people, both the other swimmers and the locals. I'd move there if I could. Bonaire is definitely one of the best islands in the Caribbean. I hope to be there this year too.

Geez Darek & Dani y'all are all blown up about Bonaire! But it is so very true, every word of both of your posts. I am going to sign up for the swim in December using the tax rebate check that is supposed to be here any day now! The time there is always so special, well, with the exception of getting to hang out with Capt. Don, which is monumental sketchiness at its:fish2: zenith!

"Chicken of the Sea," that is a winning handle! Welcome! I'd like to do that swim, but probably won't this year. Do you go solo or with a swim group? I'd like to encourage all y'all to post detailed trip reports of Bonaire on the thread "Can you see the bottom? See anything interesting?" (Same goes for the Chesapeake Bay swimmers... oh, clams, old tires, murk, bits and pieces of North America pulling off...) Regards, VB

I'm definitely there this year! I've done the swim the last 3 years and it's my absolute favourite. The water is so beautiful it's hard to concentrate on the race. There's so much to see! turtles, coral, beautiful tropical fish, seahorses!! Staying at and hanging out at Captain Don's is always fun! and yeah.... the Captain himself is quite a character...:eek:

I am thinking seriously at this point of doing this swim, but nothing carved in stone. I am going to the Caribbean for Xmas and NY's so this date is a little inconvenient...maybe make this a long weekend 3 or 4 day trip to Bonaire to do the swim... Not 100% yet but I have my eye on it. Anyone else planning on doing this swim?

Sounds awesome! This will be my first OW swim, I plan to do the 5k. I may be going down solo for this, not sure yet if anyone can go with me in early December. I'd be flying in from Toronto, ON. Questions: How long do you guys normally go down for? Where do you stay? Captain Don's Habitat? Sand Dollar Condos? Can you recommend good places to eat/get groceries? As well as the swim I'd like to go deep-sea fishing and jet skiing. Are these available in the area? Thanks for info!

Hi Todd, Captain Don's is the headquarters hotel and where the race starts and finishes. The Sandollar is almost next door, an easy walk or swim. I've stayed in both and either works well for the event. There are a couple of grocery stores nearby and we usually make a food/drink run shortly after arriving on island to pick up supplies for our socials. Many swimmers travel solo to this event and since we do a lot of the activities as a group it gives you a chance to meet and hang out with lots of other water loving friends. Most swimmers arrive Wed/Thur before the swim and stay to Tue/Wed after it. Make sure you stay Sunday, the day after the swim, as that is when we charter the Samur for our sailing trip and sunset cruise. On this trip we break out the surf-wing which allows you to surf/water ski underwater over the reefs. Other details and info are available on the event website here: Aqua Moon Adventures

I think the waters around Bonaire are National park (?) so I don't think you're allowed to jet ski or deep sea fish. There's windsurfing tho, and the surf wing is a lot of fun!

Thanks for the info Randy! I am really looking forward to this.