We hadn’t planned to do much of anything except snorkel, during our stay in Bonaire over Christmas, but when my husband talked to a Canadian couple on the airplane, we discovered another water sport we would need to try also: windsurfing.

Some families return to Bonaire every year, simply to windsurf. Lac Bay, a lagoon on the eastern side of the island near Sorobon, has calm waters and a constant trade wind nearly every day of the year, and because of this is perhaps the best place in the world to learn how to windsurf.

For about $50 each, both our kids got a pretty good handle on the use of the sail and the board, during two hours of windsurfing (an hour lesson and an hour of play). My husband listened and helped. We returned a couple days later for another half day of play. We took turns on the board and my turn was short because I couldn’t even figure out how to stand up!

We also snorkeled in Lac Bay, out at the reef near the mouth to the Caribbean. The fish there were plentiful and we felt like we were literally swimming in an aquarium. It was a long swim/walk to the reef, but very pleasant – the lagoon is about three feet deep throughout its five square miles, and has a constant 82-degree temperature.

Tips for Windsurfing:

Get a lesson the first time - Keith was our instructor and he was so patient with the kids. An instructor can help avoid some of the frustration that comes with learning this sport.

Ask the locals there if it’s a good day to windsurf. If no one is on the water, it’s probably because there isn’t enough wind. Don’t bother renting a board then – come back and try again later or the next day.

If the wind picks up too much, get off the water and watch the locals windsurf with their big sails. We heard some of them are the best in the world.

Wear water socks or dive boots to protect your feet from the few pieces of coral or sea urchins that appear periodically throughout the otherwise sandy bottom.

Don’t be afraid to share a board rental. Although the shops don’t advertise this, people do it. If you know you’ll only last for an hour of a half-day rental, split it with your teenager.

Bonaire Series:
Bonaire, Netherland Antilles
Snorkeling in Bonaire
Windsurfing in Bonaire
Bonaire’s History

Bonaire is known worldwide for its dive spots, so there are many businesses poised to help you with your snorkeling and dive needs. We appreciated the help of “Dive Friends Bonaire” several times during our trip – they were eager to help our stay in Bonaire be pleasant.

Bonaire has about 50 snorkel/dive spots that line the leeward side of the island, all the way from the cliffs on the north, to the salt flats to the south. We had heard Klein Bonaire (the small island) also had great snorkeling, but we never went. We just got our map, and watched for the large yellow rocks that indicated the dive spot. On the beach there was usually another yellow rock that said, “enter”, so that divers and snorkelers could enter in the safest spot.

We chose to purchase our used equipment before traveling, and we checked one large (40 lb) bag to carry it in. We still had to replace some of it with new equipment from Dive Friends while we were there. My daughter’s set of flippers weren’t large enough to wear the dive boots underneath and we quickly found that we needed to wear the boots every time because of the rough coral beaches. We also bought two new masks, one with a prescription for my daughter who thought she saw a cell phone at the bottom, when it was actually a beer bottle. She just kept holding up the lenses until one looked right. It worked like a dream, and now we’ll have great equipment for our next snorkeling vacation.

TIPS:
Get good equipment and replace what doesn’t work well. Good equipment is the difference between an annoying excursion and a life-changing one.

Men need to shave their upper lip before using a mask, or it will leak. I’ve heard goggles can work too. HINT: Woodwind operators that go to Klein Bonaire daily suggest using Vaseline on the upper lip to seal the mask. Great tip!

Watch the weather and the waves so you’re safe snorkeling. The coral can cut like a knife in the right water conditions.

Move up or down the coast if conditions aren’t right in one spot. The crystal clear water in Bonaire offers an excellent opportunity to see fish and coral – we even watched a sea turtle. But sometimes there’s low visibility because the sand is stirred up in one location.

Enter and exit at the yellow “dive” rocks on the beach. These are safer spots with less coral. We also took our fins off sometimes before coming out, so the waves wouldn’t push so hard.

Use dive boots (neoprene socks you wear inside the fins) to protect your feet from the coral.

Wear rash guard - short or long-sleeved water shirts that block the UV rays. Our skin was safe with less sunblock, which was better for the health of the coral.

Use de-fogger gel for your mask – it really works well and will keep you from having to constantly wipe or rinse your lenses.

Purchase a waterproof case for your digital point-and-shoot camera. All the underwater photos you’ll see in this series were taken with our regular Sony Cybershot. We just put it in a $30 DiCAPac.

Bonaire Series:
Bonaire, Netherland Antilles
Snorkeling in Bonaire
Windsurfing in Bonaire
Bonaire’s History

We visited this little island (it’s only 24 miles long) during Christmas vacation, and loved it. Although we aren’t certified scuba divers,we did bring snorkel gear and spent much of our week exploring the reef along the western (leeward) side of the island.

Every day reached 85 degrees, which was a welcome relief for us in December. It has been unusually rainy this year, which has created a mess in the streets and some musty conditions inside leaky buildings. Most days for us were sunny, though, and the heat was a perfect excuse to go snorkeling. Bonaire is mostly undeveloped and while the poor road conditions are an irritation, the quiet atmosphere is a blessing.

Residents here speak mostly Dutch and Papimientu (a cross between various languages, with roots in Spanish), but many speak English as well, so we didn’t have trouble communicating.

I will share our adventure over the next few weeks.

Bonaire Series:
Bonaire, Netherland Antilles
Snorkeling in Bonaire
Windsurfing in Bonaire
Bonaire’s History

Steps to Respect is a bulling-prevention curriculum used to help change the climate in a school toward one of respect. While most people understand the classic “bully” who physicially intimidates his or her victims, people are just starting to understand the devastating effects of the more sneaky side of bullying – “relational aggression.”

Relational aggression, or “social bullying” is one person exerting power, control or manipulation over another, in the form of gossip, rumors, exclusion or damaging relationships.

According to the Ophelia Project:

“Relationally aggressive behaviors, such as spreading malicious gossip, excluding others and taunting with the intent to harm someone else’s relationships, are often erroneously referred to as “normal” behaviors and means of interacting.”

Programs come and go, and sometimes we doubt the effectiveness, but this one seems to work.

According to this article, on the front page of Yahoo this week, Steps to Respect program decreased playground gossip by 70 percent.

This post was originally published February 19, 2007.

I’ve told you before about how I encourage D to be my navigator on trips, but during our recent Florida vacation, I had two navigators.

And two map-readers, plus one map, equals one humungous backseat sibling squabble.

So I got two maps — free at a tourist information booth — and both kids navigated for me. D taught map-reading, while C practiced his directions. And they both helped me negotiate the busy traffic.