Bonaire’s Love Our Planet Week offers opportunities to dive, learn and have f
Week-long event takes place September 15-22, 2007
Kralendijk, Bonaire (August 30, 2007) – Filled with exciting activities, interesting seminars and a chance to win a return trip to Bonaire in 2008, the program for Love Our Planet Week, part of Bonaire Dive Into Summer 2007 and Clean Up the World Weekend, is adventure filled and ideal for those looking to add an educational element to their vacation.
Each day of Love Our Planet Week offers visitors the flexibility to enjoy their planned vacation on island, and as an added bonus, the option to take part in interactive dives and seminars, which practically guarantees a fun and educational vacation in Bonaire. As a highlight of the program, The Coral Reef Alliance’s (CORAL) program director, Rick MacPherson, will lead specialized dives and conservation-related seminars throughout the week at Captain Don’s Habitat, the host hotel of Love Our Planet Week, as well as at other Bonaire locations. All participants of Love Our Planet Week will receive an official certificate of participation from the Clean Up the World foundation, which is the partner organization of the United Nations Environment Program.
Love Our Planet Week kicks off Saturday, September 15 with the free Yellow Submarine/NetTech, NV Clean Up The World Day cleanup dive and barbecue starting at 1pm. In the evening, the weekly barbecue buffet dinner ($14.90 per person) at Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino begins at 6pm with live entertainment and a special presentation from CORAL’s Rick MacPherson.
On Sunday, September 16, participate in the STINAPA and Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire annual cleanup Klein Bonaire dive, a Clean Up The World activity, which departs from the Harbour Village Marina promptly at 7:30am (no limit on participants; event is free), or join MacPherson on the CORAL CSI interactive two-tank boat dive, where participants learn the tools needed to select dive shops that ensure long-term reef protection, plus an easy way to assess reef health. The dive departs the dock of Dive Friends Bonaire (Port Bonaire location) at 8:45am. Pre-registration is recommended as there is a limit of 10 divers. E-mail info@dive-friends-bonaire.com to reserve space; cost is $36 per person.
Next, visitors are invited to join MacPherson at Captain Don’s Habitat on Monday, September 17 for the weekly Meet the Captain Party at 6pm, where Captain Don Stewart himself will make a special appearance.
For those who miss the Sunday CORAL CSI activity, visitors still have two more chances to participate on September 18 and 19. The single-tank boat dives depart the dock of Captain Don’s Habitat at 9am. Sign-ups will take place the day before each dive on the chalk board at the Habitat dive shop with a limit of 20 divers per boat. The boat dives are open to anyone wishing to participate for a cost of $29 per person.
On September 18 join MacPherson at 8pm in the conference room at Captain Don’s Habitat for a free interactive presentation of “Marine Protected Areas, Our Best Defense.” The session begins with a background in coral reef ecology and then continues by showing how marine protected areas are the best defense in protecting coral habitats and why the Bonaire Marine Park is such an exemplary model.
September 19 MacPherson hosts a free interactive presentation of “Saving Reefs? Just Do It!” During this interactive seminar, CORAL helps participants take matters into their own hands by teaching simple things to do everyday to save reefs and give participants a glimpse of the long-term effects on the reefs. The presentation begins at 8pm in the conference room at Captain Don’s Habitat.
On September 20 join Rick MacPherson at Deco Stop Bar located at Captain Don’s Habitat for the Week in Review slideshow beginning at 7pm. Plus, all visitors who participate in at least one Love Our Planet Week activity will be entered into a draw to win a one-week trip for two back to Bonaire. Airfare will be provided by Air Jamaica while accommodations and diving will be provided by Captain Don’s Habitat during Bonaire Dive Into Summer 2008 (entrants must be 18 years or older and a legal resident of the United States). Rick MacPherson announces the winner after the Week in Review slideshow.
Additionally, all entrants will be entered into the EarthEcho International Sweepstakes (one entry per person) where one lucky winner will be awarded a trip on a 2008 EarthEcho Expedition with Philippe Cousteau. The drawing will be held on or about January 3, 2008. The winner and his\her guest must be available to join the expedition on the dates and location of the sponsor’s choosing. The grand prize includes the reasonable cost of airfare, accommodations (often on shipboard) and meal expenses for the winner and one guest. For more information about the sweepstakes, visit the EarthEcho website.
Further, visitors can enter the Bonaire Dive Into Summer 2007 photo contest, sponsored by Scuba Diving magazine, until September 30. This opportunity gives Bonaire’s island guests the chance to compete with each other for prizes by uploading their best Bonaire photos on the Bonaire Dive Into Summer website. Winners in three categories – wide angle, macro and topside – will be announced in October.
Bonaire Dive Into Summer 2007 is sponsored by the Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB), Scuba Diving magazine and Air Jamaica.
For more information about Captain Don’s Habitat see their listing under Bonaire – Accommodations at www.caribbean.com.
Located 86 miles east of Aruba, the Dutch-Caribbean island of Bonaire offers year-round sunshine, low annual rainfall, pristine coral formations and the most thriving fish population in the Caribbean. Ideal for adventurers, explorers and sun worshippers alike, Bonaire offers myriad eco-adventure activities, including world-renowned scuba diving, snorkelling, windsurfing, kiteboarding, landsailing, mountain biking, sea and mangrove kayaking, horseback riding, nature tours, hiking, birdwatching, sailing and deep-sea and bonefishing. And with a selection of accommodations ranging from full-service oceanfront resorts and condominiums to guest houses and small inns, Bonaire has something for every lifestyle and budget.
The US State Department and the Department of Homeland Security now requires all US citizens and foreign nationals to carry a passport or other accepted secure documents to enter or re-enter the US from vacations or business travel (by air or sea) anywhere in the Caribbean, including Bonaire.
For more information on Bonaire, call the Tourism Corporation Bonaire in the US at (800) BONAIRE.
For your FREE on-line Bonaire travel guide, visit www.caribbean.com.
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