Bonaire’s loyal visitors from North America begin to return “home” to the island.
It’s been quite a ride over the past 15 months since the COVID-19 pandemic initially closed Bonaire’s borders. And although Bonaire’s European visitors have been able to arrive for nearly a year through Amsterdam, getting to the island for Bonaire’s loyal visitors from North American gateways has been fraught with difficulties.
Bonaire has been officially open to flights from the USA and Canada since January 2021, but COVID-19 testing requirements mandated by The Netherlands have made it particularly difficult for those arriving from North America as testing facilities were not yet ready in many areas of the USA. Airlines were doing their best to reinstate service from North American gateways, but each month, as Bonaire’s loyal visitors held their collective breaths in hope, the departures kept getting postponed, month after month.
American Airlines and Delta both reinitiated service to Bonaire on June 5, 2021.
But happily, on June 5, 2021, Bonaire saw the first flights originating from the USA at Flamingo Airport–the first flights in nearly 15 months! Both Delta and American Airlines arrived within 18 minutes of each other, both chock full of extremely happy visitors! They simply couldn’t wait to get their feet on Bonaire’s terra firma and then get their toes-in-the-sand as quickly as possible.
Bonaire is truly blessed to have such loyal visitors who patiently (okay, maybe not so patiently) waited until they could arrive. Although other destinations opened earlier with easier requirements, so many of Bonaire’s visitors wouldn’t be deterred. They wanted to come back “home” to their dushi Bonaire!
Bud Uren and Heather Sellick were two of those loyal Bonaire visitors who arrived back “home.”
Bud Uren and Heather Sellick’s love affair with Bonaire began 46 years ago! When they saw that the Delta and American Airlines flights were really going to happen, they hastily made arrangements and grabbed two of the last available seats on the connecting Delta flight out of Detroit, Michigan. They were finally going to come “home to Bonaire” no matter what!
The story begins with Bud Uren.
Bud began traveling to Bonaire back in 1975 when he was assisting as an instructor on dive trips to Bonaire. He fondly reminisces about one time when he was here to assist and then got a call to ask if he could stay for a second week because the next instructor suddenly had a conflict. And he was thrilled when during the second week, another dive store asked if he could please stay down on Bonaire and help with new arriving divers. What a problem to have as a young dive instructor!
During his early days teaching diving, one of his students was Heather. They hit it off and remained as acquaintances for several years, seeing each other at local dive events.
Eventually, in 1983, they found themselves on the same dive trip bound for Bonaire. As they had more time to chat and get to know each other, Heather asked why Bud had never opened his own dive store. And Bud’s response? “Well, I’m a SCUBA bum. I enjoy teaching, and I’m having a great time, why should I change anything?”
But the suggestion was out there, and more conversations followed. Back then, dive shops were simple stores, many of them “mom and pop” establishments. It was certainly not the norm to have a full-service dive travel agency or an in-house 100,00-gallon pool with embedded cameras, a state-of-the-art equipment service department, several classrooms, and a variety of equipment for retail sales, but Bud, with Heather’s assistance, started to dream big.
Heather brought some unique qualifications to the table.
Becoming fast friends, the two joined forces as business partners. Heather brought some excellent qualifications to the partnership, as she was working as a university professor teaching Education Law, holding a Ph.D. in Special Education and also Business Administration. Heather was so sure that with Bud’s exuberance for diving, his wide knowledge of the sport, and his excellent interpersonal skills, she was 100% convinced that the two of them could create something great! And before they knew it, US SCUBA was born on July 25, 1984.
The months quickly passed, and two years later, the dynamic duo was highly successful. The business was thriving, and the two business partners spent lots of time together. One day they looked at each other, and said to each other, “We work well together, we have our business together, what’s next?” And Bud asked Heather to marry him. And she said yes! And a new chapter began!
Fast forward to the Bonaire of today.
Both Bud and Heather continued to travel to Bonaire, to this very day. They have seen many changes over the decades, both good and bad. Back in 1975, Bud saw so many roaming goats and he even began to recognize individuals, so he started naming them! Today, roaming goats are discouraged due to the loss of native flora. These days, instead, goat farming on kunukus (farms or ranches) is greatly encouraged.
Today, the island is growing, the economy is growing, and the population is growing. With such growth, changes are inevitable, but the standard of living for the locals living on Bonaire has increased dramatically since the 1970s. However, Bud explained that the constant from way back in 1975 to today is still the friendliness and welcoming attitude of the people who live here.
We consider Bonaire as our second home, and, the people who live here are our extended family.” – Bud Uren
The diving is still exceptional, even after all the years.
Although diving has changed since 1975, with greater shore diving access and more boat availability, Bud and Heather, and many of their divers who travel here with them, are still enamored with the ease of diving here on Bonaire, as well as all the seahorses and frogfish that can be found on the island’s reefs. During their week’s stay this month, they were thrilled to see an area that they nicknamed The Nursery, which was filled with multitudes of juvenile fish.
The dive industry has matured over the decades as well.
Bud and Heather reminisced about the times back in the 1970s and the 1980s when diving on Bonaire was still in its infancy. Back then, the stalwart pioneers of diving were the initial divemasters and dive guides on the island. Bud remembers Baselio “Bas” Marin as one of his favorite guides. Although Bas is no longer with us today, one of his sons still works in tourism to this day, keeping that family tradition alive.
Bud and Heather honored as Bonaire’s first Platinum Ambassadors.
For many years, Bonaire’s tourism office has honored those visitors who remain loyal to Bonaire, visiting at least once each year. The Bronze Ambassador award honors those with a decade of visits, the Silver award thanks those with 20 years of visits, and Gold Ambassadors were those who reached 30 consecutive years of visits. When the program commenced, never in their wildest dreams did they think they would be honoring those who visited for 40 consecutive years! But Bud and Heather did just that, and they were honored as Bonaire’s first Platinum Ambassadors by the Tourism Corporation Bonaire.
And for the future? Will we see these loyal visitors again soon?
With direct flights from North America re-established, Bud and Heather plan to bring their eager divers back to Bonaire just as soon as possible. But there is a small snafu–the pent-up demand for Bonaire is great, and flights and resorts are already heavily booked. Bud and Heather will be back with over 30 lucky divers this November, and they hope to bring more in October if they can secure the flights and accommodations.
A word to the wise.
Take that information as a warning, and heed the advice to book your travel for the winter season as soon as possible, to avoid disappointment. So many of Bonaire’s loyal visitors are doing that right now!
(Source: Bonaire Insider Reporter)
