Travel tip from Bonaire: pack an extra sports bag
Elizabeth Babich , windsurfing wahine
March 29, 2010
Mothers learn early on that the art of bag packing is a prerequisite parenting skill. In fact, months before delivery, it’s one of the first recommendations they make in the birthing class: “Pack the overnight bag for the hospital.” The bag you take to the hospital is important; an initiation of sorts to your life as a parent. Then you leave the hospital with another bag, a diaper bag, and you pack that bag dutifully for years to come.
Over time, you transition from packing diaper bags to packing backpacks, lunch bags, overnight bags, and on and on. So as a mother of twelve years, I considered myself fairly adept at the art of bag packing.
Then my friends and I traveled to Bonaire this February. My windsurfing buddy suggested we become scuba certified so we would have a “back up” activity in case the wind was less than ideal. Sounded reasonable. I couldn't pass on a new water related adventure. So, my son and I became scuba certified. Lucky for us, the weather was perfect for both activities and we were determined to fill our days with as much fun as humanly possible both on and under the water.
Of course each activity has its own set of gear: two sets of wetsuits, different booties for the different wetsuits, buoyancy compensator device and snorkel and so on for the diving, harness and so on for the windsurfing… But I had packed only one large sports bag for both types of outings. So, needless to say, the packing and unpacking of the single sports bag was at time a frenzied process.
In fact, it was somewhat remarkable I didn’t find myself trying to hook in to my sail with my respirator; or attempting to suck air out of my harness. I attribute my success to years of early training. (Though, now that I mention it, my son left for an overnight the other day with my gym bag which didn’t turn out well for either of us. Another story.)
Our week in Bonaire was amazing. The joy of the time we spent windsurfing the emerald water of Lac Bay was matched only by the magnificence of the underwater world we explored. And if you go, getting scuba certified is well worth it. But, if you do, remember to pack two sports bags – one for each sport - even if it pushes you over the fifty pound weight limit at the airport!