Back on Bonaire

Rediscovering Diver's Paradise as a Father

Non-Fiction - Travel
163 Pages
Reviewed on 07/06/2020
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

Author Biography

Andrew Jalbert is an award-winning photographer, writer, and doting father. Throughout his twenty-five years as an archaeologist, scuba instructor and dive guide he has traveled extensively, publishing work on prehistoric sites, shipwrecks, travel, dive safety, and marine conservation. Jalbert lives in Monona, Wisconsin with his wife Becky and their son Luc.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Back on Bonaire: Rediscovering Diver's Paradise as a Father is a nonfiction travel memoir written by Andrew Jalbert. Jalbert knew, from the time he was a young boy, that he wanted to be an explorer, to have adventures, and so archaeology seemed a perfect choice. He also began scuba training with a friend; a hobby that also offers opportunities for adventure while working. That, combined with the job he found as a low-level field archaeologist, seemed the perfect recipe. And his scuba gigs seemed more and more suited to his dreams of adventure. Bonaire is an island off Venezuela’s coast and was where he first led a dive. Bonaire was a favorite diving destination for scuba divers. The island offered an infinite choice in diving opportunities. The first trip he took there led to many others. Like so many other divers, Jalbert found Bonaire irresistible and endlessly fascinating, no matter how many times he went there. Some twenty years after the first visit, Jalbert and his wife’s musings about purchasing a rental property on the island were put on hold when they discovered that they were going to have a child. Their son Luc seemed a perfectly behaved traveler, unlike so many other young children. So, yes, their trips to Bonaire could be continued, with a few tweaks on how they managed dives and such. Just how different it would be was something he was soon to discover.

While I love open-water swimming and snorkeling, the dependence on an external source of air places such limitations on exploring the world under the waves. In Back on Bonaire: Rediscovering Diver's Paradise as a Father, Andrew Jalbert shares most eloquently his love of scuba and his attachment to Bonaire, a diver’s paradise. As I read, I began to feel a kinship with the author and get a gist of what diving on the island was like. Jalbert shares so much about Bonaire: its environment, wildlife, aquatic creatures, and history, that the island soon becomes real and familiar to the reader. Adding in the unknown quantity of experiencing the island through his son’s eyes enhances the experience for the author; a point he makes so clearly in this well-written and enjoyable book. Back on Bonaire: Rediscovering Diver's Paradise as a Father is most highly recommended.

Doug Fricke

If you're planning to visit the ABC islands in the Caribbean or looking for a new SCUBA destination, then this book is for you. Mr. Jalbert has visited Bonaire numerous times in the last twenty-five years as a SCUBA trainer, a photographer, environmentalist, and recently as a new father. His excellent writing style will pull you into the depths.
The second part of the book's title should give you a clue about why the story also qualifies as a family history memoir. On that subject, the last section of Chapter Six at the pool with the guy in yellow shorts is my favorite. Highly recommended.