We are at the end of our scuba diving trip to Bonaire. Last dives were done today and we have a veg day tomorrow. On Sunday, very early in the morning, we fly to Houston. Before I talk about Houston, here are some tidbits about Bonaire.
Damsel fish are very territorial. I was floating past a coral head and felt a boop on my leg, what?? Then one on my calf. I looked back and this angsty damsel fish was booping my fin. Poor thing, I didn’t mean to upset it so.
Mur and I spent a few minutes hanging out with a small green turtle on the sand at one of the dive sites. Years ago, we were told by a dive master in Grand Turk that if we stayed at the same level or below a turtle, the turtle would not consider us a risk, so it would not flee. This wisdom has guided us to many wonderful turtle encounters, including one here. The turtle was munching and was not concerned about us at all. It was thrilling!
Shore diving can be a challenge as the entries and exits out of the water are sometimes tricky. Rocks, slippery sea growth, waves, heavy gear and holes can all play into the challenge. Murray and I did pretty good for the first week. Our technique is good – walking sideways in the surf so the impact isn’t as tippy, calling out when a wave is approaching, going slowly. The second week, as we got tired saw Murray do a slow motion tip over on an exit and Debbie stumble on a step up a beach rise and go kerplunk onto the rocky beach. It took a boost from Murray to get back up. So we did pretty good, with only two falls.
Only two falls, but if we count injuries, we had four! I must have kicked something in the first day or so as I have a bruised toe nail and it was painful to wear my dive bootie for a few days. I also got a nose, and sinus, full of water when I jumped into the water at the dive site called Oil Slick Leap. The next morning, the area under my eyes was swollen! Weird! Then Murray hurt two of his fingers on his slow motion fall and dropped a tank on a finger nail (on the other hand). So, fingers on both his hands were impairing his flexibility. We usually don’t get banged up like this!
We stayed at our favourite Bonaire hotel, the Coral Paradise Resort. Carolyn and Vincent, the owners, run a wonderful hotel, it’s friendly, clean, quiet and newly renovated. We would not stay anywhere else on Bonaire.
Murray and I seem to be Green Moray Eel whisperers. On many of our dives, we had a moray eel swim under us and continue on his/her way. Not stopping to chat, just passed us by on the way to an appointment or lunch or shopping.
Last tidbit. There are three dive sites on the south road that usually cannot be dived as the kite boarders occupy those sites. It is dangerous, as a diver, to come into shore when kite boarders are out as they also come into shore and a collision may occur. But, when the wind is quiet and not strong enough for kite boarding, we can dive these sites. Which we did. The thing I noticed was this section of the reef looked the healthiest on the island. Lots of sea life, corals, sponges. Why? No divers! The kite boarders are, in a way, protecting the reef! Good on them.
Scuba diving is done, next stop is Houston to visit the Johnson Space Center. Each time we passed through Houston, I said “Boy, I would like to go see the Space Center”, and this time we are! Stay tuned!