Today we hit our diving stride. It has taken 5 or 6 days but the three dives today were not easy and all were over 70 minutes long. The dives were not super hard with strong currents or anything but the entry and exit of two of the three dives were difficult and the dives themselves I would say were the advanced dives for Bonaire.
Lettuce Leaf Slug
1000 steps is one of the iconic dives for this island. Everyone has heard of it and if you are shore diving you have to do it once or you really have not been to Bonaire. There are 60+ steps from the roadway to the beach. Gear on your back the descent it OK but coming up gets your heart rate up. The dive itself is quite peaceful and the terrain is worth the visit.
Karpata is one of my favorite dives here. The entry/exit is very difficult. The waves are usually quite high and you get knocked about as you try to get in or out. If you can remain on your feet this dive is spectacular. Not as well traveled as most of the dives. It is too far north on a one way road and many, I think, don’t want to deal with the exit and entry.
The last dive, Windsock, is an easy dive off a beach. Still there are things to see and it was a good way to end the day.
The trick to the long bottom time is to be relaxed, move slow and dive a good profile. It always takes a few days to get all the pieces in place but as the pieces fall into place it becomes second nature and you don’t have to concentrate as hard as you do on the first 6 or so dives.