Bonaire

Bonaire is the Netherlands' island named for good air, and known for beautiful reefs, desert parks and variety of outdoor adventure.

Buddy Dive

We begin the day at Buddy's Reef, to eat a quick breakfast and spend a bit of time paying our dues restoring the reef. The coral nursery gets a little scrubbing to remove algae, to give each polyp a chance to grow an entire coral that will eventually be big enough to be outplanted.

Hilma Hooker

Next, we load up the truck with a couple of Nitrox tanks and head down south for a visit to the Hilma Hooker. The tarpon hang on the shady side of the wreck and give no concern to the divers passing by. We circle around the propeller and enjoy the majestic view of this ship wreck in the morning sunlight.

Salt Pier

We now head back to the truck and on down to the Salt Pier. It's time to take a nice easy dive with a green turtle, soft and hard corals, schools of goatfish, grunts and snapper among a million other creatures hiding in the reef. The pillars and shadow of the pier provide a unique contrast to the other dive sites on Bonaire. It is a sight to behold.

Karpata

Our trusty pickup truck takes us back to the city to pick up more tanks for the next dives. Karpata is a ride up the road heading North this time.  We are ready for a nice leisurely shallow dive. The concrete pier makes for a nice entrance and exit. The stairs are a bit of a tiny hike, but nothing like 1,000 Steps.

Oil Slick Leap

Oil Slick Leap offers a fantastic fun entrance into to the blue green water. Another quick dive gives us time to enjoy the cleaning stations in the shallows here. Trumpet fish hunt and hide, changing colors in an incredible way that seems impossible.

Wild Side

We travel farther around the island, taking in the wild side and Chitons clinging to the limestone. We continue on to try some windsurfing in Lac Bay. We laughed a lot as it appears scuba diving is a far more suitable sport for the clumsy than windsurfing. But it sure was fun!

Slave Huts

The southern Slave Huts offer an incredible piece of Bonaire history. We are taken aback at the unbelievable contrast of today's conveniences and the simple, yet rich history of the island's salt mines. We imagine walking the distance from Rincon to here, as today we drive here in such a short time. Bonaire celebrates this history like no other and keeps these landmarks as pristine as the day there were made.

Next, we see a few wild Donkeys braying and begging for whatever treat or pat a car passing by might offer.

Night Dive: La Machaca

Finally, a nice easy night dive with Charlie the Tarpon and a few of his friends help end the day on a high note. Not bad for a single dive day, but there will be quite a bit of sleeping done tonight. Not to mention the voracious appetites that will follow.

There we have it - just another day in Paradise.

Bonaire.