Caribbean Blues ~ They’re Playing Our Song


Our two weeks rocked from the very first dive, which turned out to be a very flashy, silvery return to the waters of Bonaire. Vista Blue was the staging area for a bait ball of unprecedented dimensions. The intense vortex morphed into a tightly packed tornado.



Like an alien mother ship, it blocked out the sun and eventually swallowed us



Soon we were enveloped by walls of mercurial silver.



Outside, the Bad Boyz in the Hood kept the prey moving ever faster.





After getting back on course, we were in the mood for something a little less exhilarating and found it at the crest of the reef with a feeding South Atlantic stingray. As he munched on a mollusk, groupies jostled for a morsel.



Keep an eye on the black jack, whose aggressiveness-by-nature completely dominates when leftovers appear.



Our paths on the first day of diving crossed with more rays than we usually see in an entire week. We didn’t know if this is typical of December on the reef, or we need to tip our event planner. We encountered numerous green sea turtles, but not a single hawksbill (Maybe they holiday off-island?).



Our worlds collided with the cruise ship culture on two occasions. While diving at Wind Sock, The Enchanted was revving its engines. The noise was overwhelming. We had to literally use both index fingers to plug our ears the entire time, which is never a good idea when one is under pressure. Doesn’t an environmental impact report include data which addresses the impact of noise pollution on reef flora and fauna? And we were a kilometer away from the ship…any closer would have been deafening. It’ll be a snowy day on Bonaire before we dive anywhere within a mile of the harbor when cruise ships are out and about.

The Enchanted, as viewed from Wind Sock.


Our second awkward experience was with the Caribbean Princess, which carries nearly 3,000 passengers. Why didn’t someone warn us that attempting to dive north was an exercise in futility when this ship is in town? The roads were clogged with vans filled with day-trip’n Princess passengers. Then came a string of bikers - and support vehicles - that stretched from Oil Slick to 1,000 Steps.

Ho, Ho, Ho? Hardly, not when this ship is in town.


It seems fashionable these days to take pot shots at cruise ships and their passengers. Fair or unfair, they are, after all, easy targets. Cruise ships are a cash cow for a Caribbean island, but it’s impossible not to notice that their presence - and everything that implies - dominates Bonaire.



There was a plus side to sharing our dives north with throngs of cruise passengers. There were so many tourists crawling all over Ol' Blue and Karpata that for once we didn’t have concerns about returning after a dive to a truck with a broken window, missing battery and spare tire, and gas tank siphoned dry. The presence of cruisers EVERYWHERE may put the thieves out of business…unless they switch to becoming pick pockets.

With all the hoopla over the Scientologist’s Freewind, we kept our eyes open but never saw it in port. Too bad, we could have used the boost of Thetan Power to penetrate the entry at Red Beryl on a day when we should have traded in our dive gear for surfboards. It’s nice to know that we’re still frisky (foolish?) enough that when we’re leveled by a wave going rogue and rolled in the froth like inebriated corks, we bounce back to our feet and prevail on our mission. Hopefully playing wave dodge doesn’t cause brain damage which manifests years later. But we can always say with a drooling grin, “It was worth it.”

What’s driving the infestation of flamingo tongues? We counted 36 chomping on one bedraggled coral tree.



We didn’t cross paths with any lionfish, but the possibility of an encounter brought back memories of seeing them in Indo-Pacific waters where they belong. On their home turf, the lionfish is red-striped eye candy and a definite showstopper in the Celebes Sea



It’s impossible to get enough of this reef beauty on its home turf. It remains a mystery how all its appendages are able to work in concert.



Just In case Tribs was on the island at the same time chalking-up amazing experiences and keeping one kick ahead of us in terms of our competitive underwater score cards, we also saw this:



Our signature dive occurred at Margate Bay, when the entry surge was so strong sensible minds would have aborted. But as is sometimes the case, a turbulent surface masks a current-free dive. The reef was unusually illuminated, the light scintillating and totally energizing…truly dazzling. As the health of the planet’s coral reefs continues their rapid decline, how could it be that such reef perfection still exists in a tiny corner of the Caribbean? A day doesn’t pass that we don’t appreciate what we have here.



This was our first trip in a non-summer month so we weren’t quite sure what to expect. When we arrived, the water temp was 83 degrees, viz good, reef vibrant, “competing” divers few and far between. Although dive conditions went south rapidly during week two, we rate the month of December with positive marks in all categories.

A shout-out is in order for the wonderful folks associated with LBR #13, Dive Friends – Port Bonaire, and A/B Carrental. They kept smiles on our faces for all forty-dives.



And for our favorite four-legged Bonairian, Boots: keep an eye on things while we’re gone and we’ll see you in October.

Awesome report! Sorry I wasn't on island, but if you guys return in May/June, I will be there to share in the competition. However, I think the best dive would be the one we did together!

Tribs!

Awesome pics and report! Thanks!

Ooops! This was supposed to the last picture...Boots wouldn't be amused if it was omitted : )

Woof!!!!

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quote:

Doesn’t an environmental impact report include data which addresses the impact of noise pollution on reef flora and fauna?

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Thanks, Greg & Lani. Beautiful stuff.

Thank you for a wonderful colorful report....Cannot wait to represent Norcal in April.....counting down the days, only 49 more days...

Thanks so much, great job and you will make many people smile. Damn good and fun report.

LOVED your report!! and is it just me or is the person in the truck sporting CLOWN make-up?????

RosAnne sees clowns in her soup...

So I stink at blowing up images, but I think I see the clown too.



Plus, it looks like he has party stuff in the back seat.

Excellent report & thanks much for posting. Fabulous shot of the baitball!!!

Hey Greg and Lani, awesome trip report, thanks! On island right now, saw a huge bait ball like that this morning, Gregg was coming in from a dive, I was snorkeling (fractured tibia) and he whistles and waves me out to the reef's edge, I go out there and it was a huge, I mean huge bait ball with Gregg somewhere inside it, I could also enjoy it from above as it swirled all the way to the top of the water, was just edges south down the reef. Really cool, love the pics!

Thanks for the shout out, and glad you enjoyed staying at our place

The fledgings are getting bigger everyday here, very cute and they come right up to the patio door every morning.

Absolutely awesome report, pictures, and videos...truly put a smile on my face

We were at Belefonte one year, and headed North for a dive...at 60F we heard this "rumble" and it kept getting louder and louder...it was 1PM so thought surely it could not be a POD. We also had to put our fingers in our ears...it really was unpleasant. I also thought about the affect on the marine life...cannot be good.

RA...I just choked on my coffee...LMAO...

RA

LOL.....I am guessing that dude had his "clown on" since it was Karnival?
Creepy none the less!

Awesome trip report.... I was telling Guy about that bait ball this morning... I think I would have freaked out a little if it enveloped me.... I don't know... but I'm just saying!!!

absolutely awesome report

Thanks for the report and wonderful escape back to Bonaire...incrediable bait ball for sure!

Patrick

Thank you for the wonderful report! The images in Margate Bay, accompanied by that beautiful music, just take me there in spirit. Less than two weeks and counting. Cannot wait!

Best,

Mary

Just watched the video again Greg and Lani. Having Enya in the background just made it all the more mystic. Thanks guys.