Tarpon Entry -- Surf Exit

Today we went to the windward or east side of Bonaire, to dive the barrier reef beyond Lac Cai, the popular wind surfing lagoon.  This dive requires experience with the route in and out of the bay and how to handle the currents.  We engaged Div'Ocean dive instructor Willem, from the shop located in the Caribbean Court where we are staying to lead us on this exciting dive. 

Willem could pass for a young Matt Damon.

The trip was worth it for the drive there alone as we observed flocks of pink flamingos feeding in the mangrove swamp and a pair of hunting osprey. 

Bonaire is the home to one of the largest flamingo flocks in the caribbean.

Inside the lagoon, the barrier reef creates the perfect wind-surf setting with little chop despite stiff on-shore winds.  All that water blown into the lagoon finds its outlet through a narrow channel, creating a stong rip current and a fast drift ride once you submerge into the fifteen foot deep channel.

We waded into the Lac past mounds of conch shells, stepped into the channel while letting air out of our BCs and let the rip pull us out to sea. 

Along the way we wizzed by schooling snappers, grunts, chubs and oddly shaped palometas with their silvery bodies and super-long dorsal and annal fins.

Odd looking palometa could be cousin to fresh water paranha.

The strength of the outgoing rip has hollowed out a basin at the mouth of the channel aptly named the tarpon pit, where dozens of three to five foot tarpons hover in the current, waiting for food to be delivered to their waiting mouths. 

View a short video of the tarpon hole.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXtjy8MBus0&feature=related 

This was a good dive for the variety of very healthy soft corals and abundant large fish.  We also saw our first lobster of the trip, a nice three pound spiny lobster hiding in his day time safe house.  We haven't seen any lobster until now, we were told, because they have been largely fished out on the west side.



I have to keep reminding myself I am a vegetarian.

The return trip was enlivened by encounters with three hawksbill turtles. One came directly over the reef drop-off and close enough to me to get a good mug shot (my little underwater camera doesn't do well with anything beyond ten feet or so.)  The fact this turtle came so close to us and our noisy bubbles was a bit unusal, but I guess he was used to humans.

Watching a turtle swim in mid-water is akin to watching birds soar -- so graceful and effortless.

The final thrill awaited us as we worked our way back to the exit point.  We kicked hard to cross the out-flowing rip at the mouth of the lagoon and slowly worked our way along the periphery of the current, an exhausting and air-consuming effort.  Willem had pointed out the exit strategy in our pre-dive brief and emphasized we needed to get far enough inside the lagoon or we would experience the twin joys of combatting the incoming surf and access to the beach blocked by large boulders.

Of course, I messed up.  In fighting the surge, I found it easier to pull myself along the bottom on the in-bound surge which gained me a lot of forward momentum, but also got me separated from Willem and Susan.  When I realized I had gotten too far ahead (lost visual contact) I surfaced to look for them, to find they were a bit behind me, bobbing in three/four foot waves.

The area where we exited Lac Cai.  (Photo courtesy of Google Images)

It was a challenge getting into shallow water, keeping your footing while removing fins and timing jumps over in-coming waves.  One bloody knee later, I was hugging firm ground and thanking all the weight training I've been doing this year. 

Welcome to Bonaire -- Mesmerizing Minnows

Our very first dive in Bonaire was the perfect re-introduction to this great dive location.  Bill Tullo, from the Caribbean Court apartments where we are staying introduced us to a dive he called the "fish ball." 

The dive site, officially known as Andrea II in Bonaire diving circles, is tucked into an exclusive neighborhood of oceanside mansions, features a shaded overhang to shield you from the brilliant tropical sun while you suit up.  Then short steps down a dock where you stride into bathtub warm water swirling with millions of bait fish.

Looking down at the sand bottom as you swim out towards the reef you are immediately attracted to the namesake fish ball, a twisting, rotating ball of herring being harassed by marauding jacks.   The school of six-inch fish rotates in unison as predator fish dart in to snatch a meal, forcing the school to reverse direction, divide and reform to secure the mass from attack.

Follow this link to an entertaining You Tube video of Susan swimming through the fish ball. http://youtu.be/TQGGFQXLrvM

Beyond the fish ball, the sloping reef teems with abundant fish life as we swim lazily along its face, poking into hard coral nooks observing a medium sized lion fish, sharp tailed eel, spotted moray, a mature spotted drum and schools of goat fish, french grunts, black margates, horse eyed jacks, yellow tail snapper and a large grouper getting his teeth cleaned.

Lion fish are interesting to look at but a wreaking havoc on caribbean reefs.  An invasive species from the Indo-pacific region, they have no natural enemies and are guilty of eating their weight in grouper every day.

Descending the reef, I was reminded of a walk through the desert.

Spotted drum are very territorial.  In all likelihood, this guy will be hanging out in this same crevice tomorrow.



This 40 pound grouper has a cozy hiding place inside a bush-like sea rod soft coral.  Not visible in this shot are smaller fish busily eating parasites inside the grouper's gill plates.  A variety of smaller fish offer "cleaning" services at sites all over the reef.  Large fish lounging in place are usually holding still while small shrimp, wrasses and gobis remove dead skin and parasites.

With the bait ball dive, our Bonaire adventure is off to a good start.



At first glance, this 18-inch sharp tail eel looked like a snake.



Finding Captain Goodlife

I highly recommend the Mushroom Forest dive off Santa Cruz, Curacao.  A reef of impressive coralheads, Mushroom Forest starts at 50 feet about a mile out from the bay at Santa Cruz.  Too far for a shore dive, you'll need the services of Captain Goodlife.  

The Captain runs a bar/cafe on the southside of the bay and operates a water taxi service.  For $20us, he'll take you out to the start of your drift dive and return an hour later to pick you up.  If you enjoy the dive as much as we did, you'll want to do it twice, in which case the good Captain will entertain you with food and stories during your surface interval.  He's sure to put a smile on your face.  

Even a downpour can't wipe the smile off Captain Goodlife's face.

Mushroom Forest coralheads teeming with fish.

Goodlife's bar overlooks the bay at Santa Cruz.