More about Bonaire

What more should I say about diving on Bonaire?

It's hard to describe the overwhelming complexity and diversity of the coral reef community I got to experience. I could list all the fish, coral, and sponges I was able to identify but that doesn't seem likely to do justice to the ecosystem. I suppose that is one of the main reasons I like to dive so much. It is literally an opportunity to immerse oneself in a completely different, vibrant world full of action and color and life.

The protective approach to the reef and the sea in general by the people of Bonaire is also impressive. Part of it I suppose is the realization that the economy of the island depends on diving and without the spectacular coral reef system they would have a harder time competing with all the other tropical Caribbean islands. Even so, not too many other places would think to put "Divers Paradise" on their license plates.

While my trip was focused almost entirely on diving until I was exhausted, I did get out to do a little birding too. My roomie Jeff and I took a couple of quick trips toward the end of the week to the north end of the island to see flamingos and to the south end to see the salt ponds, old slave huts and look for birds.

The northern end of the island feels very different than most of what I had come to think of as typical Bonaire landscape. It was hilly, almost mountainous and much greener than I'd previously seen. We also saw a few farms with goats and the revered donkey. I'm not sure why donkeys are so popular, but they sure seem to be well respected here. We found the flamingos as well as stilts, pintail ducks and some beautiful scenery.

The following day we made our way south looking for larger concentrations of flamingos but didn't see them. We did see the old slave huts that once housed the people that made the salt back in the 1800s. I climbed into one of the huts and thought about how brutal the conditions must have been for those unfortunate people. The interpretive signs nearby seemed to romanticize the era a bit too much for my taste. Even so, the little dog-house sized huts arranged neatly on the coral beaches made for a deceptively lovely scene. Perhaps it is easy to romanticize the horrors of the past when we can view the remnants from such a position of luxury, removing ourselves from the reality of the situation that existed then.