Bonaire Underwater Part 2.
Bonaire is known for the beautifuland fascinating underwater diving around the island. The diving is predominantly from the shore as the fringing reef is very close. We were not set up for shore dives as we did not have rubber boats with treads and flippers that go over the boots, so we decided to do a few boat dives with one of the local operators. After visiting three shops we settled with “Bonaire Friends” and were really glad. They were very helpful, knowledgeable, and a lot of fun. https://www.divefriendsbonaire.com/
We thought we would need to do one or two boat dives but ended up doing 4 trips. There is no anchoring in Bonaire it is either moorings or marinas. The moorings are either just above the drop-off or below it, therefore it is very easy to dive straight off the boat. Every day and night some divers would go past us underwater.
Bonaire is a marine park around the whole island so the diving very much focuses on not touching the reef or anything on it. You need to do a check dive so they know you can handle your buoyancy and listen to a video on the park and also pay for a diving permit. There are over 100 dive sites and you can buy cards with them all listed. The shops offer unlimited diving as an option for your gear and tanks. They also have a great Facebook page just for divers with lots of great photos for those who are interested. https://www.facebook.com/groups/327908854707689/?ref=share
Divers and Cameras
We meet several interesting people on the dives. One couple runs a printing shop in the US but are avid photographers and each had their own set up with cameras and lights. I was impressed.
After several dives with my small light, Gopro, and old Canon I caved in and spent some more money. The shop did very well from us but was the first place we had been where you could buy any gear. I had to buy a new GoPro(since the old one had got water in it), an underwater case, and upgraded the light system. In the end I mounted the GoPro underwater case on the old Canon underwater camera case with the light system attached so I could use either.
The Canon is so old it does not have the same color compensation as the GoPro but is much better for close photos. So some of these photos are from the Canon and some from the Gopro(stills off videos). I have learned much more about the manual use of my old camera in three weeks at Bonaire than in the last 20 years!!
I have also started using a program to reduce the blue hue of the photos when taking medium photos but with the range in lighting, depth and distance factors some come out much better than others. Also some of the colour is not as well balanced as it could be but despite these imperfections I thinki it will give you and idea of the underwater life.
Another diver we meet was Benny, who was another fish, and we became very good friends so he came with us on the yacht to Curaçao and we also went diving together there as you will see in the Curaçao blog.
The following are some of the photos we took and I enjoyed learning so much about the fish and coral that I also had to buy a couple more identification books!! It is fascinating how much you can find in one spot if you just sit and look. To find the very small animals you just need to get very close and stop. To get good photos you really need a macro lens which I do not have but we do the best we can. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I do.
Fish
Angel & Butterfly fishes
Damsel Fish
Silvery Fish, Snapper and Grunts
Tarpon were some of the largest fish we say up to a meter in length, just cruising above the reef.
Margate
Snapper
Bottom Dwellers
The flounder below is a beautiful colour with pale blue spots when he is not trying to hide. He is very difficult to find when he is and changes all his colours to pale sandy colour.
While the fish above try and blend into sand or rock the trumper fish tries to look like soft coral and will hide against sea rods or even posts and pipes. They can also change colour rapidly from yellow, to blue to white. Somestimes with a white body and blue head.
Fish that Swim with Pectoral Fins
Parrot Fish
Parrot fish are some of the most bearutiful fish in the reef. They also grow to a considerable size, and a huge range of colours. They often hadve a totally different juvenille form. We also watched as they attack the coral with their teeth seeming to really bash into it.
Wrasse
Reddish Fish
Odd Shaped Fish
The Soap fish is very strange. I lies on the gorund on its side and doesnt move leading you to belive it is dead or sick. Often with its head stuck under a rock/coral and the tail sticking out as seen here!!
Teh most elusive fish in Bonaire and the most sought after for photos is the very weird Frog fish. This one was about 4cm, but another we found was only about 2cm. The are very hard to see and dont move even when you get very close to them. There is a great web site for these strange fishes if you are interested.https://www.frogfish.ch/frogfish.html
Sponge
The next few photoa are all about sponges. The first lot are branching tube sponges, then elephant sponges, long tube sponges and finally the beautiful vase sponges.
Coral
Gorgonians or Soft Corals
Crustaceans
Molluscs
Turtles
We saw quite a few small turtles swimming past but this was a large older turtle, hiding in a cave in the reef about a meter below the surface. We went away and came back and he as still there just resting.
Eels
Anemonies
Worms
Well I think that is all for today. I may add and alter this blog later when I have edited all my videos. But if I do I will send out a notification of the edits.
Next Blog: https://kiwiflyingfish.com/2022/04/bonaire-national-park-interesting-inland/
