Bonairian Adventures by Land & Sea

Let’s start with this..week one on the island has been pretty awesome! David is settling into a nice routine with his internship. He successfully passed the weeks worth of practical skills tests and continues to learn more and more. He’s had to learn how to tie specific new knots (in case he needs something lifted to the surface), he’s dove deeper (see what I did there) into search, rescue and recovery work (a class he previously did in a lake). This time he had to find large, medium and small items that his mentor hid. To find the items, you need to do a slow, thorough and methodical search. Get this, his small item was a QUARTER…hidden in the ocean!! I’m excited to report that he found it, despite it having a bit of sand covering it! I like to think I’m pretty determined and tenacious with tasks, but if someone told me to find a quarter in the ocean I think I may have thanked them for their time and moved on! Ha ;)

This weekend, we went to Salt Pier and did some snorkeling. This is a favorite site of the family and the kids & David have dove it several times, the most recent of which was in January. Since March of this year, some (not all) of the reefs in beautiful Bonaire have been experiencing Stoney Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) states that ‘SCTLD is characterized by rapid spread, rapid tissue loss, and high mortality rates. SCTLD has affected corals along the entirety of Florida's Coral Reef and in 22 Caribbean countries’. Other sources describe SCTLD as a ‘white plague’ coral disease that is highly lethal and fast-spreading. In some coral species, SCTLD has a 99% mortality rate. To try and slow the spread, all divers and snorkelers must rinse, disinfect and dry all equipment in between dives/snorkel trips.

Why am I writing about this? Because as a nature lover, particularly a lover of all marine life, it breaks my heart to see the impact this disease is having. I’ve included a few pics of brain coral that have the disease. What is supposed to be a nice green color, now seems speckled with white (the disease) or white all together. The marine park staff and dive shops are doing a great job educating people about this and steps necessary to slow the spread. As a believer in climate change, the record high temps the world is experiencing sure isn’t helping the underwater life either. Despite all this, I’m still on a quest to check out as many snorkel sites as I can. I’m on my way and have checked off a few sites in the past week.

This past weekend we checked out Washington Slagbaai National Park. According to InfoBonaire, the park was the first nature sanctuary in the Netherland Antilles and covers about 14,000 acres. It is located in the Northern third of the island…a place we hadn’t visited during past trips. The park is a safe refuge for native and endemic species on Bonaire such as parrots, parakeets, flamingos, iguanas and many other birds and reptiles. The beaches are said to be a nesting ground for sea turtles. To explain the name of the park, another book, Dive Guide Bonaire, states that the park land had changed hands several times and was eventually owned by a family who named their land ‘America’. One of the buildings that served as the headquarters was named ‘Washington’ after the capital city in the United States. The Washington and Slagbaai lands produced large amounts of salt, charcoal, aloe extract and they also traded in goats. In 1969, the owner sold the land to the government with the condition it remain undeveloped and accessible for people to enjoy the natural beauty of the land. How cool is that?!

When I mapped the route to the park my GPS said it would take close to one and half hours. I thought that had to be a mistake….it’s a 13 mile long island, it can’t take that long! Well, GPS was accurate though it mapped us to the center of the park. The roads getting to the park slowed the further we drove outside the main town. There were some potholes, beautiful views and the occasional chicken, donkey or goat that were either in the road or close to it that I needed pictures of. ;) Once at the park, I totally understand why it takes a while to get around…the roads are a combination of dirt and volcanic rock with various hills and valleys. I also clearly understand how it might be impassable during rain or in the rainy season (though it would be fun to try in a Jeep or some other 4WD vehicle). It took us a solid hour to get from one side of the park to the other on the “short route”. Once we arrived, we were rewarded with amazing views and an even better snorkel site (Wayaka 2). Along the drive, David’s phone said, “Welcome to Aruba! I knew we traveled a ways but didn’t think it was that far! I look forward to going back and spending more time exploring, going to the museum, checking out the historic buildings, hiking, etc.

This & That

• Please keep sending good vibes David’s way for successful mastery of the many skills he’s learning and refining.

• There are many cacti here on the island. The tall skinny cacti are often used as fences. Isn’t that clever?!

• The bacon here is very thinly sliced and round…perfect for BLT’s.

• How many baby chics can you see in the picture of the chicken on gravel?

• Please enjoy the pictures of the Parrotfish. I’ve been stalking them every time I enter the water to get a photo of their beak or teeth. They use their beak/teeth when eating algae on coral and rocks. In doing so, they end up eating some of the coral. I was able to get a photo of one looking at the camera where you can see the teeth. The teeth are very strong and you can hear them nibbling away underwater.

• Another fun fact regarding the parrotfish is that their waste is said to be a fine sand...that we see on reefs and beaches. Kind of like ‘what goes in must come out’. Depending on the size of the Parrotfish, some can produce up to 1,000 pounds of sand a year! File that nugget away for Trivial Pursuit, my friends!!

• There are Rainbow Parrotfish here that are as beautiful as the name implies. With the sun shining on them through the water, it looks as though they have glitter sprinkled on them. Needless-to-say, they are one of my favorite fish so far!

• Tarpon, a large fish with a significant underbite, are quite intimidating! We saw one while watching the sunset from the water. Seems I’m a pretty quick swimmer when frightened. David says they are ‘harmless’ to which I say they are still scary looking.

• The National Park has some clever restroom signage. ;)

• The colors, graffiti and art on the island is amazing! Many buildings host the beautiful works.

• In this heat, my love of hand fans has intensified.

• David has now taken his melting of kitchen utensils international.

Update: the white and gray sea snake I described seeing in my previous post was NOT a sea snake. It is a Sharptail Eel… and I’ve now seen 2 of them.