Bonaire, Topside



The unusual but effective cactus fences we saw all around the island.



Flamingo sighting!

 

About 1 second before we got completely drenched by the advancing wave and following spray. Oops.

 

Right on the beach. Very cool looking.




This was the windward side of the island. Too dangerous for diving! Unfortunately, lots of garbage from cruise ships and locals. There was clear evidence of certain (they-shall-remain-nameless) cruise ships, as well as burn spots from beachside campfires.



Donkeys (and goats) were everywhere.

 

The beaches were not sandy, but rather covered in coral "rocks", with the occasional shell. 



Turquoise waters

 

Old lighthouse at apex of island

 

"Red Slave" huts. These were used when workers would have a contagious illness. They were essentially banished to this part of the island so that the diseases would not spread.

  

And they are incredibly small.

 

Old coral formations. It is certainly easy to figure out which types of coral they look like underwater!



Bonaire Pics

Cactus Coral



Vibrant reef

All around us!



Blue tang



Smallmouth Grunt



Hard to take pics of these little guys

Three Spot Damselfish. These guys wanted to hide every time a diver camera showed up.



Large brain coral

 

Schoolmaster



Fish fry

Smooth Trunkfish



Threespot Damselfish






Matt was behind and I was underneath, so we got different viewpoints of the turtle.

 

Queen Angelfish

It's colors are so vibrant!



Flamingo Tongue. The gorgonian coral is being eaten/destroyed by them. FT's are small. These were 2 inches at most.



Split-Crown Featherdusters. They disappear at the slightest change in the water.

  




I see you!






Various coral and sponge formations




Blue Azure vase sponge among coral



Knobby sponge



Pair of Banded Coral Shrimp




Peacock Flounder playing invisible




Close up



A true "vase" sponge

 

Trunkfish in the sands



Melon and prosciutto appetizer from Patagonia. NOT the restaurant where Matt got food poisoning!

 

Garden Eels on a dive called "The Invisibles"

Peekaboo! The garden eels would disappear if we came close.



They are about 3 ft in length, but they didn't peek out that much for us. There were hundreds of them in this sandy "garden" at around 90 ft depth.

 

Itsy bitsy shrimp



Longsnout Seahorse