Moray Eel

Eels really aren't as ferocious as they look - they aren't trying to eat you or bite you - they're just trying to breathe! Eels really are cool to see, especially when you catch a glimpse of one swimming out in the open - this is much more likely on a night dive, when they're out hunting. (COMING SOON - more eel pictures in the photo album.)

We visited Bonaire in 1993. Unlike many Caribbean destinations, Bonaire was hot and dry - your typical desert island. We stayed at the Divi Flamingo Hotel - it was very nice but way too touristy for us. We were surprised to see many children here - even on our dive boats!

The water in Bonaire was a bit cooler compared with the northern Caribbean - it was in the low 80s. We visited in late August and the year we were there they had a bumper crop of these nasty little crabs in the water just off the beach (this made for very interesting beach dives...). The advantage to all these critters spawning (or whatever crabs do!) was that very large animals were attracted to come in and munch on them - for example whales and whale sharks! One day there was even a whale shark mom and her calf that came right into the little harbor where the dive boats were. We were on our way out to a dive so we followed them around in the boat for a while. We were dying to get in the water but the staff wouldn't go for it because they were afraid that the calf would get spooked.

Seahorses and drums were much more common in Bonaire than in northern Caribbean spots. We also saw lots of puffers, eels, angelfish, and barracuda.