This latest trip to Bonaire has been the best, and the worst.

We woke up at 2:00am on October 15th for a very early morning flight to Bonaire. Eric and Sebastien met us at the airport and we all had a great time on our way down through Miami and San Juan. We had pizza and took plenty of pictures in Miami. Sebastien is an especially fun subject since he doesn't like to be photographed. :-) We all slept a little bit on the flights and had a take-out dinner (by the seaside) of sausages from the Argentinian Grill. Sunday morning we had an early breakfast at the City Cafe and then picked up some groceries from the Cultimara. We dove the Calabas II reef behind the Carib Inn that afternoon, and continued to dive 2-3 times a day for the next 3 weeks...

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L'île de Bonaire est reconnue pour la richesse de ses fonds marins, ses petites créatures et la facilité d'y plonger de la rive tout au long de sa cote ouest. Bonaire offre plus de 80 sites de plongée identifiés avec des bouées sur l'eau ou avec des pierres peinturées jaunes sur le long de la route. Les sites non identifiés sont très nombreux. Il faut seulement choisir un point d'entrée, stationner son véhicule sur le coté de la route et plonger à l'aventure !!

Pour profiter et apprécier pleinement la plongée de bord, il y a plusieurs trucs qu'il faut connaître et mettre en pratique.

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	Iridescent Caribbean Reef Squid

On the afternoon of May 13th 2004, Melanie, Eric and I dove the Salt Pier in Bonaire. We opted for a simple dive profile - out from the shore to the central pier, then north to the neighboring pier, then back along the same route. The visibility was a little worse than usual, so extra care had to be taken with substrobe placement. The dive was fairly un-eventful, until we headed back to shore from the central pier...

Hanging-out close to the central pier were two very large squid. We breathed quietly, minimized our movements, and approached slowly. I chose one squid and started taking shots - adjusting camera and substrobe settings with slow and deliberate movements. Melanie and Eric, next to me, watched quietly. After a few shots, the squid changed from a light brown / beige color to the beautiful iridescent white / orange / purple color you see here. While I concentrated my attention on this squid, Melanie stretched out her hand and moved it slowly back and forth in a squid-like fashion. The second squid approached and gently brushed up against her hand with it's wings. According to Melanie, a squid is very smooth and soft to the touch. A few moments later, my squid maneuvered back to the other squid and quickly flashed through a series of color patterns. Since we didn't want to stress, alter or interfere with their natural behavior, we left them to continue their mating ritual in peace.

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Pickup Truck Parked at Petrie's Pillar

Melanie Waving from Petrie's Pillar Parking

Path to Shore at Petrie's Pillar

Shore Entry at Petrie's Pillar

The common description of Petrie's Pillar goes something like: "A shore dive for the beginner, with moderate currents and an average depth of 30-100 feet. The terrain is much like Andrea I and II. Large stands of Pillar Coral are found in the shallows along with schools of Blue Tangs. This site was named by Capt. Don as a wedding present for a friend." If you believe this description, you're likely to abort the dive before setting foot in the water! The waves from hurricane Lenny in 1999 destroyed most of the shallow corals. The shallows are now carpeted with algea covered rubble, several feet deep, making the entry very slippery and dangerous. It's very easy for a foot to slip between the dead coral, and twist your ankle in the process. If you attempt this entry, using you buddy for balance (and vise-versa) is almost required.

Getting down from the parking lot to the shore can also prove to be a little challenging, though not to the extent of the actual entry. You should bring along a pair of good solid shears, in case you need to cut away some of the thorn bushes. Walk down to the shore before putting on your gear. If you don't have a good sense of balance, you might have some difficulty. The path is narrow and a little tricky. Before getting in the water, take a compass reading. There's a good swim over featureless sand flats after the rubble strewn shallows. One or two coral heads along the way can help validate your navigation, depending on your chosen heading.

So, why bother shore diving Petrie's Pillar? Well, it depends what you like to see on your dives. If you're into small stuff, the shallows here are excellent - on par (or perhaps better) than Tori's Reef. On the reef itself, you'll see a good coverage of hard corals and sponges.

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Photographer with Salt Pier Pilings

We arrived late Saturday night on Bonaire, did some grocery shopping, etc. on Sunday, and started diving on Monday morning. On our second dive, I knew something was wrong. I couldn't equalize no matter how hard I tried. The cold symptoms hit hard that night, and I would be unable to dive for the next 3 days. Once I could equalize again, I took some decongestant and we tried a very conservative dive profile from the hotel's pier. My ears cleared up quickly over the next few days, but my sinuses took a little longer.

	Photographer Under Salt Pier with Pilings Framing Diver

Here I am, a few days later, under the Salt Pier. My sinuses are preventing me from diving any deeper than 10-15 feet. Melanie took advantage of the situation, and dropped down to take some wide-angle shots of me. The coral encrusted pilings are especially dramatic when seen from the bottom like this. The Salt Pier is also a very nice night dive - a good alternative to the Town Pier. The visibility is generally good, but may vary from one day to the next. It can be especially bad in the shallows on occasion.

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L'île de Bonaire est reconnue pour la richesse de ses fonds marins, ses petites créatures et la facilité d'y plonger de la rive tout au long de sa côte ouest. Bonaire offre plus de 80 sites de plongée identifiés avec des bouées sur l'eau ou avec des pierres peinturées jaunes sur le long de la route. Les sites non identifiés sont très nombreux. Il faut seulement choisir un point d'entrée, stationner son véhicule sur le côté de la route et plonger à l'aventure !! Ce petit paradis terrestre demeure pour l'instant, à cause de son éloignement et sa difficulté d'accès, un trésor sous développé avec moins de 60 000 visiteurs par année.

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