Bonaire Trip Update #1
After a nervous couple of days thinking about the weather in Chicago and Atlanta, we finally made it to Bonaire and the Divi Flamingo Resort. Thanks to Serge, the dive operations manager, we got all checked in, got our gear lockers assigned, dive paperwork completed and then it was off to happy hour at the beach bar. Needless to say, everyone was ready for some adult beverages after getting up around 230am to catch the flight out of Chicago! Early to bed, and then get ready to start the diving week on Sunday.
We did the mandatory orientation dive to get gear checked, weights adjusted and for some, their first dive in the ocean. After the check-out dive, we had lunch and then an afternoon boat dive at Klein Bonaire at a dive site called “Keepsake”…lots of beautiful orange sponges, clouds of small tropical fish, and good visibility. The water temperature has been a steady 82-84, with the warmer temps in the shallows. Today (Monday), we did two morning boat dives, then some afternoon dives for fun and also teaching the PADI Digital Underwater Photography course. Here are some of the shots we took today:
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- Blackbar Soldierfish
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- Purple tube sponge
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- Tiubastrea corals AKA Orange cup corals
These were all shot with the Sealife DC1200 camera and external strobe….not bad for some first attempts at underwater photography! More to come….stay tuned.
Tomorrow we will finish the formal photography coursework, then then it’s on to shooting and reviewing everyone’s photos at the end of the day.
Roatan Trip Update #4
After a great day of diving yesterday we got a chance to transfer some photos and videos onto my laptop. The first dive we did on Wednesday was a dolphin dive. Really neat. We first were taken over to Bailey’s Key, where we did a “platform session” with one of the trainers and a dolphin named Bill. The trainer explained about dolphin anatomy, their teeth, weight, etc. Then he proceeded to show us some of the skills they teach the dolphins here and demonstrate their speed and strength. They are truly amazing animals. After the 20 minute session, we got back onto the dive boat and headed out to a dive site called ” Front Porch” which is situated right in front of the resort in about 60 feet of water. There is a large sandy area where they like to have the dolphin encounter. It took a few minutes before the dolphins arrived and we spent a good 20-25 minutes interacting with them. Before long, our bottom time was up, and we had to go back to the surface. Here’s a quick clip:
Getting back on the boat, with Captain Jimmy ready to assist
The dives today were typical for the reef areas here…lots of barrel sponges, very little current, and visibility around 80-100 feet. Calm seas again! We were certainly thankful for that. All the dives today featured tons of jellyfish both on the entry and exits….fortunately no one got stung. We ate lunch out on the key today…a delicious Mexican buffet. So, it’s off to Thanksgiving dinner here in warm sunny Roatan.
Green Moray Eel
Jean and purple tube sponge
Roatan Trip Update #3
The diving so far has been fun and relatively easy…the seas are almost flat calm with little wind. The afternoon dives get a little more wavy, but not so much as to impair the diving. Tuesday we did four dives, including a night dive, which had a lot of surge. We spent most of the night dive in shallow water looking for octopus and toadfish. The first dive was a wreck dive in about 110 feet of water. All broken up, yet still offered some nice photo opportunities.
Looking up the mast
The second morning and the afternoon dives were done on shallower reefs, which afforded lots of bottom time. The great thing about the divemasters here is that they will wait for everyone to finish taking photos before continuing the dive.
As all the dive sites are within about 15 minutes from the resort, the boat trips give everyone just enough time to get suited up and before we know it, we are at the site. The water is still holding at about 81-82 degrees. We did get some brief rain showers on Tuesday when we got back from the second morning dive, which made us glad we brought our rain jackets. It’s amazing how people get crazy with a little rain…..we’re in the tropics! As promised, here are some photos:
French Angelfish
Turtle feeding on algae
French Angelfish
Ocean Views Photo Competition
If you enjoy underwater photography you probably have pictures of which you are particularly proud. Why not enter some in a photo contest?
Here’s the link to the Natures’ Best Photography website
From the competition website:
The Ocean Views Photo Competition was created to inspire greater understanding and stewardship of ocean ecology through the art of nature photography. Photographers at all levels of experience worldwide to are invited enter your best shots.
The deadline for entering this photo competition is December 20, 2010, with winners receiving Aggressor Fleet trips, dive gear, photo gear and more.