Diving Bonaire

[ShopVac]

Listed as one of the top 10 dive spots in the world...10 days of fun and sun while I think it just poured 5 inches of snow back home.

6 tanks a day delivered right to our house...and with a small jump off the deck we're only 50 yards to a gorgeous 90ft deep reef.

[ShopVac]

Tons of hard and soft corals...and sea life out the wazoo. Turtles, sharks, barracuda, all the tropicals. Here's a few shots from the last couple days. Didn't bring my computer from home, so I'll need to edit some of these later.

The one was a fish wall/fish bowl. Very rare event to see. Was completely nuts to be inside of.

[ShopVac]

And today's lunch...brought to you by this little bitch. It is permanent open season to hunt lion fish, as they are killing the reef and have no known predators over here.

[fravel]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

And today's lunch...brought to you by this little bitch. It is permanent open season to hunt lion fish, as they are killing the reef and have no known predators over here.

Aren't those thing poisonous?

Sweet pics!

[other_evolved]

Originally Posted by fravel

Aren't those thing poisonous?

Sweet pics!

THeir spines are, but their meat is delicious. Super invasive species, unfortunately.

[bdkinnh]

I've been to Bonaire a lot, but I haven't been there in a while (stopped when Sorobon changed owners). Bummer that Richards closed - saw a green flash there once.

I had probably my worst diving experience in Bonaire: was with a group of divers, and I was facing the reef while they were all looking out into the open ocean and pointing wildly.

When we got to the surface they told me a whale shark had passed within 30 yards of us. I was the only one that didn't see it.

[Dang3r]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

And today's lunch...brought to you by this little bitch. It is permanent open season to hunt lion fish, as they are killing the reef and have no known predators over here.

I'ved met one of those at the red sea, was diving down over a reefcliff and suddenly I was eye-to-eye with it...and then try to brake fastly

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by bdkinnh

I've been to Bonaire a lot, but I haven't been there in a while (stopped when Sorobon changed owners). Bummer that Richards closed - saw a green flash there once.

I had probably my worst diving experience in Bonaire: was with a group of divers, and I was facing the reef while they were all looking out into the open ocean and pointing wildly.

When we got to the surface they told me a whale shark had passed within 30 yards of us. I was the only one that didn't see it.

Funny. We are on the a serious look for a whale shark...rumors of them on the north end of the island. We're doing 3 dives there tomorrow. Your story though...would really, really suck.

I've never ever seen a green flash. Heard of them, never seen one.

Saw a shit ton more lion fish this evening...would have killed more, but can only eat so much. I'll post more pics later.

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by Dang3r

I'ved met one of those at the red sea, was diving down over a reefcliff and suddenly I was eye-to-eye with it...and then try to brake fastly

Lol. It's the only thing on an open license to kill here. I'm still trying to figure out how they all got here...so many different stories.

Unfirtunately, they kill the reef and have no predators

[bdkinnh]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

Lol. It's the only thing on an open license to kill here. I'm still trying to figure out how they all got here...so many different stories.

Unfirtunately, they kill the reef and have no predators

I just got back from St. Kitts & Saba, and there weren't as many as I thought there would be. Less than there were three years ago when I was diving the same sites.

Fingers crossed the measures are working.

[The Chaddening]

I have put off getting scuba certified for a while and only snorkeled... you may have just convinced me to finally pull the trigger.

[bdkinnh]

Originally Posted by GirthBrooks

I have put off getting scuba certified for a while and only snorkeled... you may have just convinced me to finally pull the trigger.

Go for it! I can't stand snorkeling - sunburned back, water in my snorkel - no thanks. For me, scuba is so much easier (other than lugging all the gear around).

I pretty much just do liveaboard dive boats now. It's great - all your gear is all setup and ready to go, they refill the tanks in place, you leave your BC strapped to the tank the whole week so you don't need to setup anything - so easy.

Dive, eat, sleep, repeat.

The last trip I did a few weeks ago was around St. Kitts, Saba, and St. Maarten, and then I spent a week on St. Maarten. The food on the boat was better than any restaurant on the island, and the crew was awesome.

They offer five dives a day; I did 23 dives in six days.

[GoHokiesGo]

Looks like an awesome trip! It's been several years since I've gone diving. Used to go a ton when I first got certified; however, my wife got pretty hooked on snorkeling over the past few years, so I started hanging topside with her on our ocean trips (she can get flustered underwater, so scuba hasn't been an option for her).

I hate seeing how many lion fish have spread all around the globe, but I've never eaten one. How do they taste compared to other fish? Do you eat it as a filet, or more like a fried piece in fish tacos?

[ShopVac]

Lionfish is a very mild fish...and very tasty. Not at all what I thought it would be.

I'm more of a pan seared with a white wine redux sauce on the white fishies.

[KingOfJericho]

That is the biggest sun coral I've ever seen (if that's what that is).