We’ve got our engines down to Caribbean speed (slow and easy and relaxed) and we’re really enjoying the sunny weather. There have been lots and lots of cruise ships in the harbour, but we’ve not really noticed terrible crowds or anything, which is strange, considering how small the communities are here.

Anyway – we’ve been visiting beaches we’ve not been to yet – I think the official word is that Bonaire has thirty nine beaches, and nearly double the number of dive sites, so we’ve got a few to go, even though this is our third trip here. Today we went to a popular site right near the airport. In a lot of ways, it’s reminiscent of Arashi Beach in Aruba, with a nice wide sandy beach, and lots of coral just off shore.

Naturally, there were tons of fish, but also lots of really interesting and different things to see. One of the coolest things we’ve seen in the ocean was this “fish opera” in Aruba (coincidentally on Arashi Beach too) and we saw something similar, but on a much smaller scale. The fish is called a mullet, and they are about two feet in size and in the size of the school they were in, it was a little intimidating! Check out the movie, but give it a few seconds to stabilize – the camera has a tough time picking out completely silver fish.

I don’t know if you can see this picture all that clearly, since the colors make the little shrimp (or crab?) blend in with the coral, but it was tricky getting this shot. It was under a rock, and every time I dove down and got too close, this little damselfish kept biting! The first time he got me i was so surprised I laughed out loud, and trust me that’s not the thing to be doing in 10 feet of water! haha And here is a picture that Pam took of me contorting around trying to get this picture!

While driving around the island, you must beware of goats and donkeys. There are a LOT of goats around, and they dart into the traffic a lot, so you really need to be aware. Today we saw them having lunch – look closely at the picture here – there are TWO goats in that bush having a snack!