The Scuba Diaries

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Last week, Peter and I went scuba diving with his parents in Bonaire, an island in the Caribbean which is a municipality of the Netherlands. I’ve described previous trips to Bonaire here: Welcome to Bonaire and A Day in the Life of a Scuba Diver. Check out these posts to read what it’s like to be a scuba diver. The following is an entry in my fictional scuba diving diary.

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Dear Nitri, my ever-working scuba tank,

I’ve been in Bonaire for nearly a week and I can’t stop marveling at its beauty above AND below the water.

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All I need to do is strap you on my back, slide into a pair of fins, and I’m ready to explore the underwater world.

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Ready to descend:

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That’s a nice shot of you strapped to my back, video camera in tow.

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Peter’s dad surrounded by curious fish:

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Peter toting my video camera:

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Grouper:

grouper

Spotted eagle ray:

spotted eagle ray

Squirrelfish:

squirrelfish

The sponge-encrusted remains of the Hilma Hooker, a drug-smuggling ship that sank in 1984:

hilma hooker

The largest lionfish I’ve ever seen (fortunately one of only a few I saw the whole week. Read more about invasive lionfish here and here.):

lionfish bonaire

And a few more of Peter’s underwater photographs (click on any picture to see a full-sized version):

soft coral
soft coral

lettuce slug
lettuce slug

eel
eel

coral
coral

 

sand diver
sand diver

anenome
anenome

purple sponge
purple sponge

coral
coral

 

Jessiefish
Jessiefish

juvenile spotted drum
juvenile spotted drum

juvenile spotted drum
juvenile spotted drum

parrotfish
parrotfish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too bad you couldn’t enjoy the food on Bonaire, Nitra, because WOW.

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I hope I’ll see you again soon for another Bonairean adventure.

THIHslate

Love, Jessie

P.S. As the pictures above suggest, I took lots of underwater video last week. I’ve just discovered the video camera is too old to connect with my computer, so I’ll need to borrow an older one to edit the video.  I have lots of awesome stuff to show you, including underwater fluorescence during a night dive. Stay tuned! In the meantime, check out my previous two videos:

P.P.S. Thanks for your patience over the last week and a half, dear reader!  THIH is going back to regularly scheduled posts this Wednesday with a new recipe that uses a combo of ingredients I’ve never used together before.  It’s good stuff!

10 Comments

  1. I thought the purple sponges were marshmallows originally! lol What an amazing holiday this sounds! Glad you enjoyed yourself Jessie dear! The parrotfish looks psychedelic with all that colour! And Jessiefish? Is that its real name? That’s cute!

    Looking forward to seeing your video! 🙂

    1. I think the Jessiefish is awfully cute, too 😉 Some of the sponges really do look like marshmallows underwater!

      Have a great week, Christa!

  2. Looks like you had a blast!

  3. AWESOME!!! What an amazing adventure!! I’m jealous. I’ll just close my eyes and pretend I’m in the tropics 🙂

  4. What a wonderful post! Such a nice way to end my Tuesday night. I have always wanted to go scuba diving…but I’ve never had the opportunity. I’m so glad you were able to seize it…and then share it with us!

  5. SO cool! I’m not sure that I’ll ever be comfortable enough in water to go scuba diving…but at least I can live vicariously through you!

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