The Scuba Diaries

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.

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.

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.

Ready to descend:

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

Peter’s dad surrounded by curious fish:

Peter toting my video camera:

Grouper:

Spotted eagle ray:

Squirrelfish:

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

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.):

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

soft coral

lettuce slug

eel

coral

 

sand diver

anenome

purple sponge

coral

 

Jessiefish

juvenile spotted drum

juvenile spotted drum

parrotfish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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!