Bonaire - East side is a different story

[Jeremy]

While in Bonaire I had a chance to dive the east side, characterized by large surf and high currents. It was quite an experience with very different life demographics than the often dove west side. We immediately saw squid upon entering the water followed by huge schools of tarpon and at least 20 turtles.

Best of all is just the sense of rocking back and forth...over and over, at one with the ocean. If you are ever in Bonaire I highly recommend an excursion to the east coast!

Here is just a short clip of what I saw:

http://youtu.be/WosQzjVj0mM

[Scubie Doo]

I just got seasick

Seriously cool. I bet a night dive out there would be fun.

[LCF]

Wow -- those tarpon are fabulous!

I can remember how much surge unnerved me when I learned to dive. Now I love it, unless I'm trying to take good photographs!

[mpenders]

You found a mermaid?! (1:29)

[Jeremy]

[BillZ]

Nice video! Isn't he Sorobon the "clothing optional" resort on Bonaire?

If you want to get a taste of the wild side of Bonaire but don't want to fork out the $$ for the boat, Cai is a great divesite. It's definitely not an easy dive and You'll need time the currents so you can swim across the entrance to Lac Bay, but you'll be rewarded with squadrons of eagle rays, more turtles than you can count and the occasional shark.

[Jeremy]

Nice video! Isn't he Sorobon the "clothing optional" resort on Bonaire?

If you want to get a taste of the wild side of Bonaire but don't want to fork out the $$ for the boat, Cai is a great divesite. It's definitely not an easy dive and You'll need time the currents so you can swim across the entrance to Lac Bay, but you'll be rewarded with squadrons of eagle rays, more turtles than you can count and the occasional shark.

I think they stopped being clothing optional....too many war hammers. Seriously, one of our fellow divers took a dump on the beach because the restrooms were so disgusting. The captain made him pick it all up though..

Cai is great but you need to be careful.... Both Cai and the South Lighthouse are listed as dive sites but can be extremely dangerous if you don't know exactly what you are doing. In fact, a diver died at the lighthouse during our visit. He was on a boat dive but was swept away by the current. Those sites are no joke!

Here is a pretty cool HD version of diving the west side...this was from our first two days...
http://youtu.be/vjkGB38XUmA

[Tom Nic]

In fact, a diver died at the lighthouse during our visit. He was on a boat dive but was swept away by the current.

Seriously?!?!

Gotta be a story there...

Details - please!

[Jeremy]

In fact, a diver died at the lighthouse during our visit. He was on a boat dive but was swept away by the current.

Seriously?!?!

Gotta be a story there...

Details - please!

I don't have a lot of details...we were told this by our boat captain who said they should not have Cai and Lighthouse listed as dive sites because the currents can be much stronger than people think.

There was a thread about it here:
http://www.bonairetalk.com/forums/showt ... sing-Diver

[Tom Nic]

Wow. Thread says they had 30 divers in the water... again, there's gotta be more to that story. Thanks for the link.

I really respect the Captains opinion - I have never done the lighthouse, but that has been because of the difficulty of the entry.

The Wild Side of Bonaire is not to be taken lightly.

[Gdog]

Thats a large number of divers for a boat dive. More like a barge dive. I would love to dive that side, but looks like a really good way to get your butt kicked.