Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Day 77: Bonaire



We didn't arrive in Bonaire until noon yesterday, due to the distance we had to sail from Grenada, and that was a good thing. We were both moving SLOWLY, after two late nights. We had a late, light breakfast in the buffet (we missed the dining room breakfast entirely) and went up to Deck 19 to watch the ship sail into Kralendjik, Bonaire. It was beautiful and sunny, and we were hopeful that we would be able to dive as we had hoped.

As the ship approached Bonaire, it passes, just off its port side, Klein (Little) Bonaire. It is so amazing to see the beautiful reefs surrounded Klein Bonaire. We could see dive boats moored around the island and couldn't wait to be out there ourselves.

But it was windy, and there were dark clouds blowing in across Bonaire. We decided that, once our ship was docked and cleared through immigration, we would first walk off and try to find G a hat with a dive flag and Bonaire on it. Just as we walked off the ship's middle gangway, the skies opened and it began to rain. We walked right back up the ship's forward gangway...certainly one of the shortest visits in history!

Not knowing exactly what to do, we (of course) decided to eat. The dining room had just opened for lunch and, while we ate, we kept an eye on the rain to see if it would clear. It did, a bit, but then the rain started again.

Not the best day for diving. It shouldn't matter- we'd be under the water anyway, right? But the sun is everything in diving. Without the sun, the color of the corals wash out completely. And Bonaire is known for its healthy and beautiful corals.