Amanda Beard Dives Bonaire: Part 2
Click here for Amanda's photo album.
Photo: Sacha Brown
The four-time Olympian swimmer, wildlife spokesperson, and occasional swimsuit model jumps into the waters off Bonaire a second time.
by Amanda Beard
Bonaire, one of the many beautiful volcanic islands in the Caribbean, sits on extremely rugged porous rock, carving out a coastline similar to the arid side of Hawaii's Big Island. The scenery here is mostly cactus-covered cliffs with ocean access via stairways or paths. I think of it as Tucson meets Kona.
Like Kona, there's no sand to drag your heavy dive gear through. Less sand also translates to better visibility in the water: "Viz," as divers call it, can easily reach 100 feet, and when mixed with 85-degree water, a couple of shipwrecks, and a double reef system bustling with psychedelic-colored fish, you get world-class diving. Sometimes you can just jump in, drift with the invisible current and plodding turtles, and climb out when you've run out of air. Other times it's best to wait until dusk, break out your dive lights, swim to the reef's edge, and take in the unfiltered colors of the nightlife--all the while being followed by a pack of six-foot tarpon. No matter when, it's difficult to have anything less than an amazing dive in Bonaire.
For the non-diver, there are a few fine white-sand beaches on the island. My boyfriend and I prefer those located in the state park and at Lac Cai (you can find both spots on a map). If you want a beach to yourself, you'll have to hunt it down; not a daunting task on an island that takes two hours max to circumnavigate--unless, of course, the person with the map has had too many piña coladas. If that happens to be the case, don't worry: Most hotels have pools or docks with chairs and umbrellas to accommodate shade-side naps and sun-worshippers alike.
If diving isn't your thing, and you're not into lying around dockside or socializing with the locals over a cocktail, then try horseback riding on the beach. The Riding Academy Club, a short drive from our apartment, put us on a couple of beautiful, well-tempered horses and led us to Lac Cai, where the horses were unsaddled and allowed to roll in the sand and swim at their leisure. If we wanted to ride them bareback while they swam (and we did), all we had to do was jump on--and hang on.
Another activity for diving intermissions? Kayaking in the mangroves. Bonaire's mangroves are an important part of the island's diverse ecosystem, and our camouflage-garbed biologist guide made sure we knew it. At times I felt like saluting her but was worried I'd miss a baby barracuda swimming by or accidentally step on a scorpion fish (whose neurotoxins no doubt would have been less painful than the scolding I would've received for disturbing the wildlife). The nursery of Bonaire's reef system, the mangroves have an abundance of juvenile fish unequaled by any other part of the island. In the end, though, it was the greenery itself that was the star of the show. Some paths we took through the foliage were what I imagine cave exploration is like. (At one point, I even had to lie back on top of my kayak and propel myself along by hand.)
As our trip came to an end and our list of things to do did not, we longed for more time. We'd spent two weeks on Bonaire and would have gladly spent two more. Bonaire, although primarily a dive destination, has so much to offer.
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