Bonaire

A very quick visit to Bonaire as we only docked 3 times. This is really a shame because it’s in the top 5 for diving in the world and I didn’t get a chance to dive there.  I am sure I will return to this diver’s paradise someday.  I did make it to Spice beach for a nice day of snorkeling and then Sorobon beach.  A reef protects Sorobon beach and the waters are very clear and shallow for a great distance out.  It’s also full of kite surfers with a rental shop and lessons and that is really fun to watch.  Wipe out!

It’s been really hard to take photos at all locations because when you spend the day in the sea you don’t take your camera, phone, computer or whatever with you.  I may have taken my computer out with me a total of 5 times in 4 months and I’m pretty sure most of those were in Miami.  Why take your electronics to the beach?  I do wish that I had a camera that was able to be underwater up to 60 feet.  That’s going on the short list for the next Caribbean contract or if I get to the Great Barrier Reef.  So these photos are a little blurry because they were taken on my friends GoPro with water smudges but it’s better than nothing!

It was my glassblowing teammate Tom’s 28^th birthday just a few days before mine!  We planned an epic day at the Mangrove center.  Booked a 2 hour kayak and snorkel tour through the mangroves with a great guide. He shared a lot of information about the precious sea life growing underneath these plants, and the troubles communities have faced around the world trying to clear mangroves for building, and the consequences that followed.  

It was pretty magical.  There were many tunnels we had to make our way through without the paddles by grabbing onto the branches and pulling our kayak team along.  But be careful not to grab the branches that are close to or underwater because clams grow all over them like barnacles and they are sharp. I claimed Tom for my kayak team because he’s a buff dude and if there was a race I wanted to win!!!  Of course there was and of course we did, because we’re super competitive. And we play dirty.  

These were honestly the clearest I could acquire from underwater.  It is also super shallow and very sandy and we did our best not to stir up the silt for clarity but it was already poor visibility.  You can see the amazing purple and orange sponges growing under the mangroves and tiny school of fish!  There were lots of jellyfish, small schools, snappers, and my favorite Trunkfish.  You had to swim really close to the mangroves so that you could see the life between the branches in this murky water.  But it was such an amazing experience.  Happy Birthday Tom!  Now what are doing for my birthday???

Later that night I surprised Tom at our Hot Glass Show by making him a birthday hat.  Here I am taking measurements of his head.  I'm pretty nuts but he loves it!

Don't worry this is a next day picture once it's cooled down and come out of the annealer!