November 15, 2005 - Rockn' and Rolln'

The entire northern part of the island is a National Park (as well as all of the water surrounding the entire island). I know this from the park fee we had to pay, but that doesn’t bother me at all. We ventured up there for a dive…one dive that involved several hours of driving for the round trip…but that doesn’t bother me at all. The roads were unimproved and the tanks in the bag were jumping around like the beans in a maraca. Okay, that bothered me a little.

We dove off of Boka Slagbaai, one of the few sandy beaches on Bonaire. The volcanic sea cliffs gave way to this beautiful, petite bay where turquoise waters welcomed us. Actually, the waters were inviting to the eye but the waves would constantly do their best to keep people out. What mixed messages. We observed as the waves picked up two divers trying to exit the surf and slam them down into the rocks. It was like a yard sale of diving gear but we managed to reclaim all of it back from the ocean. It was like the ocean was kicking them in the ass while throwing them out.

We managed to get into the ocean and a few minutes later, we reached the tranquility of deeper water. It was a lovely site and well worth the adventure getting there.

On the way back, we stopped at Karpata for another dive. It was outside of the National Park, with many steps down to the water, and of course the walk back up…but that doesn’t bother me at all.