The moment I enter the sea, gravity ceases. Scuba gear in place, I am suddenly free -- free to sink, to swim in any direction I please, to turn somersaults or float like a great leaf flirting with the sky. In a very real sense, diving is flight -- a wingless, weightless, effortless sojourn through a world of wondrous life, mystery and magic.
Beneath me, tawny-colored hard corals, like so many uplifted arms, stretch toward the sun; a dense carpet of sea fans and soft corals gently undulates with the sea's rhythms; bright orange sponges punctuate the greens, blues, purples, reds and yellows of neighboring creatures. It is a garden of animals, all dancing in unison.
A dense school of small purple fish greets me. They surround me and then make way as I slowly descend through their midst. As I drift slowly to the reef, a sea anemone waves its long, slender, pink-tipped tentacles, inviting a closer look. Almost transparent, a blue-spotted shrimp sits atop one waving arm, wiggling its antennae. I feel huge alongside this shrimp and simultaneously small against the endless expanse of blue.
Life beneath tropical seas is a world only the scuba diver or
snorkeler can experience. And the arid Dutch island of Bonaire, just 50 miles off the coast of Venezuela, is one of the best Caribbean destinations to learn the underwater skills necessary to enjoy these activities.
This is no accident. While neighboring islands built refineries and bunkers for Venezuelan oil and integrated commerce, shipping and industry into their economies, Bonaire continued to safeguard its primary resource -- a lush band of reef surrounding the entire island.
On Bonaire, turtles have been legally protected since the mid-1960s. In the mid-'70s, when spearguns were as popular as underwater cameras are today, Bonaire did the unthinkable: prohibited spearfishing. As a result, Bonaire's fish became numerous and friendly, unlike those of many other Caribbean islands.
In 1979 Bonaire once again made an unprecedented move: The government legislated a Marine Park that totally protected everything, living or dead, from the high tide line to a depth of 200 feet. Boats were prohibited from dropping anchors. As a result, the reef thrived.
In 1992, despite strong political opposition, Bonaire again set a standard by enacting an annual $10 park entrance fee, making it self-supporting.
Because of all this, Bonaire stands as a world leader in underwater resource management.
