We stayed at Bonaire Beach Villas (BBV) during our recently completed vacation. BBV is just south of Cliff, and a bit north of La Machaca. During our time there, we snorkeled in front of (in back of?) our BBV unit, as far south as Capt Don's pier, and north to Cliff (or a bit beyond). We also tried Windsock, Plaza Resort, and the Andreas. We found that anything north of Andrea II was too choppy for us to venture. Swells appeared to be at least 1'-2' every time we went north for a look, and that's just too high for us to enjoy. With so much to see at the sites we tried, we didn't bother to take the time to try others (Bari Reef, Buddy's Reef, etc.), even though they were close.
First, some background. My wife doesn't swim (and I'm not a very strong swimmer myself), so we feel most comfortable relatively close to shore, in relatively calm waters. That's why we came to Bonaire!  And we weren't disappointed. We've snorkled St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, Aruba, Moorea, Huahine, Maui, Hawaii, Kauai, and 3 Fijian islands -- and Bonaire beats them all, fish-wise. We saw more fish, and more different kinds of fish, on Bonaire than anywhere else we've been. If there was a disappointment (and there wasn't thanks to this board), it was the lack of coral in the shallows. But, while we love looking at coral, the real stars of the sea for us are the fish. So, for snorkeling, Bonaire gets a '10' for fish, a '3' for coral, and an '8' for a combined score (since I think the fish are that much more important).
Of the sites we snorkeled, we'd rank them:
1. Andrea I
2. Plaza
3. (tie) Windsock & BBV (Cap't Don's north to Cliff)
We can't fairly rank Andrea II (see story below).
BBV (Cap't Don's north to Cliff)
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Our first dip in the Bonairean waters was, of course, behind our BBV unit. After about 1 minute in the water, we were hooked. We were amazed at the size of the parrotfish, at the sheer numbers of fish, and how many different kinds of fish there were. We saw a school of more than 50 Blue Tangs, a Yellowtail Damselfish, a Smooth Trunkfish, and many, many, many more. Eventually, we positively identified more than 40 different species (I know, that isn't many!), and missed several dozen more. (This count is for all the sites we snorkeled, but we saw most species everywhere, with a few exceptions.)
There's not much (live) coral to speak of in the shallows here. It's like a coral graveyard, in fact. I'm not that good with estimating depths, but I'd guess that real coral growth doesn't start until over 30' deep, at this site. It's relatively close to shore, so you can easily snorkel out to it, but it's so deep that, to me, it isn't worth bothering with. There are lots of rock formations in the shallows, which seem to attract the fish just as much as coral does, it just isn't nearly as dramatic or beautiful.
Entry here was fairly easy, as there was a break in the rocks right in front of our unit. There are other entries around the area, as well. When the waves are really breaking, though, it can be a bit tough (especially exiting). We found that most times, if we just waited a minute, the swells would quiet down, and it was simple. (Exiting was tougher, because I was too impatient to bother waiting, and sometimes got tossed around a bit. :-)
We first saw an eel here (at the time, we didn't have a fish id book, so we don't know what kind). This was also the spot we first saw a Peacock Flounder (which we really love), though we found them quite often elsewhere after that. Some other favorites that we saw here were a Honeycomb Cowfish, a Spotted Drum, a French Angelfish, and a Fairy Basslet. (Not to mention dozens more!)
The most exciting spotting happened on our last snorkel here, when I caught a glimpse of a Ray. Sadly, I hadn't even bothered to look at the pictures of Rays before, so I had no idea what to look for to identify it. I was so shocked anyway, that not much registered. I did note it was dark on top and light on the bottom, and so narrowed it down to either a Spotted Eagle Ray (my guess) or a Southern Stingray. It was VERY fast. I followed it for about 10 seconds, but it quickly "flew" away from me (reminded me of a large bat underwater!), into an area too shallow for me. It seemed to swim right near the top of the water, too, which made it hard to spot (my wife never saw it, even though I took the time to surface and yell at her "There's a Ray!!"). I was absolutely thrilled (if slightly peeved that I couldn't positively identify it).
Windsock
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We found Windsock to be fairly similar to the BBV area. Perhaps a few more fish, but also, perhaps fewer large fish. Also, it seemed a bit more calm, and there was a little bit more coral in the shallows (a brain coral here & there, for example). We only snorkled here twice, compared with about 8 times in the BBV area. Not that it was bad, but why drive 10 minutes if you needn't even get in a car for a similar experience? Entry here was very easy.
Plaza
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Ok, we loved the Plaza site. We always felt a bit guilty driving into the parking lot, walking through the property, and using their beach. But no one ever objected, and after our first snorkel there, we had no choice but to keep coming back! We *loved* the Plaza (did I already say that? ;-). The entry is as easy as can be. There's a little coral in the shallows. But what made it great was it was almost always as calm as a swimming pool, no matter how hard the wind was blowing. And the variety and quantity of fish was astounding.
We snorkled there 4 times, and everytime except the last (when we had a camera, of course), we saw several schools (pods?) of squid manuevering through the waters. They are very unusual creatures. For one thing, they seemed to be equally comfortable swimming "forwards" or "backwards". Also unlike most other fish (ok, a squid *isn't* a fish, but ...), they swim in a line with others in their school, rather like a squadron of attack planes. Then there's their unusual shape, with the large eye on each side of their body, and their undulating something-or-other on top (sorry, a squid expert I'm not). Anyway, even though we saw them only in deeper water (the closest we ever got to them was probably about 15' - 20'), we loved to watch them.
Other things we saw at Plaza that we didn't see at the other sites (or as often) were: Barracuda, Chub, Glassy Sweepers, big fat moray eels, a Blue Spotted Coronetfish, and some sort of Filefish (it was brown, with white spots). And dozens & dozens of other species that were at the other sites, were well represented here, too.
Andrea I
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This was our favorite site. Entry was fairly easy, but as with our BBV entry, it could be a bit tricky if the waves were crashing. Wave conditions seemed similar to the BBV area. The huge difference to us was the large amount of coral and sponges present in relatively shallow water (around 15' - 30' depth). It was gorgeous. And, of course, lots & lots of fish to go with it. There seemed to be more Butterfly & Angel fish here than in the other spots (I think this was the only place we spotted Queen Angelfish, and definitely the only place we saw multiple French Angelfish together). And lots of our favorites, including a large Trumpetfish, schools of Chub, a big Rock Beauty, and, well, on & on.
The first time we snorkeled here, the water was FILLED with Jellyfish. We wondered why there were so many here, and none anywhere else. Later that day, we snorkeled Windsock again, and it, too, had many Jellyfish (whereas it had none previously). So, obviously, it had to do with water conditions, not location. The next day we saw them at the other sites, as well, though not as prevalent. The jellies disappeared after a few more days.
The only (minor) downsides to Andrea I over the other sites are the rough (though fairly short) dirt road leading to the site, and the relative isolation of the parking area (possible theft problems). We hope that Andrea I will always remain accessible (the paved road going to it is blocked off, due to property sale perhaps?). It was far & away our favorite, and we highly recommend it for other snorkelers.
Andrea II
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This was our one unsatisfactory snorkeling attempt, but it had little to do with the site itself. First up was the entry, in which a wave got a hold of me in 6 inches of water, and knocked me into (apparently) some coral. I never saw it, but I sure felt it. It bled a bit, but I continued on with my snorkel. When I got out, my leg had quite a bit of blood on it. It hurt a bit, but not that badly. About 12 hours later (after my wife rubbed in some grapefruit seed extract), it started burning terribly. We later learned that rubbing a coral cut is a definite no-no. That night, my leg was burning so badly, I had to take aspirin every 2-3 hours in order to get any sleep. It hurt throughout the day, but in the evening, about 24 hours after it really started hurting, it subsided. Whether or not this was due to the aloe plant we cut & applied to the wound a few hours earlier, or just due to time, we will probably never know.
Aside from that problem, my wife's snorkel was causing her grief. It kept getting water in it, causing her to raise her head and clear it every minute or two. (We later learned this was due to the choppiness of the ocean at the time, causing water to enter her snorkel from the top. While it was somewhat rough, it didn't seem that bad, but apparently it was.) We snorkeled for only about 10 to 15 minutes, and didn't get much of a chance to explore Andrea II. So, we can't really comment on it, other than to say, be very careful of the entry! (I actually entered it again that morning, when I tried my wife's snorkel to see what the problem was, and had no problem at all with the entry. So if you're careful, it should be fine.)
Ken |
By Ken Brown on Thursday, June 27, 2002 - 6:14 pm: 
