The Buddy Dive website mentions a guided snorkel tour of some caves. I had never heard of it previously. Were is that? Is it worthwhile? What is the water temperature in such caves? In principle, it sounds interesting, so we would like to learn more about it.
Are there batfish in cave lakes? :-)

There you are Antonio. I figured I had insulted you or something.

Antonio,
Have you heard anything more about those caves?

No, Lorraine, I just know what is in the Buddy Dive page (http://www.buddydive.com/diving.html). Judging from the picture (if it isn't "doctored") the water is unbelievably clear. May be Jake and Linda could put a WebCam there, for us to find out more? :-)

Hi, I've been snorkeling in one Bonarian cave near Hilltop. It was shown to me when I stayed on Bonaire for 7 months for a M.Sc. research project on Parrotfish. When I returned with friends for vacation trips in 1993 and 1995, I showed them the caves myself.

Snorkeling in a cave is great. In the cave I visited, they have installed lines (for SCUBA-diving). Please keep in mind that diving in caves require special equipment and special preparations.

Visibillity is very good. The water is extremely clear, but try to avoid stirring up chalc particles on the bottom of the cave. Visibillity can drop to zero. The water temperature is probably somewhere between 20-25 degrees, which feels very good after climbing down in the cave. The air humidity is very high, causing one to work up a real sweat.

There are bats in the cave. In the water you can find blind shrimps (hard to find), but I haven't seen other life forms in the water.

The photo's on the Buddy Dive site probably have not been "doctored". I have a number of slides from my snorkel trips, and they look just like the one shown on the site.

I think that Pam at Harbour Village knows a lot about caving diving and I believe she's got a special certification for cave diving. Michael, do you know if I'm correct?

Pam is a certified cave diver as is her cousin, Malin, who works at Sand Dollar. Please take note of the dangers in entering the caves. Also, it is quite damaging to the bat population to have their habitat disturbed on a regular basis.

We went cave diving once in Florida by Ginny Springs with a very experienced guild, We really didn't care for it , no fish, didn't like being "under" all that rock, but glad we had a competent guild and the video! Scary.
I was curious becuse someone asked me about them, We've been going to Bonaire for quite a few years now, but we seem to find some new experience on every trip, that's one of the things we like about the place.Masha Danke , Antonio and Duurt !

Many caves have already been destroyed by divers. Snorkeling is not much better. Bonaire is losing its bat population due to far too many people now going in these caves. Many have paint sprayed for markers. Others have had pieces broken off for Souvenirs.

Perhaps some things natural could simply be left alone?

This is NOT on our things to do. I tell everyone of how I felt , trapped. I know someone who will never dive again due to diving experience in one.I asked because someone brought it up in a conversation about Bonaire and I said I would check it out for them. Besides being dangerous, upsetting the environment in a negative way isn't too cool either, no wonder I've never heard much about them. Our idea of a "bonairian experience" is swimming along side a turtle, coming "face to face" with a Tarpon, or seeing flamingos fly at sunset.

I agree that these caves should be left alone (empty of humans). Having been on Boanire 27 years, I can attest to the fact that the caves have had a lot of damage done and this was 10 years ago. They have had even more done according to scientist who study these. Also if you do not know of the diseases bats can give you, read up on it. You won't go in any of the caves.

Bats are very important to Bonaire and they are becoming less in number because of the cave exploitation.

Please have a smidgeling of respect for Bonaire's environment and stay out.

As with all activities in nature, one should consider (and avoid) environmental damage as much as possible. This is not only true for SCUBA diving in the ocean, but also for snorkeling/diving in caves.

On the other hand, man is curious and likes to explore, and this characteristic has lead to many important and/or interesting (scientific) findings.

Being an professional expert on environmental impact of human activities in nature areas (wetlands & coastal zones), I would suggest to assess the environmental impact of regular visits to these caves and undertake action if necessary.

I've heard that there are many caves on Bonaire, but that info is not substantiated. But if it is true and the floral and faunal composition of the caves are very similar, than it would not be such a problem to open up one or two caves for touristic purposes. But if there are only a few caves, regular visits could cause serious environmental damage. In the latter case one should consider to designate these caves as nature areas and impose restrictions (or even a ban) on the use of these caves.

Has Stinapa been informed on these developments?

OK, Bruce, George, and Anonymous, I get the message (and I agree that there are more important things than my immediate personal fun): my wife and I promise to leave the caves for the bats and the blind shrimp! After all, it is not going to be a big sacrifice: there are so many beautiful things in Bonaire that we are not likely to be bored!

Hello all. I am part of a new group forming on Bonaire to do research on the bat population. It is also a goal of the group to educate our tourist and resident (human!) population about the bats and their sensitivity to humans.

As the group becomes solidified, I will be happy to keep all of you updated on our efforts and findings.

Feel free to write with questions anytime.

Susan

Thanks Susan, I think education on the subject is the way to go.

Hello Susan.

As a biologist, I'm always interested in biological work. I think it's great that research will be done on this animal group (which is quite often rather impopular to the public). I do have some questions. Maybe we should start a new discussion (on bats).

How many different bat species are present on the island (now/recent past) ? Do you use bat detectors to identify the different species ? Do you have information on the number, species composition and location of large bat colonies on Bonaire ?

Good luck and succes with your efforts.

Duurt

Sorry folks....even if Susan is involved in it....3 marriages makes me avoid anymore vampires

Cure! Anyone interested in Bonaire Bat stories can also contact jcligon@bonaielive.com for more info..

that's jcligon@bonairelive.com... forgot the r

Just to let you know that the Activities Director at Buddy Dive Resort is working with the group involved with the bat research and the overall "cave issue". I beleive it is the goal of all involved to find a means of limiting human entry into 2 or possibly 3 of Bonaire's many caves, and even then restricting entry to guided tours only. This would leave the vast majority of caves untouched by humans. A main focus of the tour we provide to three caves now is to provide edcation in combination with responsible cave exploration. Preservation of the caves we are visiting is of primary concern to all. All snorkeling is done without fins and our in-water movement is very limited to avoid contact with all surfaces. Entry to the area itself is also done in such a way to minimize human impact. So until such time as Bonaire can create a formal "cave" program, all parties that I know of are voluntarily working very hard to control the entry and exploration of our caves.

Q: has anyone done a cave snorkel recently, and if so, your comments PLEASE..