I'm planning a "dream" snorkeling trip (and hoping that dreams come true), so I've been doing some extensive research on Bonaire. This forum has been wonderful for info., as has the infoBonaire website, among others.

It seems that somewhere I read that you can do a fresh-water cave snorkel. Did I dream that or can it be done on Bonaire? I've searched for info and read almost all the posts on the Dive/snorkel group and still cannot find anything. Was it all just a dream???

There was cave snorkeling, but I think they stopped because doing anything in the cave was killing off the bats or preventing them from sleeping and propagating.

Bats are a necessity of Bonaire - and through our explorations of the caves, have interrupted their homelife....

Bats, by the way, are the first mammals on the island - in a way, you could say, they are the Native Bonaireans.

If there still is cave snorkeling, think twice about doing it....thanks.

Barry, Thank you for the info. I would not want to purposely do anything that would hurt Bonaire's eco-balance. What I had read, tho, seemed to be offered as a guided tour, in line with the guided ocean snorkels. Seemed to be a winner for me...I love caves and I love to snorkel. But....if it hurts, then it's not for me.
Thanks again.

Frances

Check with Buddy Dive they do weekly guided cave snorkels

Walt
Thank you. I checked out the Buddy Dive site and yes, that is where I did indeed read about it (which means I'm not going crazy yet and imagining things!). However, in view of Barry's response....since this cave snorkel is offered by a reputable dive operator, am I right in assuming that it is safe for the environment and the bats??

You do what your conscience lets you do. In answer to your question? Wrong assumption...it is not safe for the bats.

But, having said that, I don't know if harm can come to a cave/bats that had so much past activity that the bats have not returned, thus maybe no bats. That also includes the other 2 caves they explore with the package.

My thinking is - close the caves, the bats will return - hopefully, but we won't know if the caves remain open.

If you can, dig up some past Bonaire News 'BATS' articles...there have been many articles over the past year.

It's a serious situation.

Barry,
Again, thanks for your input. I'm definitely getting an education about Bonaire from this forum since I found it about a week ago.

Frances,

Having found this discussion a little late in the week, I would like to give you a little imput myself and also try and put your mind at rest. The cave snorkeling tour we offer at Buddy Dive is not a thoughtless intrusion into another mammals habitat. We have developed our program with the help of the 'BATS' society of Bonaire. The caves we visit ( three out of hundreds here in Bonaire) do not have a permanent bat population. Bats do come and go and for that reason we will only visit the caves once a week with a small group (guide + 6 guests) for no longer than 1 hour. Our guests are instructed to avoid damaging the delecate stalactites and stalagmites and also be as quiet as possible, so that bats are not disturbed. The trip we offer is educational and environmental.
Feel free to pop in and talk to us during your visit to Bonaire.

Corinna,

Thank you also for your response. I really do appreciate getting all these different views on this.

Thank you all for taking the time to post and educate me.