We chose to dive the fabled east cost dive site of Lac Cai this week, on the north end of Lac Bay. This dive offers a very easy entry and exit. Once you begin the descent, the fun really starts! The water in Lac Bay, which is lined with an extensive mangrove system, is pushed into the bay by wind and waves over a shallow barrier reef. The bay’s water eventually exits back into the ocean, right at the entry point of our dive. A sometimes ferocious current will pull us outward quickly, along with a vast amount of nutrients picked up on its course throughout the bay. This can make visibility less than ideal by Bonairean standards. However, those same nutrients attract an enormous array of marine life. Nowhere on Bonaire is fish density so ridiculously thick as right here. The current pulls our group past countless numbers of lobster, massive schools of snapper and literally hundreds of tarpon (so close they are almost scary in the gloomy visibility) — all before we even hit the drop off.
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Suddenly, arriving at the drop off, the entire dive changes. Gone is the strong current and lack of visibility. It’s as if you fell into a bottomless blue pit. In what was previously a landscape of little coral, you now find yourself in the most prolific coral gardens on all of Bonaire, just outside the barrier reef. And then, literally out of the blue, a captivating performance begins. Schools of spotted eagle rays swimming in geese-like formation, glide through swarms of tropical fish. A turtle, grumpily leaving its resting spot, rises to the surface. And then another one. And another. It is truly unbelievable.
And then it is time to turn back. Some are disappointed. “Already?” they must think. But now you get to see the parade all over again. In what should be a tough journey back against the current, the Wannadive team’s location of “secret passages” over the years has made for a relatively effortless return. At the end of the dive, we once again have to push the tarpon aside just to reach our exit point.
This incredible dive feels like a thrill ride from start to finish. We all state it was just an ordinary dive to anyone who asks. But the silly grins on our faces always give away the truth!
(Editors Note – Wannadive Bonaire, owned by Bart Snelder and Roeland “Bob” Labots are experienced, dedicated PADI dive instructors and Bonaire veterans. Wannadive has oceanfront locations at Eden Beach Resort, in town on the harborfront next to City Café and at the new Windsock Beach Club — as well as a facility at their own small hotel, the Wannadive Hut. Their team’s casual way of providing world class service assures customers will have as much fun on
