March 10, 2020
Waking up Tuesday morning brought a mixture of feelings: annoyance at needing to wake up so early after a long day previously but also excitement because today was our first day diving off Buddy Reef as certified divers. After loading copious amounts of gear into the vans, we headed off towards the towering piles of salt from local salt mines to the Invisibles shore dive. Waves crashed around us as we set up our gear, anxiety perforating the group. Not only have we never done a shore dive, we’ve never done a dive with rocky waves. Entering the ocean was difficult with the waves pushing us back and the multiple pounds of heavy gear on our backs. Aided by our buddies, we all eventually made it into the water safely and had an amazing dive, seeing creatures not found at Buddy Reef.
After our dive we had time to chill out and relax before dinner and our first night dive. This trip brought a lot of different people from different friend groups and I believe that most, if not all of us, are friends and hanging out in our free time. I really appreciate how ECSs bring students from different grades and different groups together to work together and make new friendships.
Anyways, after a lovely dinner we got to experience our first night dive, which was incredible! There was obviously some apprehension about going into the ocean in the dark, the idea of being in a great dark abyss was kind of terrifying to me personally, along with the idea of anything creepy touching me in the dark. But equipped with underwater flashlights, we splashed into the water and descended into the amazing and different terrain of coral reefs at night. Much marine life we were unable to see during the day came out to say hello, like spotted eels, moon jellyfish, fireworms, bioluminescent plankton, and many other exciting creatures. I have never experienced something so entrancing yet terrifying. That night dive was definitely a life changing experience for me as I gained a new sense of life from the many night creatures. I am excited for the prospective dives and other experiences we will have here in Bonaire.
Click here to view all of the 2020 ECS blogs.
