Gently, I rolled over to look upward. The wavy surface above was distant and gave off a slight jewel like glistening from the sun on the other side. With a relaxed exhale, I watched the bubbles dance their way up toward the surface. They seem to take so long to go up. The sound of the regulator passing air into my lung is comfort and almost hypnotic. For a moment, it was frightening to acknowledge my depth. It’s as if I’m at some great height and fear that I may fall; but in reverse. Weightless as an astronaut, it took very little effort to roll back over. I take a moment to look over my gages to see I that have 2200 psi of air in my tank and I’m at 84 feet below the ocean surface. My body is absorbing much more nitrogen at this depth, so my time is limited. With that thought, I continue my exploration of the Hilma Hooker ship wreck. I check with the rest of my divers to be sure they are doing well; communicating through hand signals.
It is simply amazing how sea life has taken over this ship. Formation of coral and sponges are now growing everywhere. Fish are now using it, as if it is just another part of nature. Tarpon, almost the size of the average diver, wait for unsuspecting smaller fish to feed on were the starboard side of the ship meets the ocean floor. It is truly a remarkable sight to see. At this depth, colors are less vibrant. Everything is blue in this world; a deep shade of blue. To look over the interior of the ship, I have to use a night dive light which is strapped to my Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) vest. When the light hits the ships surface, colors of all sorts seem to pop out; most of which are of a rusty reddish color. In some ways, it’s now hard to imagine that this ship was fully functional. Even though the Hilma Hooker was sunk on purpose for SCUBA diver’s pleasure, it’s still an impressive sight to see; or at least for the novice such as myself. After investigating the bridge through a porthole, we moved forward and port of the ship slowly ascending to 65 feet. With slow exploring eyes, we watched the world carry on around the ship until finally we met with a wall of coral that slowly ascended upward.
A wall of coral is like an underwater metropolis for sea life. It is a city over crowded with more forms of life than any city we would find in the world. To add, life lives within other forms of life. It can be visually overwhelming. One could explore a 5-foot radius for an hour and not find all there is to see. As we follow the wall upward, it finally levels off slightly and begins a very gradual slop toward the shore. We were approximately 15 to 20 feet from the surface and stopped here for a few minutes to give our bodies a chance to release nitrogen and adjust to the pressure. At this depth, light is much brighter and therefore colors are brilliant. Life is slight different and tends to be fun and interesting to watch. Unfortunately, the current is a bit stronger and can cause drifting while hovering in a weightless state. Finally, with a few hand signals to my fellow divers we began our slow ascent to the surface by swimming along the ocean floor toward the shore line for a short bit. Looking up and watching the surface come closer is breathtaking if you really think about it. You can feel your body pressure change and you are literally breaking into another world. To me, I imagine it to be like an after death experience. It’s as if you have died and was told by some beautiful angle that your time has not yet come and you must go back.
When I reached the surface, I looked over at shore line of Bonaire. For the most part, Bonaire is a dessert island. Unless you are a SCUBA diver, there is really very little for the vacationer; at least for a week. There really is not beach because the shore is covered in rock and coral. Some are able to windsurf and kayak between Bonaire and Klein Bonaire; a smaller island about half a mile away. Bonaire is a pretty amazing place, even though there is very little to it. The people who live on the island are, for the most part, nice to deal with. However, sometimes you do get the feeling that they really don’t care for tourists, especially the Dutch. Bonaire is part of the Dutch Antilles, some refer to as the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao). The islanders like a slower pace of life yet do not like rules being broken and disrespect. Some of the vacationers, namely the Dutch, tend to ignore what the islander’s prefer and can be rather pushy. This, of course, causes tension. But, the kind-hearted American that I am, I experienced very little of the annoyance. Patience, courtesy, and respect can go a long way. I believe a lot of people who travel should keep this in mind; especially Americans.
As for the diving, it was incredible! I became a certified Open Water Diver on May 4. For my certification, I went diving at the Millbrook Quarry in Virginia with Panky as my dive partner. I knew the water would be very cold, but I had no idea I would loose all control over my body due to my shaking so much. To add to the 42-degree water, visibility was about 6 to 7 feet. The water was incredibly murky. I did learn a lot during my certification. First, cold water is a serious weakness of mine. Second, I’m a warm water diver. Third, if you cannot see what you are diving into, what the fuck is the use? I prefer clear water. Visibility in Bonaire was around 70 to 80 feet in most places. Final lesson learned: urinating in your wetsuit can only keep you warm for a few minutes. Joy!!!!
