After reading my recent post about my love of being underwater, several people have asked me why. They know that I spent a recent birthday on the island of Bonaire so I could spend as much time as possible next to, under and on the water.
I've been giving some thought to those reasons and here's why I really enjoy the underwater world.
It's quiet down there.
 Except for the munching of fish eating coral there's no one talking, no music, very few sounds.One of the best sounds I've heard in my life, though, was the song of a whale underwater off Maui. My day-today world is devoted to talking, either in person or on the phone. I ask questions, listen for answers write them down and ask more questions, sometimes questions that are difficult to ask and to answer.
It's in the here and now.
Most of my professional life is spent writing stories that will run Thursday, Saturday, Monday or another time. So I'm constantly thinking 'future' in terms of appointments, deadlines and writing. Much of the subject matter is in the past so I'm also thinking about things that are over and done with and how they impact the now. I'm either planning or reacting most of the time when I'm on land. That doesn't happen underwater.
It's another world just inches from this one.
A whole lot goes on underwater, even if it's just knee deep and close to shore. Little fish groom big ones which hang motionless  in a state that seems a lot like the bliss I'm in when I get a massage. Some fish, like silvery barracuda,  are so  territorial that you can count on seeing them in a certain place every time you go there. I only just learned that the eels Ive seen opening and closing their mouths are not threatening me - that's how they breathe.Most of the time the creatures underwater are as interested in me as I am in them. And there's so much to learn!

Exciting discoveries await
 At night, when you shine a light back into a coral head you see things glittering like gold. It's just shrimp. Shy eels, who hide away and can be hard to see by day, crawl across the ocean bottom after dark, surprising me with their grace and size. Tiny little sea horses cling to anchor ropes set out by boats. You could swim right by and not notice them unless you take the time to look.
Dreams of flying
When I've spent time snorkeling or Scuba diving those delightful childhood dreams of flying return to me after I'm asleep. I think that's because I've been experiencing the world in a horizontal position and in a near weightless mode when I snorkel and dive - it's a lot like flying!

I've been all over the world writing about travel for The News-Herald and I'm often asked about my favorite place.

I love a lot of places, but "Underwater," is probably my most frequent answer. I enjoy scuba diving and snorkeling more than almost anything else, although I rarely have an opportunity to indulge while on a travel writing trip. I'm a Pisces (of course) and to help me celebrate a recent landmark birthday my daughters and my nephew collaborated to buy me an airline ticket to Bonaire, one of the greatest underwater destinations in this world. My late brother had a winter home there for more than a dozen years so I've been there before and even introduced friends to this 24-mile long desert island just 50 miles from the coast of Venezuela.

 Last month I stayed a week with a friend  who bought a condo there after I introduced her to Bonaire about a decade ago.Some things have changed  in the six years since my last visit. Some of the near shore coral has been bleached by either storms or over development,  but it's still the underwater paradise I remember. Reefs encircling the island come close to shore so it's possible to step into the shallow water, lie down on your stomach and peer through a snorkel mask at colorful orange and yellow sponges and corals, parrot fish, sergeant majors, angelfish, squirrel fish and lots more. Go with a sharp-eyed native or someone like my friend Karen and you' ll likely spot octopuses, eels, lobsters and many more underwater dwellers.

My fellow snorkelers, all Scientologists from the ship Freewinds,  prepare to enter the water from the Woodwind.

On my March 19 birthday we booked a snorkel trip aboard the Woodwind, a sailing vessel that took us to the uninhabited offshore islet of Klein Bonaire where sea turtles are known to dwell. We arrived on time but had to wait for a group from the Freewinds, a cruise ship that was anchored nearby
at the port of Kralendijk.

The Freewinds, it turns out, is owned by the Church of Scientology and is where followers of  founder L.Ron Hubbard get much of their training during cruises that a make a circuit among the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire. That these are people of faith was underscored for me by the fact that several of them didn't swim but had booked the snorkeling experience anyway. Our guides provided them with flotation devices and they seemed fine, although they were obviously not very accustomed to being in the water. My friend and I got kicked a few times before we learned to hang back from our six-person group.

A free diving guide heads toward the bottom to point out something for the snorkelers hovering above.

This young Hawksbill turtle became my first underwater photo.

Each group was accompanied by a free diving guide who would dive down to point things out. The water was crystal clear and about 10 to 15 feet deep for most of our snorkel. The guides probably kept us at that depth so those not familiar with being in the water wouldn't walk on the reef and destroy coral that took a hundred or more years to grow..






 

Seeing an endangered Hawksbill turtle was the best creature I saw that day. I also got to use the underwater function on my camera so I could show you, the folks at home

 

 Even though I promised my husband I wouldn't work on this trip, and  my sharp-eyed friend was watching to make sure I didn't take notes, to me an after-the-fact blog doesn't really count as work.There's lots more I can tell you and if your comments indicate to me that you are interested, I'll share more about Bonaire and my birthday trip.