As we sailed up and down the islands almost all had claimed to have the best snorkelling/diving to be found in the Caribbean. Prior to our arrival in Bonaire we were told that the best was to be found there and when fanatical divers said the same we began to believe them.

The whole of the coastline of Bonaire is designated as a Marine Park from the high water mark down to a depth of 60m. The island is volcanic in origin but with the exception of the highest hills, has a covering of coral from when it was still underwater and before the final upsurge left the old reefs high and dry. Over the last 100,000 years or so new coral reefs have formed and provide a home to literally millions of fish as well as turtles, sponges, crabs, etc.

The map of Bonaire shows nearly a 100 dive and snorkel sites, most situated just off the shore. Anchoring is prohibited everywhere and you can only moor on the well designed moorings provided off the main town of Kralendijk.

When I enquired in the dive shop where the best snorkel sites were to be found he simply said..."off the back of your boat"!... and he was right. With the mooring blocks in less than 10m of water the offshore easterly winds blow the stern out over the reef and with half the length of the boat you can swim over a sheer cliff that drops to 40m or snorkel in towards the beach in gently shelving, clear blue water....and EVERYWHERE there are fish.

Trish and I had bought a book on reef fish on our arrival here in the Caribbean and we had been ticking off the fish we had seen, where and when we had seen them. Once we arrived here almost every species was ticked off in the first few days and there were fish not shown in our small guide so Katie and Yann bought us a bigger, more comprehensive book.

Most of the dive and snorkel sites are situated on the leeward, sheltered west coast as the windward, east coast gets battered by the big seas kicked up by the almost endless 20kt plus easterly winds and at least one boat a year is lost on this coast.

Although there are literally hundreds of large Parrot fish to be found wherever you swim, the highlights have to be.....

...floating gently over a pair of large squid, presumable the male keeping watch while the female laid her eggs in small cracks in the rocks, all the while changing colour from dark browns to translucent blues.

...gliding with the current above a large Spotted Eagle Ray as it “flew” silently above the seabed.....

...being surrounded by millions of tiny blue fish that you could hear as they rapidly changed direction as one entity as if choreographed by some dance master.

JUST INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!