This is my first blog update from my newly purchased hammock! (pictures to come soon).  There are now 6 hammocks set up in the trees in our front yard.... I think I might stay in here forever. Last Thursday we did our first recreational dive at the Hilma Hooker! For those of you who don't know, this is the shipwreck in Bonaire that was sunk in the 80s and sits in 100 feet of water. Devon is my dive buddy and we had an awesome time getting narc'd and exploring the wreck... so awesome that I didn't even care when my brand new dive light flooded and busted apart (luckily the company is sending me a new one). The reef surrounding the Hilma Hooker was in much better shape than the one we've been diving.

This past weekend was like the others. We seem to have fallen into a routine of eating and drinking at the dock, heading to the bars, and then making our way back to the dock for a late night swim (just have to look out for fire coral!!). On saturday a few friends and I went snorkeling and were asked to be in a photo shoot for the local dive shop... as if we would say no to riding around on a boat with foreign dive instructors in exchange for beer, ha! Hopefully the pictures of us will be up on their webpage soon, and I'll provide the link. We spent the rest of the day lounging around on the dock, casually jumping into the Caribbean Sea when it got too hot... just another Saturday in Bonaire! On Sunday about 10 of us decided to swim all the way to Klein Bonaire, a small deserted island about 800 meters from our coast. I don't know why I agreed to it, but I made it all the way there and back! Anyway, it was well worth the swim-- since Klein is protected and uninhabited the reef we snorkeled was incredible. It was so refreshing to see that healthy reefs still do exist! It's just a matter of keeping them that way. The shallow reef (literally in 3 feet of water) was flourishing with fish, and we saw about 10 Sea Turtles!! Klein is a popular Sea Turtle nesting site, which is why it is heavily regulated.

On Monday we went on a somewhat recreational dive for our Conservation Biology class. We spent about an hour underwater writing down every fish species we saw. I actually enjoy doing those kind of tasks underwater, because it allows you to realize how much diversity and life there is in such a small area. Yesterday we finally got to do a night dive!! My favorite! Although the reef we dove on was pretty beaten up, I still enjoy seeing all the weird sea creatures that come out to feed and reproduce at night. The Tarpin that hang around this area use divers' lights to hunt in at night, and every once in a while they'll get really close to hide behind you and sneak up on their prey. They followed us around the whole dive, and even though I knew they were there, I still jumped and screamed every time one swam by. Night diving is a truly exhilarating experience.

On a different note, I have finalized my independent research project, which as of now is entitled, "The effects of Damselfish gardening on the prevalence of yellow band disease in the Montastrea species complex." In case you are confused about what this means, Damselfish are small fish that bite corals so that algae grows in its place. They manage and protect these "algae gardens" because they feed off of
them. However, the Stag Horn coral they used to inhabit has died off for the most part, and consequently they've moved into the slower growing, Star corals that aren't able to keep up with the biting and slowly get overgrown by algae and die. Also, most of the star coral in Bonaire is infected with Yellow Band Disease. I am looking for a correlation between the Damselfish biting and the presence of the disease, with the idea that Damselfish weaken the corals, making them more susceptible to this disease. Phew.

Well, I'm off to my afternoon swim in the ocean! Bon Nochi!

                                        Salt Mines at the South End of Bonaire

Historic Slave Huts

Wild Donkeys

Hilary, me, Catie, Amelie, and Shelby

So it's been a while! I've been falling behind on this blogging thing partly because I'm so busy here, and partly because when I'm not busy I'm exhausted from being so busy. Last week was packed because we were finishing up "dive boot camp." The dive program here is extremely thorough and intensive and it's been really helpful to review skills and learn new things. We did get to do a boat dive in Klein Bonaire, but I was shocked and sad to see the poor condition of the reef over there. The conditions were rough, and the visibility was poor, but the decline of the reef is still entirely too obvious. I never thought I would get sick of diving for school, but it was such a relief when the weekend came and we had some time off! On Friday we went out to dinner at "Pasa bon Pizza" (Have a Good Pizza in Papiamentu) which is the best (the only?) pizza place on the island. After that, we all hung out on the dock for a bit and then went out to one of the four or five bars in Kralendijk to celebrate a group member's 21st birthday. We seem to be some of the only young people in the area, and because of that, we stick out like sore thumbs. The other few young people here are obviously thrilled to have us, and because it's such a small island we see them everywhere and have become friends with a few of the locals.

On Sunday we took a field trip all around the island (which only took a few hours). First we went to the South end of the island to the renowned salt refinery and slave huts, and then to Lac Bay, where I've never been before. Lac Bay was beautiful! It's one of the only natural sandy beaches on Bonaire, and apparently it's one of the best places for windsurfing in the world. There were a ton of windsurfers in the water, and we plan on going back one day to take lessons. We then headed over to the North end of the island, where it's more "mountainous." We visited a few important sites, like "1,000 Steps" and Rincon (the other "city" in Bonaire). While Kralendijk has a lot of Dutch/ European influence, Rincon is primarily native Bonaireans, most of whom are descendants of slaves from the slave trade. It was great to experience that side of the island and the differences in culture and geography. Towards the end of the trip we stopped at a small bar in the middle of the desert that has indigenous Bonairean music and dancing every Sunday. We all got drinks and learned some native harvest dances. Afterwards, we went back home to watch the Superbowl, like any good Americans would. Although Bonaire is tiny (it probably takes 2-3 hours to drive around the entire perimeter of the island) it is full of diversity, which a lot of people don't realize. The director of the program, Dr. Peachy, took us on this "Cultural and Environmental" tour and seemed to know everything about the island. It was great to learn about things other than the ocean in Bonaire, however at every turn there seems to be a new environmental catastrophe occurring.

Closely aligned with that, we took an other field trip on Monday with our Marine Conservation Biology class. We got an extremely detailed tour through the mangrove marshes from one of the naturalists on the island. We learned more about birds than I ever wanted to know in my life. Nevertheless, it was quite informational and we got the chance to snorkel and have lunch in Cai (a separate part of Lac Bay). At the end of the day we watched the following video, which I'm posting in hopes that everyone will watch it and share it with others. It may be depressing, but it's so important to be aware of these things and spread the word!! (Our homework for this class is to come up with a "happy" environmental story, so if you know of any, please inform me).

http://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_jackson.html

Anyway, this post is getting lengthy and I am getting tired. But just a few more fun updates: I have been learning to skateboard, an octopus lives at the dock next to my house, we are learning how to do underwater videography, and I make sure to spend some quality time in a hammock every day :)