As instructed, we were at the rendezvous spot right at 1000, in full dive gear and ready to jump into the water. The rendezvous spot was another boat in the mooring area. We tied up to it. Another couple wearing snorkeling gear came along and joined us, and we all waited for instruction.

Apparently, after Hurricane Omar, a bunch of tires appeared in the mooring area and on the reef behind it. No one is sure where they came from, but the theory is that the tires were used as fenders on the various docks up and down the coast that had been destroyed in the storm. One of the cruisers who spends a lot of time in Bonaire every year contacted the park service and offered to coordinate a clean up effort. Last week was the big day. Many cruisers had volunteered to pick tires up off the ocean floor and put them in the park service boat so the park service could dispose of them. The effort was incredibly successful and they filled up an entire trash dumpster with tires. The only problem was that there were still lots and lots of tires left. So, today’s effort was to try to get the last of the tires.

A few minutes later, someone came over and explained what was happening. Eric and Christi were responsible for finding tires along a certain stretch of ocean floor. There was a snorkeler assigned to follow each of us. When the snorkeler saw that we had found tires, they would signal the park boat to move over to us. The park boat would drop lines into the water. We were to attach the tires to the lines and the park service workers would pull the tires up. When we were done, the boat would move to the next zone. We had to be careful to only pick up new looking tires. Anything with coral growth was to stay in the water.

We had lucked out because last week the cruisers had moved the tires into piles for us. The job was really easy because we simply swam from tire pile to tire pile. We swam around scouring the area anyway to make sure we got them all, and we only found one or two more that had not been piled up. The job went fast and smooth.

Something that we found interesting was that single tires lying flat on the ground didn’t attract any fish. But when there were four or five tires all thrown against one another at weird angles, there would be several fish there. They seem to like swimming through all numerous tunnels and openings made by the angles of the tires. It was kind of sad that we ruined their new play toy. In the sand, we saw a good size crab walking around and a flounder fish, which are hard to spot. Most excitingly, we saw a spotted eagle ray swim by. Christi started to follow him, but then realized abandoning her job duties wasn’t a good plan and returned to work.

After the tire duties were completed, we were probably ¼ mile south of the dinghy and had almost half a tank of air left, so we swam over to the reef to use up the rest of our air. Since we were so close to Kosmos, the site is very similar to the site right behind her, but not quite as nice. It does have a little bit more soft coral, but we didn’t see as much variety to the fish. We did see the biggest trumpetfish we have ever seen in our lives. It was a beast. We can’t believe they get so big.

After our dive, we headed back to Kosmos to fill tanks, then dove again behind our boat. This time, only Lenny followed us around, and not until the end. They must have realized we aren’t going to feed them. We are really enjoying diving the same spot again and again. You would think that seeing the same stuff over and over would be boring, but it is actually the opposite. We are getting a good sense of what creature lives where, and what their behavior patterns are. Here are some examples: The parrotfish happily munch on coral. They go to a coral formation, take a bite or two, then move on to the next one, also taking a bite or two. The trumpet fish like to swim next to another breed of fish and rub up against the other fish. The other fish don’t seem to mind. The grouper wait patiently underneath ledges or in gaps in the coral, trying desperately to blend in with the scenery so their prey doesn’t see them and wanders into their attack range. The grouper stay in place by holding on to rocks with their fins, as if they were hands. Snapper fish tend to make tight formations and swim in almost perfect unity, like a security team protecting a nation’s president. The little chromium fish also swim in big schools, and while they all move the same direction, they tend to stay at least a few inches from one another. They also tend to stay closer to the surface, so from about 40 feet down you will often look up and see tons of little dots above you, almost like unlit stars in the sky.

Another benefit of doing the same sites is that by seeing the same fishes again and again, it is becoming easier to differentiate fish with similar markings. When we are flipping through the fish book to try to identify a species, it is often hard to tell one fish from another when we only got a fleeting glance. Now that we are getting better looks at them all, it is definitely easier to identify which species is the right one in the fish book.

At end of dive, we were doing our safety stop in the sand when we saw the spotted eagle ray nearby. We were so excited and swam over to it. It is charcoal with white spots and triangular wings. It was so graceful as it zoomed along the bottom searching for food. We followed it. Occasionally, it would stop for a moment as it found a munchie hiding in the sand, then would move on. The body is fairly large, and the tail is three times as long as the body. We really wish we had a dive camera. We are told the sting rays are rarely seen here in the mooring area.

In the evening we went to a cruiser get together. Christi really does not like cruiser get togethers, so it took some cajoling on Eric’s part to get her to attend. Christi loves meeting new people, as does Eric. But, we have found that as soon as people find out about our trip, the conversation will turn to questions about the boat. Almost everyone asks the same questions in the same order (fuel burn, tankage, speed, etc.). After the initial round of questions, our new acquaintances are usually happy to move on to more typical topics of conversation. Now remember that most of the time, Eric and Christi only have each other to talk to, so when we get the opportunity to talk to other people, we crave stimulating conversation, and answering the same questions over and over is not stimulating. Christi doesn’t mind answering the initial questions when talking to people one on one because she knows eventually the stimulating conversation will follow. But at parties, we will start talking to someone and answering the questions. Then someone else will approach, hear what we are talking about, then jump into the conversation by asking question 1. And so we start the Q & A session from the beginning. Then someone else approaches”¦. And by the end of the night, we have answered the same 10 questions 100 times and not had a chance to partake in any conversation we find interesting.

Of course, this party was exactly the same. Christi was bored practically to tears, and being tired from all the swimming, she was having a hard time pretending to be interested in answering questions. She made Eric leave early. We ducked out and went to a sushi restaurant for dinner. The food was great, but oddly, they don’t serve green tea. They seemed to think it was odd that we would ask for green tea, as if it isn’t typically served in Japanese restaurants.

Tonight the moon was only half full, yet it cast such a bright light that as we dinghied back we could clearly see the sandy bottom beneath us. When we got to Kosmos, we were totally surprised to see that she cast a shadow. Wow. How bright is it going to be when the moon is full?