Bonaire is renowned as a diving and Snorkelling destination, but inland from all its surf, sand and scuba is an untamed island unlike any other in the Caribbean.
Now, turn off your lights, kick your legs and look down.” It’s approaching midnight when the dive guide gives this command to the 15 snorkellers floating five kilometres off the west coast of Bonaire.
If they were on land, they might have already retired for the night, along with the others who come to this tiny island, a special municipality of the Netherlands in the Caribbean about 80 kilometres north of Venezuela, to loll in the sun and experience some of the best diving and snorkelling in the world. But here they are, their waterproof flashlights dots of bobbing light on a patch of ink-black sea, ready to prove that no wild place really ever goes to sleep.
The lights switch off and 30 legs begin to kick, at first tentatively then more vigorously. In response, thousands of crustaceans called ostracods explode with bioluminescence, transforming the water into a shimmering canvas rivalling that of the star-strewn sky above.
When the spectacle is over, the snorkellers clamber aboard the dive boat and motor back toward Kralendijk, Bonaire’s capital and the site of its first dive operation which opened in 1962, effectively heralding the beginning of tourism on the island. The diving industry grew slowly at first but began to boom in the 1980s, fuelling the proliferation of shops, bars, restaurants and resorts that today line a good portion of Bonaire’s west coast, from which most tourists tend not to wander.
This story is from the Fall/Winter Travel 2018 edition of Canadian Geographic.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Fall/Winter Travel 2018 edition of Canadian Geographic.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ANIMAL XING
THIS PAST SUMMER AN AMBITIOUS WILDLIFE UNDER/OVERPASS SYSTEM BROKE GROUND IN B.C. ON A DEADLY STRETCH OF HIGHWAY JUST WEST OF THE ALBERTA BORDER. HERE’S HOW IT HAPPENED.
Unearthing a giant
Almost 30 years ago, paleontologist Elizabeth “Betsy” Nicholls made a discovery of colossal proportions
WE DID THIS
AS THE IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING BECOME INCREASINGLY EVIDENT, THE CONNECTIONS TO BIODIVERSITY LOSS ARE HARD TO IGNORE. CAN THIS FALL’S TWO KEY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES POINT US TO A NATURE-POSITIVE FUTURE?
The COOLEST COUNTRY
“The coolest country” celebrates the wonders of winter with an all-Canadian theme. The 20-page travel planner includes a bucket list from travel writer Robin Esrock, steamy spa ideas, ice fishing destinations, festival fun, northern itineraries and more!
KEEPER of the SEA
FROM BEING LABELLED DEVIL’S APRON BY FRUSTRATED FISHERMEN TO BEING LAUDED AS A SUSTAINABLE FOOD SOLUTION: HOW KELP’S POTENTIAL IS BEING REALIZED, JUST AS SCIENTISTS LEARN IT’S DECLINING
WILD THINGS
WILD CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC PRESENTS THE WINNERS OF ITS ANNUAL CANADIAN WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR COMPETITION
AN EMPTY LANDSCAPE
AFTER MORE THAN A MILLION YEARS ON EARTH, CARIBOU ARE UNDER THREAT OF GLOBAL EXTINCTION. THE PRECIPITOUS DECLINE OF THE ONCE MIGHTY HERDS IS A TRAGEDY THAT IS HARD TO WATCH — AND EVEN HARDER TO REVERSE.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE
BON INTO A CARIBOU-HUNTING CREE FAMILY IN NORTHERN MANITOBA, ACCLAIMED PLAYWRIGHT AND NOVELIST. TOMSON HIGHWAYS PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE MAGICAL WORLD OF HIS CHILDHOOD IN PERMANENT ASTONISHMENT
INTO THE ARCTIC
CANADIAN PAINTER AND FILMMAKER CORY TRÉPANIER EXPLORES THE SUBLIME AND RAPIDLY CHANGING CANADIAN ARCTIC
Under the ice
Until the last decade, we knew little about what lay beneath the Arctic ice. Now scientists and explorers are shedding light on this vanishing world.
