Curacao got beaches!

- but that's the only part where it can beat Bonarie... ! We've now checked out the island, and found that the north/west is where you want to be in case you visit Curacao. Willemstad is far to busy for us, - too many cars and there's actually a motorway! The beaches however are really really good, and to be recommended :) And there's many of them!

Dolphin dive!

Started early early this morning with a dolphin dive here in Curacao. Ocean Encounters in cooperation with the Seaaquarium here on the island do twice a week a dive with these mammals where divers can observe their behaviour close up. A unique experience seeing these underwater mammals agility and manouvreability! Looking into their eyes you see intellegence. Today there was not only one dolphin on the reef, but two, as one younger female was in heat..... A male insisted to come along... These dolphin are free to swim where they want, but choose to stay in the protected Dolphinarium on Curacao where they get trained and fed. They can however leave at any time and swim free. We took a boat ride to a reef where we were met by these two dolphins and their trainer. Impressive to see how they acted together, clarely today we were not interesting enough, but to us their natural behaviour was more interesting to see. A mating surely was not far away..... Since we only got to see them for about 10 minutes, the dive was refunded.... However, - for us 10 minutes with dolphins was more than we could hope for in a wild setting!

Stein and the dolphins

Stein co-piloting us safely to Curacao....

Left Bonaire and DBV today (pictures later), and miss both already..... Had a cultural "schock" arriving Curacao, - there were cars and motorways, queues and traffic....we've been so spoilt at Bonaire!! Bonaire is just unique! Anyway, Divi-Divi with Stein co-piloting... brought us safely to Curacao. An early night now before dolphins tomorrow morning :)Lac Bay, BonaireKralendijk, BonaireKlein Bonaire

Jerry's reef 2011

Octopus walking at night

Octopus Basket star

The weirdest creatures...

Turtle dive

Jerry's reef

Yesterday we went to Klein for a couple of boat dives, amongst them "Jerry's Reef", or "Jerry's sponges". This is a drift dive, which means you jump in the water one place, let the current take you along the reef and you get up another place when you're running out of air... Jerrys' is a another favourite dive site, - with a very healthy sponge life. As you go along the reef there is always something new and the colours are bright and clear. Only saw one turtle this year, but that's ok - the scenery is outstanding! Have a look at the pictures and see for yourselves!Healthy reefCorall - "tree"

Green sponge

Rock Beauty

Brain Coral surface

Coral head

This is a fish! Scorpionfish

Blue sponge

Filefish

Squirrel fish

A little moray eel peeking out of its hole

Little banded shrimp

Paradise!

Boat dives at Klein Bonaire

Puffer

Queen Angel

Trumpet fish

Black Durgeons

Jelly fish at night

Colours of the night

At night the underwater scene changes, - critters come out and predators show up to eat. The colours also come out beautifully on pictures. Thursday night we went to "Ol Blue" for a night dive with Ty, Kelly, Mel and Ken, - hanging out in the shallow water hunting for good photo opportunities was the main purpose of this dive, inspired by Ken's great shoots with his Nikon D 700. Practise this year and maybe next year we can move up a division, now our Canon Ixus has to do the job :) Saw a couple of scorpionfish, lobster, big puffer, moray eel +++. A great way to end another day in paradise! Spotted moray eel

Jelly fish

Scorpionfish - master of disguise


Sleeping parrot fishTy and Kelly, - "creatures" of the night...Korall

Urchin