A Whopper of a Fish!

Fishing this morning, cloudy skies with a threat of rain....but off we went across the water. Dale casted toward the bank and the water swirled...he had a big red on his line.....29 inches! The fish almost managed to take off all his line before he finally gave up the battle and was landed. We took a few photos before putting the big boy back in the water to swim free......a really nice fish. I did manage to land a 20 inch trout that was pretty nice. The afternoon turned hot and very windy and we caught a few more fish before heading in.

Eels on Wheels

Arrived in Bonaire at the Divi Flamingo Beach Resort with the Eels on Wheels group...it was a hectic first day, checking in, grabbing lunch, attending a dive briefing and doing a check out dive before lunch. Tired but full after lunch we did our first boat dive of the trip. The next morning up early it was time to get down to some serious diving. Three disabled divers were put on each boat, and it was an amazing and heart warming sight to pull away from the dock with the wheelchairs left behind. The diving was usually easy, with great visibility and little current.

Although one day we did manage to get in a pretty swift current on the swim back to the boat.....but all went well! The divers with use of their arms were able to propel themselves under water with ease, most having lots of upper body strength. The divers that had little or no use of their arms and legs were towed along under water. I can't even imagine the freedom they must have felt being underwater with neutral buoyancy.
Our dive masters, Enrique and Orlando were both great and spotted out lots of creatures. I told Orlando since I was alone, he was my husband on the boat and needed to watch out for me....so did several other gals!
We did two morning dives, came in for lunch and a break before doing one afternoon dive. I logged 17 dives during the week in my dive logbook. We saw eels, seahorses, turtles, starfish, octopus, barracuda, a frog fish, lots of lionfish and the highlight for me was a massive bait ball of small fish. It looked like a huge tornado underwater.......swirling around in all directions.

We spent our down time at the pool just relaxing with a trip into town the last day for some retail therapy. A cold, smooth Mud Slide sure was a great way to end a day of diving!!!!
Even though I was only a small part of this group, I felt truly blessed to be with them. It sure made me see the world through the eyes of someone with disabilities......so many challenges. Their courage to tackle the underwater world is amazing and heart warming.
I met lots of great folks and made new friends that love diving as much as I do. I gained a greater appreciation for the obstacles faced by the disabled and the courage they have to conquer them every day.
I guess one of our disabled divers, Joe summed it up best.......
The trip was AWESOME!!!!!!

Bon Bini Bonaire

The packing has begun, leaving on Saturday to dive in Bonaire with a group called "Eels on Wheels". The Eels on Wheels Adaptive Scuba Program is a registered not-for-profit organization that provides people the opportunity to dive at their own ability level by certifying divers through the Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA). Eels on Wheels provides life-changing experiences for people with disabilities. I have volunteered to help in whatever capacity I can and am looking forward to an amazing week at the Divi Flamingo Beach Resort.