Enchanted waters.

Well, now that Ramses has gone we are still in a bit of a daze. Also – not unlike Ulysses the famous seafarer – we have fallen under a spell. Totally enchanted by the underwater garden of Eden, we go visit over and over again to pay our respects to Neptune, the way Ramses taught us. But the pics below are his. We are still practicing. And focusing ain’t easy.

There, the green moray eel happily takes on the role of the obligatory snake and the coral growing fields look like an eerie Wicca ritual in worship of the Horned God. No worries: in reality it is a manmade nursery for baby elk horn and stag horn corals. Their branches look like antlers, hence the name. But it certainly appeals to our imagination.

In the meantime, there’s also my Captain’s bike that is slowly getting tangled up in flowering creeping coral vines. And he doesn’t even care. Because he has turned into a lotus eating sun worshipper and his chariot is the kite. 

I’m worshipping Ra as well while flying the kite . Yes indeed, delightful body dragging has replaced panicky waterboarding. Next level will be riding the board itself. Still a long way off, though. But never mind, for now, bliss is being pulled through the water by a well obeying kite , completely covered as I am in “Ocean Potion”. The latter is a brand of reef friendly and anti-aging sunscreen. Let’s hope the “reef friendly” part is less about marketing and holds more truth than the “anti-aging” part. It does have a delicious smell, though. And I find the name totally befitting for the environment and for the magic that Bonaire does. 

Of course, the sneaky virus is also still lurking in a faraway corner of this earthly paradise. We have now 3 active cases, all of them in isolation, as are their near and dear. Everybody is very disciplined to root Covid-19 out and although infection happened in the local community, we are nevertheless also very disciplined in staying upwind from new arrivals. Badly in need of some Ocean Potion themselves, their blueish white skin betrays them the moment they flash on the scene. Not unlike Bonaire ostracod around the time of a full moon.

It took Ulysses 7 years to leave Calypso’s Enchanted Island. Surely, it will take us less than 7 months to break free from Bonaire. 

But for the time being , it is Bonaire and all things Bonairean.