This past summer Day and I went to Bonaire with friends. We have been many times before, but not for awhile, and it was good to go back. I wrote a post about our trip, if you’d like to read Back to Bonaire. I had written another post about a trip to Bonaire, a few years ago, on my first attempt at a blog, Sail Away with Curly. Anyhow, I thought I would tidy it up a bit, and import it to Explore. Dream. Discover. Travel. I hope you like the story of my Frogfish.

The Frogfish

Years ago, we were in Bonaire at Captain Don’s Habitat, we had just gotten back from our morning dives, had lunch, and now, I was looking for something to do. Like I said, this was years ago. I was young, in shape and full of energy (this past summer, after morning dives and lunch, it was nap time). Anyhow, while everyone else was relaxing, I went down to the pier on the house reef, wandered around a bit, watched people as they put their gear on and jumped in. As I listened to those coming out of the water, recounting to one another about what they seen on their dives, I decided to go back in myself.

I started putting on my wetsuit, my weight belt, and the rest of my gear, as I watched the dive master make his rounds, offering his assistance to those in need. Divers would ask him which way to go, what to look for, and the two most asked questions in Bonaire; do you know where there’s a seahorse, or, where’s there a Frogfish?

The house reef at Captain Don’s is fantastic. The water is ten feet deep at the end of the pier, with a sandy bottom, perfect for entry. The sandy bottom slowly turns to rubble (perfect habitat for octopus) then some vegetation and soft corals, as you make your way towards the wall. The vegetation and corals become thicker, and fish more plentiful, and just 40 or 50 yards from the pier, the wall, abundant with marine life. Take a left, and 20 or 30 yards away, you’ll find the La Machaca, a small shipwreck, and maybe a Green Moray, that makes the wreck his home (the Green moray was still there this past summer, he’s been there for at least the 20 years we’ve been going). Swim straight down, and you will find the sandy bottom, in 200 ft. of water. 

Anyhow, as a dive master approached me, I started up a conversation, and then I asked the question, “Where’s there a Frogfish dude?” He knows, they all do. Dive masters find them, keep their location a secret. Divers will pay for private guided dives, and the dive masters will get bigger tips if they can show their customers a Frogfish. Frogfish rarely move, they can be there for weeks. Frogfish don’t swim, they sit in one spot until prey swims by, and they snatch it up. It happens quick, and the momentum usually causes the Frogfish to go tumbling down the wall, and then he quickly finds a new place to sit and hide. Frogfish are pretty small, and they can hide, you could be staring right at one and never see him.

So the dive master stares at me, with a smirk on his face, as if he is trying to decide whether I am worthy of his secret, until he finally replies, “You wanna find a Frogfish, I know where there’s one,” he said. “Yes, where is he?”

“He’s right out there,” he said, as he points northwest of the house reef towards the open water. “Right out there, really? ” He’s pointing to the open ocean. Was he trying to be funny? The dive master continued though, “Swim out to that buoy,” he said, as he pointed straight off the pier, about a 150 yards out, to a mooring ball. “Once you get to that buoy, take a right,” he used his hand to motion right, or northwest. “Take a right, and swim to, one…two… three, swim to the third buoy.” as he is saying this, he is pointing to each one of the three mooring balls, which cover about a a quarter of a mile. “Once you get to that third mooring, take a left, and swim out to the wall.” I listened intently as he continued to give me directions, “Once you reach the wall, look for a sea fan.” Ok, now this guy is losing me, look for a sea fan, a specific sea fan in the middle of the ocean? He must have noticed he was losing me, as he continued, he tried to reassure me, “You’ll know the sea fan when you see it,” he said, “it’s hanging way out over the wall,” and he made some motion with his arm to simulate, hanging way out. “You’ll know the one I am talking about, I promise, you can’t miss it,” he said again.  He continued, “Once you find the fan, swim out past the wall, turn around, and face the sea fan,” he said. “Once you are facing the sea fan, drop down to,” and at this point he seemed to be in deep thought, using his fingers to count as he continued, “drop down to, hmmm, 65…66…67, drop down to 68 feet, and the Frogfish is right there!” Really? The Frogfish is right there? As you can imagine, I’m not feeling very optimistic, but, I have nothing to do.

So, with nothing else to do that afternoon, I decided to go in search of the very elusive Frogfish. I finished putting on my gear, and did a perfect giant stride into the deep blue, deflated my BC and began my decent into the abyss (not really the abyss, actually crystal clear blue water). As I made my way to the wall, I kept my eyes peeled, hoping to catch a glimpse of an octopus in the rubble. Unfortunately an octopus sighting was not meant to be today, the line to the mooring ball however, was right infront of me. I took a right at the mooring ball, as instructed, and began my swim to the next marker.

I swam along the edge of the wall, constantly looking, hoping to see something cool. To my left was open water, 200 ft. deep, and where I might see big stuff: sharks, dolphins, a school of Eagle rays, possibly a Manta ray, or, one could only hope, a Whale shark. None of this is out of the question in Bonaire. One year, we were making our way down to a “1000 Steps,” a dive site, and could see a Manta in the water, from shore. On another dive, we could hear dolphins, they stayed far enough away that we couldn’t see them though, and Day swears she saw Tuna one year. To my right, the wall, the reef, and where I will see my next marker. The mooring balls are about 200 yards apart, and I have a ways to go before I expect to see it, so I settle in, relaxed and enjoyed the peace of diving alone.

It’s was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, and the sunlight easily penetrates the crystal clear water, and reaches the reef. All is beautiful and quiet, except for the “Darth Vader” sound as I breathe through my regulator, and the muffled sound of my bubbles as I exhale. I love the peace and quiet of diving alone. For a short while, all is quiet, my brain is quiet, there aren’t a thousand thoughts in my head. For a moment, my brain has stopped and I, am relaxed and calm. Just ahead, off to my right, the first buoy, and I continue on my way.

My breathing becomes slower as I relax more, I add a little air to my BC, and continue my swim along the wall, constantly looking. Truth be told, I don’t care if I see anything, I just like, being alone, in the water. Diving becomes “Zen” like for me, and I get lost in the peace and quiet ( I pass marker number 2 ). On land, we are restricted to moving on two axes, forward and backward, right and left. Underwater, there are three, the third being, up and down. As I swim, and hover over the reef, I exhale to descend. Just ahead is a tall coral, and I inhale, and float up and over, just like a bird. 

Buoy number three is just ahead. Once I reached it, I took a left and headed out towards the wall, and began my search for “the” seafan. I searched, and I searched, up and down the wall, forever, it seemed. “You’ll know it when you see it,” he said. Was he smirking when he said that? I hadn’t noticed, I bet he’s laughing now though. I swam a half a mile, to then search for a special sea fan, so special that I’d know it when I saw it. I’m not sure how long I looked for, 15, 20, maybe 30 minutes before, holy crap, wait, one freakin minute, there it is! That has to be it, just like he said, “hanging way out, over the wall.” I don’t believe it, I found the sea fan! The sea fan is not my prize though, and I must continue my quest.

I swam towards the sea fan, and for a moment, admired it, in a way, thanking it. A sea fan, majestically hanging out, over the wall, pointing me, in the direction of my quest. I swam out beyond the wall and the sea fan, turned around and faced it, and began my decent to 68 ft, and my search for the prize, the Frogfish.

Watching my computer and decending, I reached 68 feet and stopped. In front of me was a wall of rock, rubble, coral, vegetation and anemones, and the Frogfish is an expert at camouflage. Was it at exactly 68 ft, or was it up or down just a little? Was it a little to the left or right of the sea fan, or directly beneath it? I decided on a 5×5 area, 25 square feet of wall for my search.

I looked and looked, scanning my 25 square feet of wall. I would look and get my nose right in there, real close. I’d back up a few feet and look from a distance? I backed up a bit more, and continue my search. Is the fish even here anymore, I wondered. Maybe if I look at the reef with my eyes slightly out of focus, like those pictures. I continued looking and looking. I’d get my nose right in the reef, then I would back up, and look again from a distance, nose back in, eyes out of focus. Maybe if I turned my back to the reef, and spin back around real quick, like I was gonna trick the Frogfish, and maybe sneak up on it. This went on, for what had to be a half an hour. My air is getting low, and I am in 70 feet of water, but I stayed. I stayed and continued my search, up close, far away, eyes focused, eyes out of focus, the spin around real fast, up close again.

I searched, and I searched. And, like a pimple on prom night, it appeared, out of nowhere, my Frogfish, sitting there, patiently waiting for it’s next meal. I stayed, admiring my prize for awhile, took pictures (one of these pictures are mine) but I had to leave. I was almost out of air.  

I began my swim back, elated with myself, and itching to show someone my Frogfish. Once back at the resort, I looked for Day, but she had gone out, I wanna show someone though. I found Sue, who reluctantly agreed to go out with me, in search of my Frogfish, one more time. And again, right at buoy, left after third buoy, find the sea fan, drop down to sixty-eight feet, look, look, look, and there she was, waiting for me, to show her off to Sue, my Frogfish!

I thought it was a funny story, I enjoyed writing about it, I hope you enjoyed reading it.

Luv ya,
Curly