Curaçao Diving Paradise

We are looking back at a successful first Band'abou dive week. Last year the organization started. The date was set and each participating dive shop started preparing their contribution to this event. Apart from posters at each of the participating dive shops and announcements on web sites there was not much publicity made for this event.

Normally we dive on the wreck of the Mediator on Sundays but currently this is not allowed when there is a US or British cruise ship in the harbour. And because most cruise ships have a fixed schedule during the season most probably there will not be much diving on this wreck during this winter. As an alternative Karel organized a dive to the Blue Room, a dive site on the plantation of San Nicolaas. Meeting point was the dive shop Trukdivers on Sunday morning at 9:30. That is where the problems started.

Jaap, one of the divers that would attend this dive called just before 9:30 that he was involved in a small accident and that he had to wait for the police to arrive and handle the paperwork. When he arrived at the dive shop it was more than an hour later than planned. Luckily there were no personal injuries and the damage to his carr was also small.

On Friday December 5, 2008 we got the first number of dive guides. The guide looks great. The text is sharp and clear and the pictures came out very good. So the result is what we hoped for. From this first shipment a number of guides have been sold already. The price is Nafl 50.00; that is the equivalent of US$ 28.00 or Euro 23.00. Send me an e-mail if you want one. Currently we don't ship to anywhere outside Curaçao, so you have to be here to pick one up. The guide will also be sold at the Christmas fair at Parera on Friday December 12, 2008. Both authors will be there.

Baya is one of my most favorite dive sites in Curaçao. This site had a lot to offer. There is of course the wreck of the Tugboat in shallow water, even accessible for snorklers; there is the steep wall and there is the pier. I normally end each dive at this location under the pier. It is is very close to the beach, so you can use almost all your air here, and I never can get enough of the beauty of all the sponges and corals on the underwater structure. Diving under the pier is like walking through a forrest. It is a bit mysterious. Your buouncy control needs to be perfect because not only are there vertical structures but there are also horizontal ones and even sharp objects pointing downward. So be careful. But it is a rewarding experience.