Fear is one of the primary drivers for all of us. A fear of failure can drive us to work hard every day to accomplish our dreams. Or, on the more negative side, fear can be one of the main reasons we pause instead of jump. While our fear can keep us paralyzed at the edge of the door in a plane, we will never feel the exhilaration of flying and the freedom of skydiving if we give in to that fear and refuse to trust the parachute. That same concept invades every aspect of our life. You may not approach that person for fear of rejection, sacrificing a long and fulfilling journey with the love of your life. For me, a fear of water has kept me from swimming, water skiing, wakeboarding, snorkeling, sailing, and scuba diving. Is there a good reason for that fear? Of course, there always is a good reason for fear. I can’t breathe underwater or move quickly, and I am at the mercy of every other creature in the ecosystem. But on a recent trip to Bonaire, I got an opportunity to face that fear and experience that ecosystem in a whole new way.
When I told friends and family that I was going to visit the small island of Bonaire, one of the first questions all of them asked was if I was going to go scuba diving. Uh, no, I wasn’t. It wasn’t even something I thought about. I realize I travel differently. I am similar with food. I eat steak and potatoes and drink an old-fashioned, so when someone asks me how the food is, I simply shrug. It is the same with the typical experiences that include water activities in the Caribbean. I planned on just shrugging. Then, of course, I started thinking more about it and realized I could be missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something truly exceptional, and I was letting fear dictate it.
When I booked everything in Bonaire, I ultimately decided on Delfins Resort, which gave me everything I needed for my stay from luxury rooms and restaurants to beaches and pools. And it gave me easy access to Dive Friends, the go-to experts to help me face my fear.
Why Bonaire is a popular dive site
Don Stewart, known as Captain Don, arrived in Bonaire the same year the world was blessed with Sean Connery as James Bond in 1962. While one of his friends later claimed that “no longer what Don tells you, the truth is he stayed in Bonaire because that’s where his ship sank,” he ended up becoming instrumental to the island with his efforts in conserving the marine life and coral. He spearheaded the opening of Zeebad, the island’s first-ever hotel and dive shop, introduced permanent mooring systems to protect the island’s fringing reefs, and spearheaded a campaign that banned spearfishing and tropical fish collecting on Bonaire.
Decades later, virtually every hotel on the island has a dive shop connected to it and will take you all over the island to find the best stops to see Caribbean coral and ocean life that you can’t see anywhere else in the world. Bonaire is one of the most beloved dive spots, and Captain Don is to thank for it all.
Where to dive
There are dozens of options when you are looking for a place to stay on the island. However, for what I wanted to do, the only choice was the Delfins Beach Resort. Not only is the place ripe with everything you could want, from restaurants, bars, pools, and all the luxury you could ask for, but there is also the added bonus of access to Dive Friends. While they are experts in the diving business, they are also well-versed in some of the best dive spots on the island. Those spots include Hilma Hooker, Andrea 1 & 2, Salt Pier, and Bari Reef.
For me, however, the only choice is 1000 Steps for your first delve into the deep. While it is only 67 steps from the shore to the water, once you step out of the water with all your gear and have been weightless for the last 45 minutes, those 67 steps feel like 1,000. If that sounds like a reason to avoid the spot, you should know this is the best place on the island to see sea turtles.
Tips on diving
OK, here is where you have to give in to the process you are completely unfamiliar with and likely uncomfortable with. When I walked into the Dive Friends shop, I made a point to tell them all that I was scared out of my mind and that I wouldn’t likely be the easiest person to deal with. They giggled and assured me that I was going to surprise myself. I was then introduced to the person who was going to submerge me in the water and subject me to the biggest fear of my life. Camilla, half my age and still had been diving longer than I had been a working adult (I know, the math didn’t add up for me either), had been diving since kindergarten. She gave me three pieces of advice:
- Trust your gear. I walked to the water’s edge with a tank, fins, and a regulator. It was a heavy walk, and all of that weight was perfect for reminding me that I had everything I needed to survive what was ahead of me.
- Breathe. “There is nothing that will happen down there that doesn’t have a solution. You can breathe yourself through anything.” Trust your regulator and your tank; you have air, so breathe.
- Relax. People have been doing this for a century all over the world. If it was dangerous, you wouldn’t do it as a tourist. Focus on the new world you’re about to experience. This is supposed to be fun. Relax and let it be.
Overcoming fear
Four seconds. That is how long I lasted under the water’s surface before panicking. The mask on my face didn’t fit correctly, and it began to slide up. The thought of losing my mask and rendering me all but blind (I was definitely not opening my eyes underwater if I didn’t have to) was all it took for me to flee for the surface. Once my head was above water again, I used the time to readjust my mask to procrastinate, submerging myself again. Being instantly wise to my stall tactic, Camilla reassured me. “Remember how heavy that stuff was when you carried it from the shop to the water? That was the tank, full of air. Your buoyancy control. Your fins. The gear you need to trust. The heavier it is, the safer you are. Just breathe through it and relax; I won’t let you struggle; this is supposed to be fun.”
After some coaxing, I could stay underwater and control my breathing. Then came the experience of a lifetime. The coral, the wildlife. It truly is another world beneath the surface. I could have stayed under for hours. Eventually, I had to come up for real air. But with the tankless air came a realization: The beautiful things in life are on the other side of your fear. The only way to overcome it is to face it and go through it. Whenever you are having trouble with it, you can always fall back on Camilla’s advice: Trust your gear, breathe through it, and relax.
