[unirdna]

Hey Connor,

Welcome home. Bonaire does have a few steep parts, some of it greater than 45 deg. But, compared to L. Cayman it's all bunnyhills. The reef slopes down to 100-120 feet and then usually turns into sand. I never went out far enough to see any dropoffs, so I can't comment on what that would look like. I do know that between Bonaire and Klein Bonaire, it drops to 1000 ft.

As for the water clarity, your eyes and my camera are completely accurate. The water does have a ghostly haze to it. It's been like this both times I've been there. The locals say that it's the result of the rainy season. Bonaire is a desert island, but rained 4-5 times during our two week stay - probably at least a couple inches.

When I first started using the mono, I was painfully disappointed. Even shallow dives to 60-80ft were not comfortable, and when I made the turn I couldn't wait to get to the surface and get it over with. I blame this on my attempts to mimick the pros - specifically the technique of pool swimmers. This isn't to say that their technique isn't good - I'm sure it's much better than mine. But, rule #1 is to be comfortable, and it took longer (probably less efficient) strides for me to feel at home. Once I upped the S-curve, the fin was an absolute joy. Compared to my bifins, dives to 100ft were faster, more comfortable, and more FUN. Recovery times on the surface were much faster too, and I had to force myself to wait on several occasions. Most importantly, I used no weight, making me neutral at about 60-70ft. Trips back to the surface have never been this easy, and when I think back to the days of grinding a pair of bifins at 100 feet I get exhausted. True that monos are more "expensive" to power, but you seem to get more bang for the buck, and you leg muscles don't burn out.

Only caveat for me is that monos are worth squat on the surface (compare to bifins). They also aren't nearly as maneuverable, so if I'm out for sightseeing, I'll likely miss 1/2 the action and fight like hell to keep up with my buddy. Hopefully these drawbacks will improve.