Earlier in the week, the guys signed up to take the PADI Lionfish Hunter Distinctive Specialty course and today was the day! The course covered some theory and classroom work and then encompassed two dives – a shore dive at 18th Palm and a boat dive at Klein Bonaire.

The Lionfish Hunter course involved getting aquainted with the usage of Lionfish removal systems, primarily the ELFhu Lionfish removal tool, and Lionfish containment devices, such as the Zookeeper™, the use of the “Spotter” and “Hunter” method of Lionfish removal, how to avoid disturbing delicate marine life while hunting Lionfish, how to safely hunt & handle Lionfish and how to avoid being stung by a Lionfish.

The guys really enjoyed the opportunity to hunt lionfish during and after the course, and, all of us really enjoyed eating them after they were prepared by the kitchen staff at the resort!

While the guys were busy hunting lionfish, the girls made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up a few things and 2 snorkels at 18th Plam. A slow and easy day was much appreciated!

Upon returning from his lionfish boat dive, Josh discovered that he dove with his vape rig in his pocket and flooded it.  We spent some time running around the island, trying to locate a replacement, but, had no luck. The locals say that vaping “hasn’t made it to Bonaire yet” so vape supplies were nonexistent.  Note to self: Buy PLENTY of batteries, tanks, coils and juice before heading out on any journeys on the boat, as this stuff isn’t readily accessible and cigarettes are EXPENSIVE!

Late in the day, I headed back to the hotel room to get nerdy with dive logging, uploading photos to Google Drive and blogging while the guys did a night dive at Klein Bonaire (and some lionfish hunting!). When they got back, we headed for a late dinner dinner to get the lionfish they speared throughout the day out of the hotel room mini-fridge and cooked up.