Bari Reef

We came to Bonaire in 2003 and fell in love with the island, the people, and the diving. We returned the next year and bought a townhouse at Sand Dollar Condominium Resorts. One of the selling points was the fact that the number one reef in the Caribbean is right in front of Sand Dollar--Bari Reef. I've now done somewhere around 1000 hours of diving on Bari Reef and never get bored. It's not the prettiest dive on the island, but if you like lots of fish and enjoy fish ID, it doesn't get better than this. We presently (August 2007) have 11 frogfish on Front Porch/Bari Reef. There is a sponge straight out from the dock that is now named after me (Marge's sponge) which I've spent many hours studying. Last year I discovered a very rare Pipehorse living in the sponge along with several Harlequin Pipefish and two different varieties of "unidentified pipefish". There are Mantis Shrimp, Smootheye Blenny, Reef Scorpionfish, etc. also inhabiting that sponge. Other interesting and fairly rare creatures I've sighted on Bari Reef are Coral Scorpionfish, Mushroom Scorpionfish, Yellowhead Pikeblenny (which are near the reef balls), Armina nudibranchs, Flameback Angelfish, Shortnose Batfish, etc. I do occasional dives at other sites, but definitely find Bari Reef more interesting.