Front Porch

I dived this site 4 times during a recent stay at Den Laman Condos in Bonaire. As others have mentioned, this is an easy site to access. We dove with Bonaire Dive and Adventure, and you can access this site from their pier (it is an easy swim south). Be sure to check the current first, since it runs either north or south depending on the day. The reef is teeming with fish life. We saw a large Midnight Parrotfish here, as well as some very large snapper. You will also see many French Angelfish, Queen Angelfish, trumpetfish and other typical Caribbean reef fish. The coral is abundant from about 30-70 feet. We encountered a beautiful and curious Porcupinefish at 70 feet. Once you get down to about 80 feet, you will see a large sandy field of garden eels. At 90 feet you will find the wreck of the tugboat New York. Behind the wreck at 95 feet you will find a second field of garden eels. If you are lucky, you may spot the large yellow moray who lives under the wreck. There were many spotted morays hanging out around the boat (one found in an old tire). I have posted photo on my website at www.reeftraveler.com

We did this site both during the day and at night this year. Enter at the sandy beach to the left of the sunken pier and yellow building. If you are staying at Sand Dollar or Den Laman, just jump off the BDA dock and swim to the left. Check the current. Either way, be sure to visit the sunken pier before continuing to the left (south). The reef slope is a mix of coral heads and several sand chutes; this site has a large diversity of sponges. We saw the usual mix of fish, with the bonus of a turtle during our day dive. At night, be sure to check out the orange cup corals on the pier and watch for the resident tarpon.

Did this as a night dive, and highly recommend it. We entered from the beach, a very simple shore entry. At around 35' found the down line leading to the tugboat that rests upside down in about 95' of water. Inside were 2 very large French Angels and a giant crab. Swimming around the wreck was the biggest snapper I have seen, must have been Cubrera?? Very enjoyable night dive. I heard there is also a sunken sailboat a little farther out in around 45', but heard this after I had dove the area.

We swam south from the BDA dock between Den Laman and Sand Dollar one day when the current was running from the south. One can also enter via the old road off the traffic circle and then make an easy beach entry. There is rarely any surf. The reef is a bit more open here, with several sand channels. Though coral growth may be a little more sparse than at Bari, there are tons of sponges and feather hydroids in the mid-depth zones. We saw lots of fish, including a queen angel and long snout butterfly fish out on the reef slope. The best part of this site is the sunken old pier that is close to shore as an excellent snorkel site. Our 7-year-old son did this site several times, seeing morays, flounder, christmas tree worms, tons of parrotfish and damsels, and a squid. This part of the site is worth the experience of a snorkel trip.

We were staying at Den Laman next door, and did this dive late one afternoon as a last minute additional dive. We weren't expecting much, but we were pleasantly surprised. There is a mix of sand and coral, even at depth, rather than the solid coral at other locations, so we saw a variety of sand dwellers (jaw fish), as well as the usual coral inhabitants. Small wreck at about 80-90 feet. Peacock flounder, lizard fish, angels, scorpion, trumpet fish, a long line of fish commuting with the rush hour, squid, and the other usual species.

The usual entry for someone not staying at Sand Dollar or the Den Laman properties would be to the south of Den Laman. Divi resorts plans to build a huge resort on this property, so access may be more limited in the future. We live at Sand Dollar for 6 to 7 months of the year, and although my favorite dive site is Bari Reef (right in front of Sand Dollar), we occasionally go south from our dock and dive Front Porch. Typically, we will go south at a depth of 40 to 50 feet, then, when the coral makes a dip down onto sand and rubble, we will descend to the small wreck at 95 feet and check to see what is hiding inside. Frequently we'll find a large Green Moray hiding under the wreck near the bow or hiding inside near the stern. A Comb Grouper and a Dog Snapper often hang out inside the wreck and you can often find a Tiger Grouper getting a cleaning near the bow. We've found Yellowhead Jawfish below the wreck, which is interesting because they are usually found much more shallow. Although the sand and coral rubble above the drop off isn't very pretty, I find it extremely interesting. It is great habitat for octopus and frogfish. The broken cement slabs south of the Sand Dollar dock is called the Aquarium for good reason. This small area is filled with fish of all types. You can often find juvenile squid in the shallow area just to the north or south of the Aquarium.

Entry/Exit is easy from the beach or the dock of Eden Beach. Go down to about 85 feet and turn North (right from Eden Beach) and watch for the tugboat. We had strong current to swim into, but it was a great dive. We saw a large sea turtle napping under the Tugboat wreck at 95'.