I spent half a day with Caren Eckrich of Sea & Discover learning about and observing behaviors, exploring touch-me/touch-me-not creatures, talking about the sea grass ecosystem; I learned how to get the cleaning Gobies to hop onto my hand, watched a Lettuce Sea Slug turn from blue to beige as he crawled along my finger and saw the mating behavior of Bluehead Wrasses. I hope that Caren's business is successful and that she is able to engage school children in discovery programs to develop interest in diving and facilitate certification of more locals in the future. - Dara Walter
And if you see those Sergeant Majors looking a lovely shade of blue and being very territorial, it will be a male guarding a stash of reddish purple eggs attached to the side or bottom of something! One of the many new things I learned from Caren Eckrich while on a fish behavior adventure! Happy fishing, if only in the pages of your field guides! - Dara Walter
Hi Caren, I just wanted to thank you again for the special afternoon (April 9th) my niece Alison and I spent with you. Your knowledge and enthusiasm added so much to our vacation. Every dive we went on after we went out with you was even more exciting because of all the things we learned from you. We saw so much more! You are doing a wonderful thing for divers and snorkelers. My very special thanks to you, Joanne Peckarsky
I just wanted to let you know that I still think about those dives. I bought all of the reference books that you showed me. They are wonderful! Every time Dad and I dive we use some of the signs for fish that you taught us. We are also aware of the behaviors of some species that I would never have noticed if it weren't for you (shadowing, egg guarding, etc....). You showed us that the little guys are just as exciting and interesting as the big guys!! …Once again, thank you for your enthusiasm and knowledge. You made our visit to Bonaire memorable. - Karen York
Wish to express my appreciation to you for a great guided snorkel tour. It was the highlight of a most enjoyable visit to Bonaire. I posted a message praising you and your business on the Bonaire promotion web page. Wishing you and yours all the happiness in the future and continued success in your gem of a business venture.....happy diving Caren! - Jim Powers
We(two families) signed up with Caren to get a basic education on Bonaire's Marine Environment. We spent a half day with her and could of spent many days learning more! She is a Marine Biologist and has built a classroom on her property and has lots of hands on stuff that interests kids and parents. In fact the parents (3 doc's and a nurse) had to back off some because we were asking for and soaking up more detail than the kids wished to learn! She took us all on a snorkel and pointed out many things and took our friends on their first night snorkel which they loved. She has different programs for kids and she'll even pick them up and drop them off.- Linda Densmore
Then on Wednesday Beth & I went [to the Town Pier] with Caren of Sea & Discover after the larger groups had gone. It was nice both times with the small groups but especially nice on Wednesday by going later (8:30 pm), plus with Caren we went beyond the pier and saw some really neat things including tunicates - Gail Currie
I will not be able to say enough good things about the children's program that we put the twins in. It is called Sea & Discover and is taught by Caren. She is fun, energetic and full of knowledge that she passes on to the kids. You can tell she has a passion for what she does. She will pick the kids up from the hotel at 8:30 AM and brings them back at 12:15 PM. Each day they had classroom time and then went to a different snorkel spot. The cost is $25 a day or $100 for the week. This week there were a total of 6 kids in the program and my girls LOVED every minute of it. We came home with the addresses of all their new friends they met. They couldn't wait for Caren to pick them up each morning. I am amazed at what they learned. When I would snorkel in the afternoon with them, they could identify more fish then me! Caren teaches them about fish, reefs, conservation and just a love for the ocean and all that is in it! This is a GREAT program! - Lise Dews
Hi Miss Caren! We sure miss Bonaire and your class and still tell everyone about all the neat fish we saw. We might get to come back next year and our mom says we can take your class again. Love, Mary and Elizabeth Dews
Greetings, We were just in Bonaire and met a wonderful Marine Biologist - Caren Eckrich of Sea & Discover. She runs a children's program in the morning and adult program in the afternoon. Our 8 year old daughter loved the program and participated 5 mornings. Caren also guided a twilight dive for the Dive Festival and I talked with divers who went with her and loved it. She is extremely knowledgeable. Have fun. We can't wait to return. - Diane Knake
We signed up our two youngest (girls 7 and 9) for the Sea Lab Adventure program that I read about on the Bon Bini Divers web site. The girls had a great time! The program is conducted by a marine biologist, Caren, and includes lab time and snorkeling time. The kids learn all about the underwater ecosystem and creature identification. I had originally signed them up for 3 mornings, but they had so much fun that they went a forth day! Next trip, my wife wants to attend! I highly recommend this to anyone traveling with youngsters.-Steve Bender