BULLEVARD
Divers’ delight
Think Cuba has been frozen in time since the ‘60s? Wait until you see its reefs – they’re as pristine as they always were
he diving world’s secret has been a solid six-hour bus ride from Havana for two decades. And with Cuba and the US normalising relations, the island’s capital is bracing for fresh swells of gringos there to ogle Chevy Bel Airs and overpay for drinks. But the secret spot? It’s in no danger. With unspoiled coral reefs and incredible biodiversity, the Jardines de la Reina has been a known entity in the global diving community since 1996. That’s when the Cuban government banned all fishing in these waters – bar the unfortunately-too-tasty-to-
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three live-aboard boats or their funky floating hotel. You can get in two to three dives a day in water where visibility runs up to 20m. With the Great Barrier Reef in peril due to overheating waters and invasive human activity, sights like this may one day be a thing of the past. Fortunately, no matter how many Americans join Cuba’s growing tourist throngs, the Jardines’ exclusive guest list means the spectacle off the island nation’s southern coast remains, at least for now, very much a thing of the future. www.cubandivingcenters.com ANDREAS TZORTZIS
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resist Caribbean spiny lobster – restricting the quota of divers to just 500 a year and transforming the Jardines into a marine park. A mere 80km offshore, the mangrove-islanddotted expanse sprawls over 1,700 square kilometres and offers the most diverse and protected diving in the world. Morays, stingrays, groupers, barracudas, zebrafish and more swarm among giant coral mountains in some of the healthiest reefs in the world. The Galapagos of the Caribbean is a time machine, and scientists believe it’s relatively unchanged since Christopher Columbus first moved through these waters (and gave the archipelago its name). But the most prized sights have an even more prehistoric pedigree – saltwater crocodiles and 2m reef sharks prowl mere inches from your face. For more than 20 years, Italian dive company Avalon Outdoor has owned the exclusive rights to dive, and the distance from land requires you to book on one of their
DDP IMAGES, INSIGHT MEDIA
CUBA’S MOST EXCLUSIVE PARTY
Rare species of crocodile hide out in the mangrove islands
Reef, nurse and silky sharks are abundant in the archipelago
THE RED BULLETIN