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St. Lucia boasts a cash crop of Arrow Crabs
I’m just back from a week-long dive trip to beautiful St. Lucia. This island is in the Eastern Caribbean, part of the Lesser Antilles, lying between Martinique to the North and St. Vincent to the South. It boasts beautiful topside vistas redolent of tropical day dreams and Corona commercials as well as healthy, prolific underwater scenes. I’ve also never visited an island before with such nice people. From the vendors to the hotel employees to the waiters, everyone was incredibly friendly and kind.
Topside temperatures vary between 70 degrees and 90 degrees, depending on the season. The rainy season, which I embraced whole-heartedly due to the lack of tourist crowds, is June to November. Though last year the rainy season was actual marked by a serious drought, Mother Nature has returned to her regular routine, with generous but brief dousings almost every day this summer. Unfortunately, this sometimes meant variable visibility and several places where the freshwater runoff turned the sea into a nauseating kaleidoscope. The water temperatures range from 77 degrees in winter to 83 degrees plus in summer. My computer registered 80 and more the entire trip. I used a wetsuit, but it was more of a fashion statement than a necessity.
Most of the diving is done from the west and south-west sides of the island that face the Caribbean. The underwater topography runs the usual gamut, with volcanic pinnacles, sheer walls, shipwrecks and coral reefs to explore. Dive site depths range from 12ft to around 140ft. Depending on who you ask, there are 40+ “official” locations to dive, though those in the Soufriere Marine Reserve (which starts close to Anse La Raye and extends south for about 12 miles to the town of Soufriere) are the most popular due to the healthy coral and abundant sea life.
Shark lovers beware – there really aren’t any here. If you dive one of the sparse sites on the Atlantic side of the island, you might get a brief sighting of a reef shark or two, but the exciting experience will most likely be dampened by a raging case of sea sickness due to the rough waters. Come to think of it, most local folks had not-so-nice-things to say about the East side of the island and it’s exposure to the feral waters of the Atlantic: bears the brunt of oncoming storms, sea spray tends to drift along the coast which makes a rusty mess of anything metal, few “tried and true” dive sites, etc. I wasn’t there long enough to prove the nay sayers wrong, but it sure looked beautiful if not at least a little dangerous as I drove along that coast’s cliffs.
As for sea life, St. Lucia has a cash crop of arrow crabs, coral banded shrimp and a rainbow of different eels at every dive site (including a lively snake eel on my second dive.) Lobsters abound, and rays and turtles are also frequently seen. I saw scorpion fish, sneaky frog fish and flying gurnards on the trip, as well as fantail pipefish, trumpet fish, cowfish, grouper, jack, snapper, puffers, spotted drum, and a heaven full of angel fish. Sadly, everyone kept promising me octopus and sea horse sightings, but none came to fruition. Underwater barracuda sightings were equally as sparse, but (disturbingly) showed up on a dinner menu one night. Less mobile, but not less impressive, were the barrel sponges, crazy-huge vase-like growths that hosted a ton of critters along the reef. In one we spotted a basket sponge hiding from the sun’s rays.
As I mentioned, the island itself is picturesque. Enormous, green-clad mountains (the most famous are called the Pitons) rise at varying heights across the landscape. Lots of shallow, calm bays stretch inland, making great harbors for sailing day trips or extended stays. A note of caution: the main airport is FAR from most towns that a diver might be interested in, so an hour-plus transfer is common and may include windy roads with maniacal local drivers. Also, food is expensive here. Most items need to be imported, and most establishments are only too eager to tack on hefty service charges in addition to the mandatory taxes. Were all my meals there great? No. Were many of them really good? Yes, especially the ones that involved locally caught fresh fish, prawns, bananas, etc. St. Lucia restaurants are at their best when embracing what the island’s land and surrounding sea have to offer.
The beaches were beautiful and the hotel selection ranged from the most basic accommodations to the most extravagant (every room gets their own pool!) I found diving in St. Lucia to be convenient, with lots of safe dive companies staffed with friendly local people willing to go out of their way to deliver a good diving experience. Though it costs a few more dollars to stay and eat there, the cost of diving was on par with many other Caribbean islands. It was an enjoyable week, one that I hope to repeat during the next “dry” season.
Though relatively unknown, Latin America has some great diving along both coasts. Pristine reefs and few fellow divers equal one of kind diving opportunities. A few interesting spots to check out:
Gladden Split, Belize-Off the southern coast of Belize, Gladden’s Split is a world-renowned spot for diving with massive whale sharks. This site is the natural spawning ground for a variety of marine species which in turn attract the big guys. Whale sharks come regularly to feed on the fish eggs and other plankton in the water especially during the full moons of April, May and June, though they can also be seen August to October and in December and January. Though some of the dive sites in the north of the country are more well-known, none (except maybe the Blue Hole) are as dramatic and as rewarding.
Spooky Channel, Roatan, Honduras – Spooky Channel is located directly off the end of the Sunnyside pier making shore entry and exit a snap. Those on boats can also access the site, with moorings on both the inside and outside of the reef . There is a maze of zigzags and tunnel like effects leading throughout the reef at depths of up to 95 feet that give the site its name. There is an incredible array of fish on this dive including: blue runner, harlequin bass, cowfish, trunkfish, black durgon, butterfly fish, grouper, angelfish, parrotfish, octopus, lobster, shrimp, spider crab, trunkfish, porcupine fish, turtles, and rays. Upon occasion divers can even see whalesharks when the season is right. Abundant, healthy corals such as flower coral, smooth starlet, ribbon coral, brain coral, sea rod, sea fans, tube sponges, and basket sponges will do their best to steal your attention away from the fish.
Catalina Island, Costa Rica -This island off the west coast of Costa Rica is almost unknown to humans, but well known to rays. Giant Manta Rays, Bat Rays, Mobley, Spotted, Bull’s-eye and Stingrays abound. It is not unusual to see large migratory schools rays passing by during a dive. Sometimes sharks make an appearance too, including tiger sharks and white tips. The best months for diving the Catalina Islands are December through May, high season for Mantas. If you get bored of all of the large pelagics, you can also find frog fish, harlequin clown shrimp and sea horses here.
The Devil’s Throat, Cozumel, Mexico – Located at the Punta Sur dive site in Cozumel, The Devil’s throat is an underwater cave formation that starts at the opening of a dark narrow tunnel at 90 feet and takes you first vertically, then horizontally out through an opening at 130 feet on the wall. Visibility often exceeds 200 feet and the area is frequently visited by eagle rays and turtles, thought the creepy and spectacular cave is the highlight of this dive. Bring a dive light and some really advanced scuba skills for this one – you’ll need it.
Isabela Island, Mexico – Isabela Island National Park is a marine preserve accessed only by boat off the Pacific Coast of San Blas, Mexico. It’s possible to swim with giant Manta rays and hear whale songs underwater on the same dive. On the boat trip out and back, divers frequently sight whales, dolphins, turtles, whalesharks and sailfish. The unique underwater topography includes a giant underwater arch and several small caves to explore. A rainbow of tropical fish, yellowtail, grouper, red snapper, jack caravel, eel, anemones and all manner of corals thrive in this pristine habitat.