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New guide covers an array of Caribbean diving sites – Metro US

New guide covers an array of Caribbean diving sites

If you’re planning a spring break or summer trip to go diving in the Caribbean, a new guide called Scuba Caribbean could help you explore new destinations.

The book, by Mary Peachin, has a section on Mexico’s Caribbean coastline, including Quintana Roo, Cozumel, Cancun, Rivera Maya and Cenotes of the Yucatan, as well as chapters on more than two dozen islands.

The latter include Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, the Cayman Islands, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Martinique, Montserrat, St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Martin, the Bahamas and Bermuda.

The book also includes a section on Central and South American destinations with Caribbean coastlines — Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela’s Los Roques Archipelago.

Scuba Caribbean notes that “the region’s diving is as diverse as the islands themselves. Below the sea, an underwater photographer’s wonderland of colourful reefs and marine diversity awaits.”

Terrain ranges from “steep, bottomless walls” to “cliff overhangs, caverns and swim-throughs.” Some areas offer visibility greater than 30 metres but Peachin writes that low-visibility areas, often rich in plankton, may offer have their own attractions, attracting whale sharks and manta rays.

Other underwater attractions: Shipwrecks, diving with trained dolphins and watching migrations of whales and other sea creatures.

Each chapter includes a general description of the destination’s history and some basic facts, along with a list of diving spots.

In Jamaica, for example, which the book says is “surrounded by shallow water, which does provide the depth and terrain for more interesting diving,” recommended dive sites include Airport Wall, The Pit and Windowmaker’s Cave near Montego Bay; The Arches, Deep Plane, gallery and Throne Room near Negril; and Prospect Reef, Sting Ray City and the Ocho Rios Drop-Off near Ocho Rios.

The book is published by the University Press of Florida.