|
On a remote place at the Western side of Cuba, in Pinar del Rio province, you can find one of the most virgin natural zones in the Cuban archipelago.
This region has been declared Reserve of the Biosphere due to the treasures of its flora and fauna and for its sea and terrestrial landscapes. Within the limits of the Reserve, known as Peninsula de Guanabacabibes, we can find a wide stripe of white sands surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, with rich and extensive coastal forest areas forming a beautiful beach, Maria La Gorda, named after old pirate stories where the Diving Center of the same name is located.
The Villa is small and familiar, with 55 rooms, 20 of them are cabin, all with private bathroom, a living room, TV and minibar , bathroom with cold and hot water, air conditioned and with a safebox. There is a buffet restaurant, a bar-cafeteria and and a a la carte restaurant specialized in sea food. Medical services. No credit cards are accepted. Other activities are limited to sight seeing nearby zones and enjoy the virgin natural environment of the Reserve, and fishing. Maria La Gorda is 304 km (190 miles) from Havana, and can only be reached by road..
Maria La Gorda diving zone, in the Ensenada de Corrientes, is one of the most protected areas in Cuba with an amazing coral reef development, located at a very short distance from the coast. From 5 meters (16 feet) you can see big and insolated patches of coral with an abundant sessile fauna, specially gorgonians and sea fans, more than 20 species of coral and lots of small and medium size fish. Lobsters, morays and crabs can be frequently seen in the boles of the bottom. From 10 meters (33 feet) deep these patches are joined together and increasingly higher, thus forming a chain of tall coral hillocks cut by channels and passages, with walls falling sharply and deeply. This wall shows attractive structures such as holes, tunnels and vertical caves, where you can see beautiful black coral colonies, big tubular branch or cup shape sponges and 2 meters (6.5 feet) high gorgonians. Among the fish that move along the wall we can mention barracudas, jacks, dogsnappers, snappers and schoolmasters. You can also see eagle rays and stingrays.
Sometimes and with a little bit of luck some mantas and whale shark can be observed. This Diving Center has 50 sites of high level diving, some are still not named, all of them are less than 1 hour cruise, some at even 5 minutes away. Generally, the are all much more alike, many are suitable for wall diving, but each one has its particular charm. We suggest to you El Cabezon de Ludo, El Salon de Maria, El Almirante y Yemaya, and the second diving of the day Acuario, El Ancla de Francois and El Jardin de la Gorgonia.
Since the diving site is very near, you can do the first dive in the morning, at about 09:00 get back to the Villa, and then second dive in the afternoon, at about 15:00. As a protection measure, the Diving Center makes sure that divings cannot go deeper then 30 meters (98 feet) and not more than 40 minutes dive.
|
