TRAVELSPECIAL
The stately Jardines Aggressor II
Cuba
Gardens of the Queen
All aboard
The Gardens of the Queen is a marine reserve 60 miles off the south-eastern coast of Cuba . It presents a near perfect time capsule of the Caribbean as it was 50 years ago . Replete with sharks , beautiful reefs of sponges and plume corals , turtles and giant grouper , it has an intact marine food chain , a rare thing in the Caribbean these days .
The liveaboard
Jardines Aggressor II is your home for seven nights , while diving is carried out from two strong sided tenders with sturdy aluminium ladders . During the week , Cuban conservation experts host nightly presentations on the the Jardines ecosystem . You get up to 22 dives over five and half days , with typical depth ranges of 8-30m .
Do not miss
Of the principal sites , four really stand out . First there is Pipin , a wall dive with a resident pack of silky sharks . The reef itself is defined by extensive colonies of black coral and hanging sponges , with Caribbean reef sharks in the deeper sections . Then there ’ s Black Coral I and II ; the former has a resident school of 20 Caribbean reef sharks and some thumping black groupers ; you may see schools of jacks rubbing their bodies against
American saltwater crocodile
the sharks to try and rub off parasites . Black Coral II has some impressive coral mountains and more reef sharks , also a friendly nurse shark that comes really close to divers .
Meanwhile at El Farallon , you can dive through limestone tunnels , emerging into a reef of hanging sponges patrolled by silky sharks . Finally , there is Vicente , a series of large pinnacles coved with sponges and gorgonians . It ’ s home to large groupers and is also visited by spotted eagle rays .
Silky sharks at the surface
Hot tub after the night dive
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