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Cuba: a dive with the saltwater crocodiles of Jardines de la Reina

By : Patrick Masse | Duration : 3min 59sec | Channel : Diving Trips
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This beautiful video of the Spanish director Rafa Herrero was shot in the coralline archipelago of “Jardines de la Reina” (the Queen’s Gardens), a protected national park since 1996, located hundreds of miles off Cuba’s southern shore.

Fishing is completely prohibited there, and dive sites are among the most untouched of the country, maybe even of the Caribbean Sea. Its small uninhabited islands are the home of wild birds, iguanas and Cuban hutias, a species of rodent endemic to Cuba that you can see at the beginning of the video.

Above all, it is one of the rare places in the world where you can dive with saltwater crocodiles, in the mangrove of the north of the archipelago.

This experience is only accessible with a liveaboard. With a choice of more than 80 dive sites, you can also explore breathtakingly deep wall covered in an abundant colourful coral and sponges where large schools of tarpon and barracuda are swimming above. Jardines de la Reina is also the only area in Cuba where you can be sure to dive with sharks such as nurse sharks or whale sharks.

HOW TO DIVE THERE?
You can find detailed information on the website of Avalon Cuban Diving Centers

© Rafa Herrero Massieu www.aquawork.com / Music "Intro Oceanica Ea Dankina" - Album "Sirenas" by Karadeniz - Laomedia Sao & Alitzur - IF Records 2012