Cuba - November 2002

written by Peadar O'Farrell

The latest territory to be explored by the Curragh is Cuba, 14 divers spent a good two weeks there during October last.
We went about half way down the Island near a small city called Trinidad. In the water the reef was about half a mile off shore it dropped down to 30 to 55 m from the sandy beach. Beaches are white sand with exotic palm threes. The diving was only just alright, certainly not up with the red sea in terms of coral and fishlike, we got the time of year a little wrong too, we went at the end of the monsoon season only to discover that the Monsoons go out with a bang.

So the diving only got 6 out of 10 but the music, culture and even the food and beer got 10 out of 10. The city of Trinidad has not changed since the 16th Century and we have some good days and nights there, we even had a trad session when the locals got tired playing. We had a degassing day in a virgin jungle area in Topes de Collantes, a walk through a rain forest seeing coffee beans growing under the tall threes, all that was missing was Attenborough.

Havana, one can only dream of place like this, old Colonial grander now falling to dust, it cannot be described just go there. We even found O Reilly's bar in O Reilly St . Most of us will go again, next time to the extreme west of the Island at Maria de Gorda where the diving is better. Cuba Travel were good and all the arrangement eventually worked. a very good reccy trip more expected on the next one

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