Dive Site - Porto Marie
| Dive Site - Porto Marie | |||
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| Porto Marie | - | ||
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| Curacao |  |
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| 4 dives at this location: | |||
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |||
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| This is a wonderful site for all levels of divers and snorkelers alike, offering a quiet scenic beach to relax before and after your dive. Located about 2 miles past St. Willibrordus, just follow the signs and the dirt road to the parking lot, where you pay a small fee to park and use the beach. Facilities include beach chairs, parasols, and a snack bar. You can gear up in the parking lot, a very short walk from the water. Enter at the beach and swim straight out towards the mooring buoy, a hundred yards from shore. Currents and swells here are light and the visibility averages 80 feet. In the shallows you’ll see what look to be giant hollow golf balls, called reef balls. These were placed to help speed the reef’s recovery after the devastating effects of Hurricane Lenny in 1999. The reef balls seem to be working well; they’re placed along a snorkel trail, making for an interesting snorkel experience. Porto Mari offers a unique double reef dive, with a hundred foot wide, fifty foot deep sandy valley separating the inner and outer reefs. Novice divers should consider staying inside this valley, diving the outside of the first reef and the inside of the second reef. Spotted Snake Eels can often be found buried in the sand, with Triggerfish, Squirrelfish, Goatfish, and Gobies populating the reef. The outside of the second reef runs from 30 feet to below 130 feet; it’s in very good shape with Gorgonians and Stony Corals competing for space. It’s intersected by two wide sandy channels that run 120 feet deep; keep an eye on your depth gauge while crossing. Barracuda, Groupers, Sting Rays, and Eagle Rays are often seen in this area. |
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