Panama, Misool, Caye Caulker, Rapa Nui: Undercurrent 05/2025

Panama, Misool, Caye Caulker, Rapa Nui

bleached reefs, virgin diving - readers report

from the May, 2025 issue of Undercurrent

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Periodically, I pick out reader reports that have information we all should know about, not only to help you pick your next dive vacation but also to hear about safety issues or unusual experiences to enhance your diving life. You wouldn't think that two people would get bent on the same dive trip, or that divemasters are not paid a salary so that they are in your face about tips, but here are the stories.

Few people drive the six hours out of Panama City to dive Coiba Island, a former penal colony now a UNESCO World Heritage site, but those who do always sing its praises. Christiana Perry (Annapolis, MD), who's made 1000 dives, did so in January, bedding at Ark Divers all-inclusive dive resort, an eco-lodge on the mainland close to Coiba and the surrounding islands in the Pacific Ocean.

"It's situated on a hillside above the town of Pixvae, which has no electricity or cell towers. The inspiring hosts, Mike and Audrey Ritter, created the place from the ground up; it is run on solar power and fresh spring and rain water. Toucans called every morning and afternoon, and perched in the trees above our cabin; howler monkeys fed outside the kitchen window. The resort is simple, elegant, and unforgettable. With only eight guests, the experience is intimate. Our food was beautiful, healthy, and delicious. The diving was bountiful. We dove three times a day. We saw schools of hundreds of fish, including barracuda, many kinds of jacks, and many white-tipped reef sharks and moray eels. During our surface intervals, we were treated to healthy snacks and/or lunch on one of the many deserted beaches nearby. It is unlike any place we have been." This is Pacific diving, and temperatures are cooler, 72-78°F. www.thearkdivers.com

It's rare to be on a dive trip when a diver has DCS symptoms, but two divers? Catherine Mary (Barroe, ON) saw two incidents, however minor, in February aboard the Caribbean Explorer II as they dived off St. Kitts and Saba....

"Each diver with DCS was on high blood pressure medication."

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