Page 414 - The Dutch Caribbean Isles
P. 414

T he prolific amount of fabulous wreck           If you are unfamiliar with wreck diving,       Sponges, Rope Sponges, Barrel Sponges,
     sites off the shores of Aruba make the      Aruba Diving offer some exciting, yet safe,    Anemones, Leaf Corals, Sheet Corals, Star
island one of the best wreck scuba div-          wreck sites where you can get your feet        Corals, Elkhorn Corals, Brain Corals, Moun-
ing destinations in the Caribbean Sea. The       wet. Multitudes of aquatic life have adopted   tain Corals, Flower Corals, Pillar Corals, Sea
waters of Aruba are home to several historic     these wrecks as their home, transforming       Fans, Fire Corals and different Gorgonians.
wrecks including the Pedernalis, an oil          them into a teeming undersea habitat.          You’ll also witness an astounding variety of
tanker sunk by a German torpedo. The Aru-                                                       fish species, including Barracudas, Jewfish,
ban waters are also full of wrecks that were     T he wreck sites are not the only dive         Manta Rays, Moray Eels, Jacks, Group-
intentionally sunk to provide artificial reef         sites where Scuba Divers can discover     ers, Man Bangos, Sergeant Majors, Yellow
habitats that would attract scuba divers.        a vast array of aquatic life; the sandy shelf  Frogfish, Blue Wrasses, Rainbow Runners,
Quite a few massive and interesting wrecks       on the leeward side of Aruba is home to        Parrotfish, Surgeonfish, Yellowtail Grunts,
rest off the Aruban shoreline, including sev-    many coral gardens, including finger reefs     Butterfly Fish, and varieties of Angelfish,
eral plane wreck sites. There is a nice variety  and patch reefs, as well as reefs that are     among others. Some exotic species you may
of these wrecks, providing dive spots for        home to wrecks. You’ll witness a variety of    spot include Octopi, Marine Turtles, Sea
both beginner and advanced divers. Novice        multicolored sponges and hard coral and        Horses, and Lobsters.
divers can discover relatively shallow wrecks    soft coral, and other invertebrates at these
with clear entries and plentiful marine life.    locations, including Vase Sponges, Tube
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