Jardines de la Reina

The Best Diving Day Ever

As my obsession with scuba diving and underwater photography grew, there was a destination I would continually come across that sent my wanderlust into overdrive. The more social media underwater photography groups I joined and the more competitions I entered, I was increasingly blown away by unbelievable crocodile photos in pristine mangrove habitats. 

Where is this stunning place? How can I get there? My research led me to ‘Jardines de la Reina,’ which translates to English means ‘Gardens of the Queen.’ I knew I had to visit this place full of sharks, crocs, and colour. Luckily, in September 2018, I finally got the opportunity to see for myself. 

The Dive Site at Jardines de la Reina

Jardines de la Reina was declared a protected national park in 1996. With an area of 840 square miles, it is one of the largest protected areas in the Caribbean. Never in my life have I seen such healthy reefs on this scale. 

Speaking to more experienced divers, some say it’s like stepping back in time when diving here since it’s how all the reefs used to be while diving many years ago. While the whole trip delivered one of the best of my life, day four is burned into my memory. 

The Day That Nearly Wasn’t

Day four of this trip I dub the ‘Best Day Ever’ for underwater adventures. It was a day full of awesome marine interactions and photographic success. What made the day even more special was that I had a dodgy stomach earlier that day and almost decided not to go out at all. 

We even had to turn back quickly on the journey out, as I had to rush back. But, I am forever thankful for the group hanging on ten minutes for me. The thought of a surface interval with ‘El Niño’ the croc in pristine mangroves was all the drive I needed to make a push for it. 

Diving at Jardines de la Reina

The morning started with your typical deeper dive in Jardines de la Reina to around 30 metres. With plenty of huge Caribbean reef sharks and grouper. Seriously, a lot of the Caribbean reef sharks here are girthy and resemble the shape of a bull shark. 

I’ve been lucky enough to dive in the Bahamas before, and I was certainly surprised by the size of some of the reef sharks in Cuba in comparison. They followed us around the reefs like puppy dogs, hoping for an invasive lionfish to feed on.

Lionfish at Jardines de la Reina

The guides would regularly spear lionfish on the dives due to conservation efforts to limit the species in Caribbean waters. This spearing would tweak the interest of sharks and groupers, allowing for close-up encounters on almost all the dives. 

These interactions, coupled with the genuinely stunning soft coral formations that litter the reefs here, mean it’s one of the best places I’ve visited for a dive trip. A great indication of when marine protection allows an area to flourish. Not to mention the American crocodile encounters.

Now it was time for the surface interval I didn’t want to miss. After all, it was photos of Niño that gave me the desire to visit this paradise all those years ago. What a reward I got as after another incredible deep dive with circling reef sharks, we moored up in the pristine mangroves and called out for Niño to join us while we off-gassed. 

The dive guides would bellow out NIÑOOOO over and over again to call their long-time friend to the boat. My anticipation for his arrival had my body shaking with excitement, and it wasn’t long before that turned to overwhelming excitement. 

Not one but TWO Crocs were gliding across the surface towards our boat. I couldn’t get my fins, mask, and snorkel on quick enough. I was like a kid again and struggled to function with my adrenalin pumping. But, as soon as I hit the water, I was transported to a world where I felt calm. 

How lucky am I to be in the presence of two prehistoric animals willing to give us a glimpse of their world. Niño, translated to English, means boy or child. But Niño isn’t a little boy anymore and is easily around three metres in length. He quickly exerted dominance over the new smaller croc in town and pitched up beside our boat. 

The current was ripping through the channel, and it wasn't easy to stay in control around him. However, I was able to get many shots off, but with lots of excited divers in the water, it became a little crowded around the boat. When I looked over and noticed the smaller croc - the new El Niño - waited patiently between the mangroves in knee-deep water. 

I decided to leave the crowd and create a bond with the new Niño. I spent considerable time kneeling next to this stunning croc that seemed at ease with my presence. It was a humbling experience, and I don’t think I will ever have a more enjoyable surface interval.

We ended with a sunset dive with silky sharks to top off an already incredible day. We spent the dive no deeper than five or six metres. But the depth didn’t matter since I came to the surface pretty early in the dive to enjoy the frantic action of the silky’s becoming excited and bold as the night drew in.

The sky looked like it was on fire as the sun set, following with the vivid theme of Cuba. It was perfect conditions to attempt sunset split-shots with the charismatic silky sharks at the surface. 

Unfortunately, the dome on my housing was quite heavily scratched, which made shooting a little more complicated. But I still came away with some of my favourite photos I’ve ever taken. It was an adrenalin-fuelled dive once again as the sharks would bump and dart at you in the excitement. Not for the faint-hearted but a dive I would love to enjoy again and again.

Day four in Jardines de la Reina will live long in my memory as one of my best days in the water. The mixture of dives and surface intervals, including close interactions with some of the oceans' apex predators, made for a spectacular day. 

I had excitement pulsating through my body from the minute I realised my stomach would be okay. I couldn’t stop smiling the whole day. Plus, I got some incredible images.

Some of the crocodile photos ended up in the UK national papers. The image below of a silky shark under the sunset won me a trip on a liveaboard to Cocos Island - a bucket list destination. These are the moments I live for and why I continue my journey into the water. 

For more of Sean's work, please check out his website: www.greatwhitesean.com

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