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Scuba Diving in Cuba, Caribbean
Reader Reviews:
Dive Site: El Farito
Location: Cienfuegos, Cuba
Description: Reef / wall
Depth: 41 metres + (135 feet)
Visibility: Can be about 5 metres (16 feet), reaches 20 metres (65 feet) beyond shallows
Rating: ***
El Farito is quite a large reef close to a harbour entrance. As is often the case in Cuba, the reef is split into several sites of the same name: El Farito 1 and El Farito 2, so you may dive this reef under these site names. There are some lovely gullies to follow through the reef and as you get deeper and approach the drop-off the viz seems to improve greatly. The reef wall here drops away steeply allowing for a deep dive. We dived here in the rainy season and in the shallows, between 6m and 12m the viz was very poor at around 5 metres, with lots of sand particulate hanging in the water. Nevertheless the coral is good with lettuce coral and brain corals covered in small fish life.
I recently read about a shrimp boat running aground on the El Farito reef on March 14th 2005. The craft which was flying an American flag and had apparently sailed from Florida was en-route to Islas Mujeres when she made an error navigating into the harbour and became stranded in the shallows for over 6 hours - so there was almost a wreck write-up to add here!!
Rik Vercoe, BSAC Advanced Instructor
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