Countries such as Egypt, The Maldives or Thailand that have vast ocean access, are well-known for their wonderful coral reefs and abundance of different tropical fish. Other countries like Mexico are sought by cave divers. Marine archaeologists and treasure hunters often travel to the Bahamas, but there is an island that has all these underwater attractions together and its coastal waters and can offer them to the vast international diving community... You guessed it...It´s the Dominican Republic!No wonder then that these treasure hunters from all over the world have been coming here for almost four decades. The Northern coast of the island is known according to the experts in this matter as one of the biggest cemeteries of historical shipwrecks in the whole world. New surveys and studies have shown recently that there are at least 450 historically documented shipwrecks and most probably hundreds of, so far, unmarked wrecks not yet discovered that rest on the sea bottom around this island.
The island of Hispaniola, as this beautiful tropical paradise is also called, was also highest point of interest for pirates for more than 250 years. Even the most famous of them, such as Henry Morgan and Francis Drake, Blackbeard, Olonés, Jack Bannister or Roberto Cofresi waited for their victims in the coastal waters of this island. Many pirate ships were lost in shallow waters of today's Dominican Republic thus making this country a "must do" for divers and treasure hunters alike.
Famous world treasure hunters such as Burt Weber, Captain Tracy Bowden or Richard Berry and their professional teams consistently renew their legal contracts with the government of this country for extended periods...and they know very well why they are doing that!
The Museum of Atarazanas will be ceremonially re-opened in Santo Domingo in December 2009. Only artefacts from the shipwrecks found in the Dominican waters will be on display here. A handful of them: "Nuestra Señora de la Concepción", the galleon that sank here in 1641 with more than 5 million of Dollars only in silver coins on board, or galleons "Conde de Tolosa", "Guadalupe" and "Scipion" that shipwrecked close to the beautiful Bay of Samaná on the northern coast of the island in the second half of the 18th century - but dozens and may be hundreds more shipwrecks are still waiting to be discovered.
Cave diving has become more attractive in the Dominican Republic recently and according to the experts beautiful flooded caves will attract very soon more divers than famous cenotes and caves in Mexico. You can find flooded caves practically all over the island but they hardly mapped or examined yet. There are two or three diving bases on the island specialized in cave diving and new areas are found practically every month. Just on the South coast alone there are ten wonderful caves just waiting for divers from all over the world. Rock carving and petro glyphs at least 500 years old made by original inhabitants of the island, Taino Indians, can be found in some of them as well.
For all lovers of scuba diving, whether recreational or professional, diving in Dominican Republic will be real treat for all on this paradise on earth.
