Hi

I watched the movie ”Into the blue” this weekend (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_the_blue/). It was far from the best movie I have seen but at least there were beautiful people (read Jessica Alba) running around in a beautiful place (read Bahamas). I have to say that after watching the movie I feel tempted to visit the Bahamas because it looked stunning. It would be an amazing experience to just relax at the Bahamas for a month and just snorkel and maybe even pick up the art of scuba diving. So is the Bahamas as beautiful as it looks? When is the best time to go there? Is it mainly American tourists that go there? Is it an expensive destination?

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

I just returned from a stay at Man O'War Cay. Yes, it is as beautiful as it looks. Stay on one of the out islands and live it up. If you want to learn to dive there is no better place than Small Hope Bay in Andros. Great staff, very safety conscious. Great diving.

I will check it out. The thing I liked best about Small Hope Bay was the quality of instructors/divemasters. The thing I liked least was the bed.

Thanks for the tip. I went out and rented the video. I do reef surveys throughout the Bahamas. Much of those beautiful underwater scenes were in the 10,000 square mile Bahama Bank; only 20 feet of water depth with powder white sand bottom and patch reefs throughout. Believe it or not, I dream now and then about discovering a sunken spanish galleon there! The Caribbean Reef Sharks are non-aggressive, and it was enjoyable to show them in their true character instead of marauding blood-thirsty creatures. Beautiful undersea Bahamas. If you do go to New Providence (Nassau), where most of it was filmed, let me know. I know some great shallow snorkel and scuba spots. I think one of the scenes was at the Fish Hotel. Robert

gard: OOPs! Just finished the movie and saw the Caribbean Reef shark attack, which killed the woman. Still, many interactions to show they're not that aggressive. You can get a preliminary scuba diving certification here in the states, with pool dives and textbook learning and tests. Then, they will issue you a preliminary certificate which you can take to the Bahamas, and they will finish the end of the PADI certification with open-water dives with a certified dive master. What a place to qualify for scuba with the open-water dive requirement...beats some lake in the U.S.!! Robert