Guadeloupe
Protected waters around the Pigeon Islets off Bouillante on Basse-Terre's Caribbean coast, Guadeloupe's best-known dive area with coral gardens, sponges, turtles, hot springs and two wrecks, reached from Malendure Beach.
The Cousteau Reserve is the protected marine area around the two Pigeon Islets, Grand Îlet and Petit Îlet, off Malendure in the commune of Bouillante on the west coast of Basse-Terre. Jacques Cousteau tested his diving saucer here in 1959 and made the area internationally known. Since 2009 the waters have formed a core zone of Guadeloupe National Park, which UNESCO recognises as a biosphere reserve. Several dive centres operate from Malendure Beach, and the sites lie 10 to 15 minutes away by boat. Most dives are between 3 and 20 m, among gorgonians, sponges and brain corals, with regular sightings of sea turtles, moray eels, lobsters and seahorses. Hot springs bubble from the seabed near the islets, and the sand cargo wrecks Franjack and Gustavia are dived by more experienced divers. A bronze bust of Cousteau stands at 12 m at the Coral Garden site. Source: Wikipedia (fr), Guadeloupe Islands Tourism Board, reserve-cousteau.fr