Isla Plata
Plata Island sits on the headland off the coast right by Flamingo and is so the closest dive site to our base. It also has 4 different sites that can potentially be used.
Two sites, towards shore and on the inner side of the island are very shallow and are perfect for beginner divers. The channel is very shallow with a sandy bottom and great for just getting used to being in the water and looking for sea stars, pufferfish and smaller tropical fish species. Dorsal follows a rock face just off the eastern side and again is shallow and good for finding our smaller species. Both of these sites are pretty short so good for just pottering.
The seaward side of Plata has a bajo that runs out to about 65ft. There are some channels in the shallower area good for spotting turtles and small sharks, white tips have also been seen on the sandy bottom. Local fisherman legend has it that a Tiger shark visits this area.
The last side of Plata and the most frequently visited has rock formations that come down like spread fingers. This provides sandy bottomed channels with narrow sides to explore, also some remnants of an old boat that sand are said to be found here. White tips and round rays are common here and also seahorses can be found but the real beauty of Isla Plata is that it has the highest diversity of Nudibranch species, more than any other site visited! And it is like a coral nursery and has many small corals growing.
Time of year and weather conditions can find the water temperatures to range between 65-80 degrees F (18-27C).
Marine life that are commonly seen at these sites include white tip reef sharks, round rays, moray eels, octopus, colourful tropical fish, lobsters, seahorses and a large variety of nudibranchs.
