Nicaraguan Diving?

[Vision.ary]

I am looking for any advice on how to obtain or view an ocean floor/"bathymetry" map of the Pacific coastline of Nicaragua. Also, does anyone have any possible leads to diving in this Pacific area. I know of one operation out of San Jaun Del Sur called Scuba Shack but that's all I have found. I am researching possible scuba diving options/sites for farther up north and have searched for many hours online, but have been unable to locate anything with quality detail. A few maps did show bathymetry but nothing in detail for that specific area of Central America. Unfortunately, the Pacific coastline of Nicaragua has few actual islands that would show up on terrestrial oriented maps, so I believe locating areas that are elevated in the water column (via maps) will provide the best possibilities. I am beginning to think that either this area has not been dove much or not well docemented. Any advice out there would be much appreciated. Thankyou.

 

[Garrobo]

"I am beginning to think that this area.........has not been dove much".... That's probably the answer since Nicaragua has been primarily a communist country for ages and the Pacific isn't very friendly in many areas.

 

[Vision.ary]

Yes, they have had their share of difficulties in the distant past. I have traveled to Nicaragua 3 times in the past 5 years and really enjoy the people and country. Did you know Nicaragua is now considered one of the safest countries in Central America (I believe I read that it was ranked #2 by several different agencies). Your message mentioned the pacific not being "very friendly in many areas"... were you referring to the mentality of the people of Nicaragua living on the Pacific side, or the not so optimal diving conditions the Pacific can produce in general? I have dove off the Pacific coastline in Northwest USA for years and wonder how it would compare to Nicaragua? In Nicaragua, the larger swells (best surf) is during the summer/wet season and I would tend to believe the diving conditions would be less desireable during this time-- more turbulent water's influence on water quality. Would you agree? I guess it would be very similar to the situation in Costa Rica. Have you ever dove in Costa Rica or know about their "optimal" diving season? Thankyou for the advice.

 

[protoplasm72]

I've been planning a trip there. Whenever I ask people who've been there they say the the corn islands on the carribean side have the best diving. I have yet to hear of any serious diving in the north on the pacific side.

 

[tracydr]

Had the same problem as you finding out about diving there. I was there two years ago. Finally decided to just dive CR (which was pretty good, comprable to Hawaii in my opinion, saw sharks and mantas) and enjoy being a tourist in Nic. I did find two dive shop operators if I remember, one on the Caribbean side (which you must fly to if on the west side) and one on the Pacific side.
I posted on here and got no responses at all from anybody who had dived Nic.
Enjoy the trip, I sure did!

 

[Vision.ary]

Thanks for the reply. I have dove Little Corn Island and it is real nice diving without the tourism feel for sure (no roads, no airport, self-governing). The reef there hasn't been damaged by any hurricanes in quite awhile. Have you heard of any diving other than the "Scuba Shack" in the southern part of Nicaragua's pacific side? Are you planning a trip to the Pacific side, Nicaragua in general, or the Corn Islands?

 

[Vision.ary]

Dr. Tracy,
I dove Little Corn Island off the Carribean side with an outfit there (whom also owned Casa Iguana Resort), and only know of the "Scuba Shack" out of San Juan del Sur on the Pacific side. Do you happen to recall the names of the 2 dive operations in Nicaragua that you had once discovered...especially the one on the Pacific side? Was your diving in CR from boat near an island, or the ocean bottom without island? I am curious because Nicaragua has few islands and I've been trying to find access to an ocean "bathymetry" (ocean floor) map so I can locate the areas that are elevated through the water column... these should provide the best diving opportunities. I would assume the ocean floor in NIC would be similar to that of CR, would you agree? Any further advice would be much appreciated.