Caribbean coral suffers a record death

by Karen Walrond on

From Salon.com:  Scientists are reporting an
unprecedented death of the coral reefs in the Caribbean, with over one-third of the coral in monitoring sites recently
dying.  The reefs, which are the foundation of a multi-billion dollar tourism and commercial fishing industry in
the Caribbean (as key fish species use the reefs as feeding and nesting grounds), are not predicted to recover anytime
soon, since they only grow "the width of a dime" every year.

"It’s an unprecedented
die-off," said National Park Service fisheries biologist Jeff Miller.  "These are corals that are the
foundation of the reef … We’re talking colonies that were here when Columbus came by have died in the past three to
four months."

This is horrible news — especially for all those vacationers who travel to the Caribbean
to dive.  I live in the Caribbean, and while I haven’t been diving since we moved here a year ago, I’d heard
rumours that the reefs were actually making a comeback.  My husband and I have planned a dive trip over the Easter
weekend — I’ll sure to check in and let you know what I find.

Giant marine reserve created in the South Pacific

by Karen Walrond on

From National Geographic
News:  The Republic of Kiribati, a tiny country in the South Pacific, has just designated 73,800 square miles
of Pacific atolls, coral reefs and deep ocean as one of the world’s largest marine reserves.  This region, called
the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, will protect "some of the planet’s most pristine coral reef ecosystems,"
and is the third largest such marine park in the world:  Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and the Northeaster
Hawaiian islands are the larger two.

This initiative was announced by  Kiribati President Anote Tong at
the Eighth UN Conference on the Convention on Biological Diversity in Curitiba, Brazil.  "If the coral and
reefs are protected, then the fish will grow and bring us benefit," the president said.  "In this way
all species of fish can be protected so none become depleted or extinct."

Because of the new
designation, the region will be closed to commercial fishing.  However, what I’m looking forward to hearing is
whether the region will be open to recreational diving.

Head to Honduras and the Bay Islands

by Erik Olsen on

Years ago I was passing through
Central America on a long, long trip back from Chile and making my way to Los Angeles. Along the way, I saw many of our
planet’s Central American countries, but very few of them did I get to see up close and personal. As a diver, the one
place I really wanted to see and experience is Honduras’ Bay islands,
where the diving is said to be spectacular, if the accommodations can be rather spare.

Well, right now there
are some cool deals to be had to make your way to Honduras…$675 for a week of accommodations, if this article is to be believed.

While the country
is not a hot bed of typical tourism, which is a good if not great thing, it can be challenging, but a great place to
go. And for US-based folks, it’s cool to know that Honduras is a mere three hours flight from Miami. The cultural
experience of Honduras is also rich and varied, with numerous  indigenous and mixed origin language groups, as
well as great music and food. And as I mentioned, there are the Bay Islands, which lie just thirty-five miles off the
coast. The reefs there are said the be the Western hemisphere’s excuse for the Great Barrier Reef. The resorts
there – Roatan, Utila, and Guanaja – are big time hot. So check out this piece and give the matter some thought. Oh,
and as the article points out here, Honduras is one of the cheapest places round to get certified.

Africa Travel: Senegal

by Adrienne Wilson on

Sports seem to be a pretty big deal in Senegal, a west African country bordering the North Atlantic Ocean.
Whether you’re soaking in the sights from an intense match of the country’s traditional wrestling called
"Laamb" in Wolof, on the hunt for warthog during hunting season or sport fishing off the coast, the active
traveler will not be without options. From May to December sport fishing
enthusiasts have the opportunity to choose from deep sea fishing, long line fishing, fly casting and night fishing
to name only a few. Trips for activities can be organized at local fishing centers or hotels an additional info can be
found by clicking here. If you prefer the land over water relive the big Lisboa-Dakar
race blow-by-blow at the official site found here. 

Gadling on AOL Travel

by Erik Olsen on

Some of you may have noticed, perhaps because you came
here from there, but we here at Gadling.com have done a couple of helpful travel pieces this week for the good folks at
AOL.com. We worked our brains over how best to satisfy the AOL audience as Spring
approacheth and people are making plans. And we settled on seven ideas for seven days.

We hoped to cover wide enough variety of trips to satisfy just about everybody, and so did
write ups on the best secret places to go in Mexico and Hawaii, as well as both East and West Coast Trips (Even through I’m from the West Coast, Neil
lives there now in So Cal, so he handled the West. And since I live in New
York, I took on the East Coast). Then there was a piece on Family Spring Breaks, and one on Spring Ski Slopes. And finally, last but by no means least, a
piece by Adrienne on Caribbean Trips. Anyway, if you came
to Gadling.com from these pieces, then welcome! Bookmark us and come back often. If you are a Gadling.com regular or
occasional visitor, go check out these pieces, maybe they’ll give you some inspiration to do some traveling.

Spring Break 2006