I was hoping for the best, but expecting the worst, as I flew to the Caribbean—specifically, Cuba’s south coast—to see whether the coral reefs on one of my favourite diving spots had survived the past two years.

At the confluence of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, Cuba is an archipelago of 4,195 islands in the northern Caribbean Sea. It is located south of the Tropic of Cancer, between latitudes 19°N and 24°N and longitudes 74°W and 85°W. Key West lies 150km across the Strait of Florida to the northwest, the Bahamas 22km to the north, Haiti 77km to the east, and Jamaica 140km to the south. Mexico is 210km to the west across the Yucatán Channel.

I had found the perfect place for a diving getaway. It was only three hours away by plane from my hometown of Toronto—on the southern shore of the island of Cuba, near the city of Cienfuego. Flights and hotels were cheap, but best of all, the reef was one of the most pristine I had seen in over 15 years. 

Christopher Columbus named this island chain in honor of Queen Isabel of Spain. The Cousteau crew visited here in 1985. It is also rumored that both Castro and Che fished and might even have dove these islands.

As the wheels touched down at Havana’s International airport, the plane erupted with cheers and applause. Many of the passengers on board had waited years, if not decades, to return home and visit relatives in Cuba. As part of a small group of Americans visiting for the first time, I knew immediately that we were in for a special treat. Traveling on permits from the U.S. Department of Treasury, we were embarking on a People to People Educational Exchange program, focused on ocean conservation, research and ecotourism—the first of its kind to allow U.S.