Above: Champagne Reef (CJ Photo)

“It’s like being in a giant glass of champagne”

 

By Alexander Britell

DOMINICA — Dive and snorkeling sites across the Caribbean offer unique attractions, from marine flora to encounters with dolphins.

But how many offer the opportunity to swim in champagne?

At Dominica’s Champagne Reef, one can do just that, thanks to a naturally occurring underwater phenomenon.

It’s all due to subterranean geothermal activity off the coast of the southwestern portion of the Nature Island (not too far away from the site of the country’s exploration of geothermal energy wells).

“It’s a geothermal spring — what you have are hot bubbles coming up through vents in the sea floor,” said Clem Johnson, owner of the Champagne Reef dive centre. “Hence the name champagne – it’s like being in a giant glass of champagne.”

Johnson has owned the centre for about six and a half years.

“It’s basically a volcanic crater that you’re swimming in, and this is one of the only places in the Caribbean where you can actually swim in a volcano,” he said.

Above: the approach to Champagne Reef’s beach

Beyond the bubbles, however, “there’s a very healthy reef,” he said.

And it’s true — an afternoon snorkel revealed a host of colourful varieties, including rainbow parrotfish and yellow tube sponges.

For many, the draw is the ease of access — there’s no boat needed to reach the site — it’s right off of a volcanic sand beach — and visibility, which, he said, is 150 feet on an average day.

That has led to the reef to be ranked first on Caribbean Travel & Life Magazine’s top 25 sites in the Caribbean for snorkeling.

“It’s that good,” Johnson said. “This is our backyard — and it’s a nice backyard.”