BLOODY BAY- Not Just Another Divers Paradise

Baby Yellow Stingray

Bloody Bay is just north of the town of Negril on Jamaica’s west coast.  Bloody Bay is called so because it was where whalers of the early 19^th century towed their catch to clean and rend the blubber to be used for oil.  Today it is another “7 Mile Beach” of the Caribbean lined with posh resorts and vendors to suit all budgets.

Do you see the leggy shrimp?

Today Bloody Bay is also a DIVERS PARADISE, but we could find no dive buoys! So, we resorted to signing up for some trips with one of the beachside dive shops. On the way to the first site, I asked the Captain if he used GPS to locate the sites.  He slowly turned his smiling face toward me and said, “I doin’ dis fa tirty yehs.  I know where day be.”  

Peek-a-Boo Lobster

A short time later, he stopped the boat and we descended to follow our guide, Kirk, to “The Gallery”.  This spot was aptly named, as it had so many interesting things and places to explore.  There were lengthy ledges to swim under with huge stands of black coral growing above. There was an abundance of familiar reef fish and critters, as well as a healthy dose of sponges in hues a tad different than we’d ever seen.

My favorite type of sponge with another shrimp.

Our second dive was to see “Arches” during which we swam through naturally occurring arches in the reef.  We spied tiny shrimp, a crab, lion fish, and a huge puffer fish in the multicolored corals below. Our guide, Wayne, was intent on entertaining our group of four along the way by blowing bubble rings, letting us touch a sea cucumber and a leggy shrimp.

We had time for one last dive while in Bloody Bay and we opted to go to “The Caves”. Here our guide, Lloyd, lead us into and out of small caves beneath the reef and where we saw some larger types of fish. The reef was also home to some lobster, a spotted eel, more lion fish. The sandy bottom along the caves was full of conch.

Fuzzy little guy, isn't he?

Needless to say, we were glad to have taken in at least a few dives while in Jamaica.  Maybe the next time we'll venture to the other 80 or so that are left to explore!