Caleta Buena

A sheltered natural inlet within a marine protected area where decades of no-take status have produced staggering fish biomass — walls of schooling blue tang surge around the rocky shoreline, while massive goliath grouper stand sentinel over coral outcrops draped in orange sponge. The site's shallow terraces and rock gardens are home to spotted eagle rays gliding over sand chutes, and a resident sea turtle population that allows leisurely close approaches. Snorkellers and divers share the water column here in a rare display of the ocean as it existed before heavy fishing pressure.