One of the reasons South Caicos has such pristine reefs is that the island is largely undeveloped for tourism of any kind, though the area is frequently visited by live-aboards such as Peter Hughes' Sea Dancer, the Turks and Caicos Aggressor, and MV Aquanaut. Ironically, one of the earliest and largest dive operations in the Islands, run out of the Admiral's Arms Hotel, was based on South Caicos. That operation is now defunct and the Admiral's Arms is the current site of the Center for Marine Resource Studies, a facility of the Boston-based School for Field Studies. Barring the possibility of obtaining a faculty (or student) position at the School, the only land-based option at present is Club Caribe Beach Resort. A seafront hotel adjacent to the SFS site, Club Caribe has been open on a somewhat sporadic basis. I suggest you call ahead for availability and to determine the current status of their dive operation.

Local wisdom has it that the justly vaunted walls of Providenciales ('Provo') are characterized by more prolific sponge growth while those of South Caicos tend to have a greater density and variety of fish life. However, just as Provo regularly offers up pelagic encounters, South Caicos has no shortage of sponges decorating its walls. For those seeking a similarly unmodified habitat lacking many of the comforts of home, Grand Turk also offers laid-back surface intervals in rustic, less-trod environs, and as much world-class wall diving as your tissue compartments can handle. Both islands are characterized by Bermudian architecture, abandoned salinas left over from a once thriving salt industry, and the friendly locals who call themselves 'Belongers.'

Above the waterline, South Caicos reveals itself as a fairly low-lying, arid place. Cockburn (pronounced 'Coburn') Harbour is the island's center of activity, though it's hardly Seven Mile Beach or Cozumel in its level of shopping and nightlife diversions. If you bring lots of novels to read you'll do just fine between dives and land excursions. South Caicos has some spectacular, unvisited white sand beaches, ironshore bluffs, flamingos, and (everywhere) wandering donkeys, goats, chickens, cows, and horses. The only paved road on the island is that leading from the airport. Standing at the shoreline on Queen Elizabeth Parade one day, I was bemused by the sight of three horses coming around the corner of what on a map looked like the main drag of Cockburn Harbour.

A plethora of dive sites can be found along the entire length of South Caicos' walls, which are profusely decked with whips and trees of black coral and riddled by caves, tunnels, and crevices. The top of the wall can be found between 60 and 100 feet and in all places the wall lies close to shore, though not close enough for shore diving. Long stretches of the wall have probably yet to see a SCUBA diver.

A popular underwater attraction is the Airplane, the wreckage of a Convair 440 aircraft which lies at a depth of about 45 feet. At the Airplane a fairly shallow pavement community gives way to prominent coral outcroppings which lead to the wreckage. Within sight of the aircraft, the top of the wall begins at about 60 feet. The aircraft — part of which has toppled over the adjacent wall — attracts schools of horse-eye jacks, and schoolmasters gather thickly beneath its wings. Tiger and Nassau groupers are common at this site, often attending one of the many cleaning stations. Hogfish, queen triggerfish, and gray angelfish are also abundant at this site.

Another popular dive is at the Arch, the centerpiece of which is a large coral archway. Big southern stingrays and horse-eye jacks are frequent denizens of the Arch's shelter, and you may be lucky enough to encounter a 61/2' jewfish there or to cavort with a wild dolphin. Surrounding the Arch is a complex maze of sand gullies dividing high-profile coral formations loaded with coneys, angelfishes, grunts, butterflyfishes and damselfishes. Going deeper you cross a sandy amphitheater leading to the omnipresent wall.

Divers located on South Caicos, Grand Turk, or Salt Cay during the winter months may be fortunate enough to witness the passage of humpback whales. Turtles are commonly seen on both deep and shallow dives, spotted eagle rays seem to be as abundant as grunts in some places, and manta rays (click here for video clip) are occasionally sighted during the summer months.

The Turks and Caicos Islands are currently serviced by both American Airlines (to Provo) and Turks and Caicos Airways (to Provo and Grand Turk) from Miami.