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@rhwestfall we visited San Salvador a long time ago, they were building the Club Med when we were there and the only way to fly to the island was on a tiny plane. They weighed the passengers and our baggage before deciding who/what could be put on the plane. There was only a tiny airstrip with some broken airplanes around it!
Back then the Riding Rock Inn was nothing special with simple no-frills accommodations. The food was plentiful and okay, but not great and the choices were limited, but the dive shop was terrific and the diving was excellent - some of the best shore-based boat diving we've seen in the Bahamas. They also had great facilities for underwater photographers.
But San Salvador was the first place we noticed algae growing on the shallower reefs, it wasn't bad but it was noticeable so I don't know what it is like now, hopefully the deeper walls haven't been overgrown too much. We saw beautiful corals, lots of fish, and quite a few sharks.
The island of SS was a nice place to visit, it was very quiet and sleepy back then but I don't know if it has changed. We took a tour and the guide proudly showed us "The Straw Market" and pointed to one little old lady sitting on a chair under a tree and weaving a basket! We bought a small basket from her.
They also have quite a few monuments for such a small place and they made us look at all of them. It's like they thought that the island wasn't a beautiful attraction all by itself and people only come there to see the monuments. I don't know if it is still there but they even had a monument on the reef in the spot where (they think) Christopher Columbus may have dropped anchor.
I've only have one experience with a Club Med and it wasn't a good one. We went to the St. Lucia Club Med years ago (it's closed now) and we were unhappy with the dive operation. The boats were cattle boats, the dive masters were strict disciplinarians, and the boat was crowded with people who had "Club Med C Cards". They had done a resort class at a CM resort and got a CM card and traveled to various CM resorts to dive without actually learning how or getting certified. There was no distinction between the CM divers and other divers.
I remember speaking with a woman on the way back from a dive and she asked me "why do you have to wait after diving before flying?" so I told her it was to give us time to clear our bodies and blood of dissolved nitrogen after diving to reduce the risk of decompression sickness. She looked at me blankly and said "Nitrogen, what nitrogen?"
But I have heard that Club Med has improved their dive operations, they now outsource to qualified dive ops rather than running their own dive shops, but I don't know if they still issue/honor the CM C Cards. After our St. Lucia experience we have never been interested in going to another Club Med, but I do remember that the food at the all-inclusive resort was excellent!
Anyway, we had a nice dive trip to San Salvador at RRI and would consider going there again.
)and you go off on your own. MUCH better. They are still pretty restrictive with dive times so we always make sure to be the first off the boat and last back on. As long as they are not waiting for you its ok...
