If you never heard about this small, undiscovered island in the Caribbean, it's only because it's a well-kept secret! Unaffected by mass tourism St. Eustatius is not your average Caribbean island, imagine the Caribbean about 25 or 30 years ago and you get close. The reefs surrounding St. Eustatius are flourishing in a protected marine park. Underwater you will experience what much of the Caribbean must have looked like many years ago. The eye-catching volcano “the Quill” dominates the island with its impressive crater and is responsible for the huge amount of lava flows and blocks under the surface. These old labyrinths of lava are now fully overgrown with coral and sponges. Combine these reefs with numerous of historical dive sites and more recent sunk wrecks and you got yourself a divers paradise!
If colonial history is your fancy, you may be interested in the search for blue beads, Statia’s local currency in the 17th century. The famous Dutch West India Company used these beads to trade in tobacco, cotton, rum, and slaves. To this very day, the beads reappear whenever a fierce storm stirs up the sand on the bottom of the sea and around the island. According to the legend you don’t find blue beads but the beads find you, and if you’re found, you will return to St. Eustatius again and again. Blue beads are the only artifacts that are allowed to leave the island.