Book Review: Manta Rays and Margaritas: Tropical Travels to Dive the Oceans

"My theory on choosing dive companies via the internet is simple: if the pictures of divers have happy expressions and there is at least one photo of an ocean-loving dog on the site, the dive shop has to be good"

A quirky way of choosing a dive shop maybe, but as the last two diving centres I've used both had dogs I think Karen Begelfer may be onto something.

Descriptive and charming, in this book Karen Begelfer tells of her diving travels from learning to dive, getting hooked and visiting both out-of-the-way and popular destinations. This is no run-of-the-mill account someone else's diving adventures; it sparkles along.

The author writes well and includes well-researched historical, and geographical, context to the places she has visited. I love her descriptions. "Angry green vipers with full body mohawks...long green ribbons of muscle undulating through the water" makes a perfect vision of a Giant Moray. Crown-of-Thorns starfish are like "leggy pincushions".

Thirteen chapters cover Bora Bora, Moorea, Australia, Bahamas, Mexico, the Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Micronesia, Palau, Belize and the Cayman Islands.

Sprinkled with boxed quotes from writers such as James Fenimore Cooper, P.J. O'Rourke and Lewis Carroll, this is ideal for some between-dives reading;

Manta Rays and Margaritas is available with free worldwide delivery from the The Book Depository.

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