Sitting by the pool, sipping on a rum punch, I listened to the palm trees rustling in the trade winds and watched the sun slowly being consumed by the warm, clear waters of the Caribbean. It seemed inconceivable how anyone could have called this one of the Useless Islands. But when Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda discovered Curaçao in 1499, he was seeking gold and silver, or at least lands where crops could be cultivated, and Curaçao's lack of precious minerals and arid climate offered little hope for riches or agriculture. It, along with the islands of Aruba and Bonaire, became one of"las islas inutiles" or the "useless islands".

Wllemstad, capital city of Curaçao.

A Camouflaged scorpionfish.

Hawksbill turtle makes lunch of some coral.

Spotted moray with cleaner fish.

A trumpet fish hangs upside-down.

Today Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire form the ABC group of islands in the Caribbean and are a prime tourism destination. Curaçao, situated only 30 miles from the coast of Venezuela, is the largest of the group, measuring 38 miles long with an average width of four miles. It is an island full of colour and history consisting of a population made up of nearly 50 nationalities. The bustling capital city of Willemstad, with it's fortifications and brightly coloured buildings has a cosmopolitan flair and a feel of the tropics. It is built around the largest and busiest natural harbour in the Caribbean and Curaçao's thriving economy keeps a steady stream of cruise ships, oil tankers and naval vessels passing through it.

Wherever we went we were greeted by smiles, and the Creole rhythm of the local language, known as Papiamento, mixed with Dutch, English and Spanish, reflecting the rich cultural heritage that makes up the island.

The colour and diversity of the surface carries on into the warm, clear waters, surrounding the island. Nearly all the diving on Curaçao takes place along the western shore as the eastern shore is usually too rough to dive. And the wonderful thing about Curaçao is that much of the exceptional diving is easily shore accessible. In most areas, within 50 yards of the beach, the sandy shallows give way to a steep slope covered in a fantastic variety of life. As we dropped over the edge we were surrounded by huge, bright orange elephant ear sponges, long, purple tube sponges, small azure vase sponges, brain corals, star corals, whip corals and sea plumes, while an encyclopedia of colourful reef fish swam all around us. Underwater visibility usually exceeded 100 feet and a glance in any direction revealed more surprises; strange and beautiful species of cleaner shrimps living among the tentacles of the various anemones, trumpet fish trying unsuccessfully to camouflage themselves by hanging motionless among the branches of a gorgonian, the courtship rituals of a pair of peacock flounders or juvenile spotted drums patrolling a small coral head.

Ascending from the depths, the sandy shallows at first looked barren in comparison, but closer inspection revealed black or yellow seahorses anchored to pieces of broken coral and small goldentail morays and secretary blennies peeking out from the coral heads. We even spotted a couple of snake eels cruising across the bottom. The shallows made a great place for a safety stop or even a long, shallow dive.

Many hotels and resorts cater to divers and provide excellent service. Habitat Curaçao is a new, oceanfront hotel with a PADI 5-star dive facility, an excellent photo shop and a unique philosophy. The key word here is freedom. After undergoing an orientation dive, divers are guided only by their common sense. The dive equipment room is open 24 hours a day and divers are free to shore dive unsupervised at any time, day or night. However if one wishes to have a guided tour of the reef or is not comfortable diving alone, the dive staff at Habitat Curaçao is more than willing to help. Habitat Curaçao also runs two large fully equipped dive boats for those dives that can only be accessed by boat. One of these is the magical Mushroom Forest where, in addition to the usual kaleidoscope of marine life, huge mountainous star corals, many of them eroded at the bottom and resembling giant mushrooms loom over the surrounding seascape. And as a bonus, we found a hawksbill turtle grazing in a clearing among the corals.

The waters along the south shore can be quite choppy sometimes in unsheltered areas and some dives that are accessible from shore are easier by boat. The Superior Producer, a 200 foot freighter that sank in 1977 is a must for any dive trip to Curaçao. For our visit to the Producer we boarded the custom built, Pro 42 dive boat Explorador, operated by Caribbean Sea Sports, located next to the beautiful Sonesta Hotel. The Producer is a photographers dream, lying a couple of hundred yards off shore, upright in 100 feet of water. The wheel house and superstructure are blanketed in a rich assortment of sponges and corals, while schools of squirrel fish, creole wrasse and snappers swarm about.

Wherever we dived on Curaçao the local divers and dive operators had a genuine sense of awareness and respect for the fragility of the marine environment. Sites that are boat accessible have mooring buoys in place and the use of gloves is not banned, but discouraged. Divers are encouraged to hone their buoyancy skills as corals and sponges are delicate organisms and can be damaged easily when touched. Or as Tuki, our divemaster told us before one of our dives, "Please don't touch MY corals or MY sponges. I love them a lot and I would like other people to see them too".

But Curaçao is not only about diving. When one tires of diving, and this is inconceivable, there is a whole world of activities on the island. A vibrant nightlife can be found in the many casinos and restaurants in Willemstad. Shopping and sightseeing along the waterfront markets, sampling the history of the island at the Senior Curaçao Liqueur factory or simply relaxing on one of the island's 38 beaches are essential. Naturalists might consider exploring the diverse flora and fauna of the island at Christoffel National Park or watching the flamingos arrive at the salt flats at dawn. Or for those who simply can't stay away from the water a visit to the Curaçao Sea Aquarium and the Animal Encounter where divers can feed stingrays and sharks may be in order.

Curaçao may not have gold and silver but it's riches are found in the warmth of its climate and people and diversity of activities.