Reef / MUSA

MUSA, the Museo Subacuático de Arte, lies off Isla Mujeres near Cancun on Mexico's Caribbean coast. Sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor created the project after Hurricane Wilma damaged nearby reefs, casting more than 400 life-size human figures from pH-neutral cement and installing them on the sandy seabed to draw pressure away from the fragile Manchones reef, with the main installation, The Silent Evolution, formally opened in 2010. The figures have grown corals, sponges, and algae over the years and now attract reef fish, sea turtles, and southern stingrays, alongside urchins, mollusks, and nudibranchs. The site is split into two galleries, Salon Manchones at around 8 metres for divers and snorkelers, and the shallower Salon Nizuc at about 4 metres for snorkeling only. It is rated a beginner dive, with calm, shallow conditions suited to new divers, though the strangeness of swimming among hundreds of cast faces makes it worthwhile for experienced divers too. Dives inside the marine park are capped at 45 minutes and require a certified Marine Park guide.