We Can Only Dream About Petit Mustique

Our April first travel review of the splendid diving and accommodations at Petit Mustique in the Grenadines engendered more responses than usual. It's a destination that divers dream about, which is really all they can do.

Here's what a few readers had to say about Petit Mustique, concluding with a response that, I shall say, caught us a bit off guard.

While I thought I might be the only Undercurrent person to have dived there, it turns out that Deb Berglund ( Bozeman, MT) had been there long before me. She says, " I was there in the '60s. Had mushrooms for dinner ..... Thanks for making me smile."

Clement Clapp (Maplesville, AL ) made a reservation as soon as he read our story "Been hearing a lot of great things about this fantastic, almost too good to be true, dive resort. I booked two weeks there. Confirmed on February 30th."

Some readers sought more information. One asked, "How do I get information and a code to arrange dive vacations at Petit Mustique Diver's Lodge? Your article was fabulous!" Another queried: "Petit Mustique sounds too good to be true. Next summer looks good for PM. What do I do with the U/C code to make a booking, and can I take a non-diver - my ladylove?"

I guess some people got so excited they stopped reading early and missed the last sentence. Most read the first letter of every paragraph. Linda Maljan wrote, "Love it!! You had me ready to sign up for a trip to the Caribbean! That was an awesome prank! Thanks for making my day! And Brooklinite Jo Beth Ravitz says, "You just broke my heart!!! We were so ready to book. Too good to be true, and April Fool's Day to you too. A very sad reader."

A few folks didn't appreciate the leg pull. Says Ron Cutler, (Woodbridge, NY) "I can't believe you would go to all that trouble and time to write a story, waste our time, and think it's funny. It was stupid to do. Stick to the real stuff." And James Wilkins, Los Angeles, said "The saddest thing about this 'joke' is that it gives the reader false hope that some healthy marine ecosystems might be left in the Caribbean. It's a bad joke."

Most folks got a kick out of it, and some remembered we had done it before. Suzi Davidoff (El Paso, TX) said, "I'm a long-time Undercurrent subscriber, so I checked the date when I got this and laughed. The first time this came out, I sent it to three or four diving friends to be the first to plan this trip! Thanks for the best dive publication ever!" Thank you, Suzi.

And Fred Kolo (East Hampton, NY) added, "Ben, are you up to your old tricks? I seem to remember another fantasy diving resort. "Fool me once, fool me twice .... " We may be on the way to a world where fantasy scuba is better than what is left of the real thing.

From Ireland, Nigel Kelleher wrote.

"Bravo Sir! You got me!! Isn't that one lovely article to muse over a late breakfast? Irish divers are rarely found on such excursions. Unless I travel as part of an Irish dive group, I never get to meet one. Solo dive travel is my first choice. Petit Mustique seemed to willingly cater to such. It continued to draw me in!

"Stopover in Barbados, onwards to Petit Mustique. My itinerary was forming itself, less of that necessary time-consuming research needed.

"Each time I read an article on some faraway idyll, I remind myself of the marketing motive by the author. A percentage of skepticism is present. Not so with yours. It was published after the fact, a summary of experience by someone with experience. Now, that's valuable information.

"Dare I say it: I came to the 2020 tripwire! The piece was pre-pandemic published! How much of this was current? Prices, probably not, marine life - a definite yes!! The intervening lull in any diving activity should have enhanced its local and pelagic population.

"On such themes, the mind oft' forgets its current priorities; my breakfast toast had gone cold.

"For too long have I been a traveling diver who seeks a new memory from the deep. One that allows reflection in times of turbulence; it calms the soul.

"Finally, I am reading an enticement. I can visualize the magic of an undersea encounter with beings unseen but by the privileged few. I will sleep tonight with dreams of what may come. I truly treasure this insight into our inner world, a fleeting glimpse of what awaits me. I thank you for it ...... but then, I am directed to read elsewhere ..."

And then there is this from Rick Field, not a subscriber: "Please cease and desist with your articles about Petit Mystique Island. You see, we just recently signed an agreement of sale for the island and will be building an exclusive enclave. Your article just adds confusion to our venture, although I admit that we might approach the celebrities and royalty that you mention in your phony article might be on our targeted promotion list once the enclave is completed. As opposed to the cost you mentioned, our plan includes planned rates of $3500/day with a minimum of 7-day stays at $31,000, including resort fees and imposed revenue taxes. We have not planned scuba diving yet because snorkeling is excellent off the beach reefs. So please, sir, not more phony articles about the island we will own by the end of the summer. Here is confirmation of what I write." https://tinyurl.com/j3psjrxh

Now, who do you believe?

- Ben Davison