Cancun's new dive wonder

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By Patricia Borns, Globe Correspondent

The VW Beetle is a real brick. Not only was its round, aerodynamic shape an icon on the road, it makes a rock-steady underwater breeding ground for lobsters and fish, according to marine sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor.

If you can dive to 26 feet, check out Taylor's VW Beetle replica on Manchones Reef in Isla Mujeres, an hour's sail from Cancun. The life-sized piece is designed to rebuild fish and coral populations in the Cancun Marine Park as tourism places intense pressure on its resources. For instance, Taylor used cement that's textured and ph-neutral to allow coral colonization. The windows have swim-through holes for small fish to find refuge. Lobsters can enter through hatches in the side panels and find protected crawl spaces inside.

While you're down there, swim with the silversides massing aroud Taylor's earlier sculpture, "Silent Evolution," of 403 human figures made from real life body casts. Even snorkelers can see the sculptures from above through Cancun's transparent waters.

Can't make it to Cancun? Watch Taylor's documentary here.

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