SunshineFish
Guest
Here is a brief trip report on my first couple of dives in Puerto Rico in late April 2003.
The BF and I moved down to Puerto Rico 3 months ago (time flies!). I haven't been doing much except getting our apartment and car situation in order while enjoying the sun, sand, and surf!
I shipped all my scuba with the relocation company and waited...and waited...finally 5 weeks later it arrived! So immediately, I took a dive trip around the island of PR. I did a day in Fajardo, two dive days in La Parguera and one in Rincon. I am hoping to get out to Culebra Island soon!
I was lazy during these dives and didn't take a lot of photos. But you can see some of them at: http://www.photoaccess.com/share/guest.jsp?ID=A6FC8127165&cb=PA
FARJARDO
http://www.divepuertorico.com
I did a 2-tank dive with Sea Ventures. The dive sites were by Isla Palaminos. We had about 20 divers on board, 5 of which were doing a resort course (including BF). The boat was an hour late leaving the dock so our second dive almost became a night dive. Max depth was 25 feet
and there was a lot of sediment in the water possibly from previous dive boats and also from the heavy rainstorm the week previous. Definitely the worst viz I've ever had in the Caribbean. I couldn't really get any photos b/c I had trouble seeing out of my view finder on my digicam.
Dive #1 - Sand Slide (Isla Palaminos)
63 min / 25 ft
Viz 35-40 ft
Saw school of small squid, small trumpet fishes, yellowtail snapper, blue tang, parrots, 4-eye butterfly fish, yellowhead jawfish, large crab.
Dive #2 - Spurs 'n Grooves (Isla Palaminos)
37 min / 26 ft
Viz 30-35 ft
Second dive: Visibility was even worse as the sun was beginning to set. Saw the same fish life as previous dive plus a queen angel and a hermit crab.
I had an okay time during these dives as it was good to be in the water again after 7 months but overall I felt that the dive site was lacking in coral and fish life and the dive operation could have been better.
LA PARGUERA
http://www.pargueradivers.com
A quiet little town in the southwestern part of PR about 2 hours drive from San Juan. I stayed at Posada Porlamar and dove with the on-site operation, La Parguera Divers whose dive boat was practically right outside my hotel room. The accommodations were sparse but adequate and I especially loved the quality of food in the restaurant. Both captain Angel and DM Juan were fantastic. They were quite safety conscious and conducted thorough briefings. I highly recommend them and would come back and dive with them anytime.
Dive #3 - Black Wall
48 min / 85 ft
Viz 55-60 ft
What a difference it is to go from 20 divers on a boat to 6! The visibility was pretty good and the fish life was even more proliferate! I saw 2 green morays, a spotted moray, my first sand tile, and a school of black durgeon followed us around for the dives hoping we would feed them somehow.
Dive #4 - Coral Garden
47 min / 66 ft
Viz 55-60 ft
Green moray, grey angel, banded butterflyfish, feather dusters, queen trigger, intermed. hogfish
Dive #5 - Hole in the Wall
53 min / 90 ft
Wall dive began ~50 feet. Only 4 divers today! Small jellyfish in water as you entered. Smooth trunkfish, 2 spiny lobster, 2 sharpnose puffers, sand tile, pork fish, cow fish, blue and brown chromis
Dive #6 - Chimney
35 min / 75 ft
Another wall dive that began ~50 feet with a chimney swim-thru. I saw barracuda, my first slipper lobster, pair of spotfin b-fish, and cow fish. Conservative Mossy made me surface with 1500 psi left.
RINCON
http://www.tainodivers.com
On the Western part of PR, this laid back town hosted the World Surfing Championships in 1968 and continues to attract surfers from all over the world. Leaving La Parguera at 6am, I drove an hour north and hooked up with Taino Divers for a 2-tank dive on the island of Desecheo. The visibility was the best here.
Dive #7 - Inside Pinnacle
63 min / 60 ft
Viz = 80 -90 ft
This dive was tons of fun because it was swim-through heaven and there were a couple of large schools of fishies like barracuda and many I couldn't identify! Some swim-throughs were definitely not for the buoyancy-challenged and my frog and scuttle finning came in handy from Wreckmania! Crystal clear viz. lotsa puffers. Schools of fish. My Mosquito dive watch malfunctioned at the end of this dive. The depth was erroneously reported from 15 feet to the surface and when I finally surfaced, the watch continued to elapse time as if I were still in 15 feet of water. I eventually had to take the battery out and reset it.
Dive # 8 - Mars
61 min / 52 ft
Viz = 80 -90 ft
The topography of this dive was like an underwater rock fallout where coral took over. Spotted moray, schools of fish - porgy or snapper (see last 2 photos)? Maybe some type of grunt? Lotsa gobies and blennies. Couple cowfish. First spotted trunkfish in a long time. Spanish hogfish and a burrfish.
That's all for now! Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions about diving or living in PR!
The BF and I moved down to Puerto Rico 3 months ago (time flies!). I haven't been doing much except getting our apartment and car situation in order while enjoying the sun, sand, and surf!
I shipped all my scuba with the relocation company and waited...and waited...finally 5 weeks later it arrived! So immediately, I took a dive trip around the island of PR. I did a day in Fajardo, two dive days in La Parguera and one in Rincon. I am hoping to get out to Culebra Island soon!
I was lazy during these dives and didn't take a lot of photos. But you can see some of them at: http://www.photoaccess.com/share/guest.jsp?ID=A6FC8127165&cb=PA
FARJARDO
http://www.divepuertorico.com
I did a 2-tank dive with Sea Ventures. The dive sites were by Isla Palaminos. We had about 20 divers on board, 5 of which were doing a resort course (including BF). The boat was an hour late leaving the dock so our second dive almost became a night dive. Max depth was 25 feet
and there was a lot of sediment in the water possibly from previous dive boats and also from the heavy rainstorm the week previous. Definitely the worst viz I've ever had in the Caribbean. I couldn't really get any photos b/c I had trouble seeing out of my view finder on my digicam. Dive #1 - Sand Slide (Isla Palaminos)
63 min / 25 ft
Viz 35-40 ft
Saw school of small squid, small trumpet fishes, yellowtail snapper, blue tang, parrots, 4-eye butterfly fish, yellowhead jawfish, large crab.
Dive #2 - Spurs 'n Grooves (Isla Palaminos)
37 min / 26 ft
Viz 30-35 ft
Second dive: Visibility was even worse as the sun was beginning to set. Saw the same fish life as previous dive plus a queen angel and a hermit crab.
I had an okay time during these dives as it was good to be in the water again after 7 months but overall I felt that the dive site was lacking in coral and fish life and the dive operation could have been better.
LA PARGUERA
http://www.pargueradivers.com
A quiet little town in the southwestern part of PR about 2 hours drive from San Juan. I stayed at Posada Porlamar and dove with the on-site operation, La Parguera Divers whose dive boat was practically right outside my hotel room. The accommodations were sparse but adequate and I especially loved the quality of food in the restaurant. Both captain Angel and DM Juan were fantastic. They were quite safety conscious and conducted thorough briefings. I highly recommend them and would come back and dive with them anytime.
Dive #3 - Black Wall
48 min / 85 ft
Viz 55-60 ft
What a difference it is to go from 20 divers on a boat to 6! The visibility was pretty good and the fish life was even more proliferate! I saw 2 green morays, a spotted moray, my first sand tile, and a school of black durgeon followed us around for the dives hoping we would feed them somehow.
Dive #4 - Coral Garden
47 min / 66 ft
Viz 55-60 ft
Green moray, grey angel, banded butterflyfish, feather dusters, queen trigger, intermed. hogfish
Dive #5 - Hole in the Wall
53 min / 90 ft
Wall dive began ~50 feet. Only 4 divers today! Small jellyfish in water as you entered. Smooth trunkfish, 2 spiny lobster, 2 sharpnose puffers, sand tile, pork fish, cow fish, blue and brown chromis
Dive #6 - Chimney
35 min / 75 ft
Another wall dive that began ~50 feet with a chimney swim-thru. I saw barracuda, my first slipper lobster, pair of spotfin b-fish, and cow fish. Conservative Mossy made me surface with 1500 psi left.
RINCON
http://www.tainodivers.com
On the Western part of PR, this laid back town hosted the World Surfing Championships in 1968 and continues to attract surfers from all over the world. Leaving La Parguera at 6am, I drove an hour north and hooked up with Taino Divers for a 2-tank dive on the island of Desecheo. The visibility was the best here.
Dive #7 - Inside Pinnacle
63 min / 60 ft
Viz = 80 -90 ft
This dive was tons of fun because it was swim-through heaven and there were a couple of large schools of fishies like barracuda and many I couldn't identify! Some swim-throughs were definitely not for the buoyancy-challenged and my frog and scuttle finning came in handy from Wreckmania! Crystal clear viz. lotsa puffers. Schools of fish. My Mosquito dive watch malfunctioned at the end of this dive. The depth was erroneously reported from 15 feet to the surface and when I finally surfaced, the watch continued to elapse time as if I were still in 15 feet of water. I eventually had to take the battery out and reset it.
Dive # 8 - Mars
61 min / 52 ft
Viz = 80 -90 ft
The topography of this dive was like an underwater rock fallout where coral took over. Spotted moray, schools of fish - porgy or snapper (see last 2 photos)? Maybe some type of grunt? Lotsa gobies and blennies. Couple cowfish. First spotted trunkfish in a long time. Spanish hogfish and a burrfish.
That's all for now! Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions about diving or living in PR!
